Deworming
DEWORMING YOUR PUPPYAN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR PUPPY’S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTDeworming your puppy is a critical part of his puppy care. 98% of all puppies have worms that they contracted from their mother before they were born. This is true of even the most careful and clean and meticulous breeders. And certainly true if the puppy comes from a questionable background. There are many different species of worms which can affect your puppy’s growth and development. These worms are intestinal parasites, and contrary to popular belief, you probably won’t see them in the puppy’s stool unless they have a severe infestation. Symptoms of worms could include a dull coat, a bloated tummy, vomiting, diarrhea, or evidence in the stool. Although there may be no sign at all until they are heavily infected. Roundworms The most common type of worm found in puppies are roundworms. Roundworms, as you might expect, are round, and a common description is spaghetti-like. These ascarids are very common in nature and can survive outside a host in a cyst stage for a long time. Grassy areas are common places to find any number of parasitic cysts. When de-worming your puppy, you need to repeat it at least twice, three times is better still. The procedure needs to be done at two week intervals. To follow the life-cycle of the parasite. Most eggs will hatch in that two weeks. The first medication kills anything that is in its adult stage, the follow up treatments kill anything that has hatched in the mean time. You can see why it may be advisable to repeat it a third time, just in case any residual eggs had yet to hatch or, any remaining adults laid new eggs. It is a good idea to follow the final worming with a microscopic fecal exam done at your vet’s office a couple weeks after the final de-worming. Just to make sure no eggs are present. Your vet will need a very fresh fecal sample. Usually no more than an hour old. Intestinal parasites can cause many problems for the puppy. They can become malnourished, despite how much they eat. If they are always sharing their nutrition with their unwelcome companions they won’t grow well. They will be more susceptible to disease despite vaccines. They may have chronic diarrhea and vomiting and may never reach their standard body weight or muscle mass. Some species of intestinal parasites are transmissible to humans. Mainly children who have a less developed immune system and are more likely to be in the vicinity of the worms or eggs. Round worms especially can infect young children. Children inadvertently put their hands in their mouth or roll around in the grass with the puppy. It is possible, though less likely to contract other species of worms as well. Tapeworms
Tapeworms are among the most difficult to get rid of. They are a flat, segmented worm. The head of the tapeworm burrows into the intestine wall and segments break off and are expelled with the feces. You may see wriggling rice-like segments in the stool or dry sawdust-like flakes stuck in the coat around the puppy’s anus. Each segment contains thousands of eggs and ingestion will cause a recurrent infestation.
Fleas are the vector for the tapeworm. They carry the tapeworm from one host to the next. When an animal bites a flea, the tapeworm larva finds it’s way to the digestive tract where it develops and inhabits the intestine. Tapeworms can be very difficult to get rid of. Dislodging the head can require multiple de-worming attempts. If you do not kill the worm at the source, it will regenerate from the head. There are actually very few medications that work effectively against tapeworms. Many of which can be very hard on the puppy. Whichever medication you choose, you should be sure to consult your veterinarian before you use it. Drontal is the best general de-wormer on the market today. It is a wide spectrum de-wormer and does get tapes, most do not. If your puppy definitely has tapes, it is a good idea to follow up with a species specific dewormer. That is, one that just gets tapes. WhipwormsWhipworms are comparatively quite small,about 1/4 long. They are rarely seen because they live in the cecum and colon. They cause severe irritation to the lining of these areas resulting in watery, bloody diarrhea. Whipworms are specific to dogs and are not infectious to people. Hookworms
That picture alone ought to be enough to convince you that this is not what you want hanging around your puppy’s intestine. Or anywhere near the vicinity of yours for that matter. Hookworms are a species that do NOT need a host to be transmitted. If the temperature and humidity are adequate, the eggs which are expelled in feces, may develop into the first larval stage. Larva can survive in damp grasses until a host animal happens by. Infection occurs by ingestion or penetration of the skin. A dog that walks through an infected area could ingest them by licking his feet or they may penetrate the skin on his feet and move into a blood vessel, to the heart and lungs and then be coughed up and swallowed where they will reside, firmly attached.
These worms can cause blood loss leading to anemia, bloody diarrhea, weight loss, poor coat, and general poor health. This worm can infect humans. Children are particularly susceptible. These worms travel under the skin. If your dog is diagnosed, be sure to keep feces picked up as soon as he has had a movement to reduce exposure as much as possible. Giardia
Giardia is not a worm. It is a single- celled parasite called protozoa that invades the intestinal tract. In healthy adult dogs it will likely cause no outward symptoms. However, in puppies and debilitated dogs it will cause diarrhea. Giardia is often transmitted through stagnant or standing water or in areas of grass where infected dogs have deficated. Metronidazole is usually used to treat infections. A course of treatment is generally given for 5-7 days. Coccidia
Like Giardia, coccidia is also not a worm but a single-celled protozoan parasite which lives in the intestine lining. It causes diarrhea and is often, therefore, confused with worms. Poor sanitation can be a contributing factor but it is not uncommon to find infections in puppies that come from very good breeders and generally healthy conditions. |
Veterinary guidelines for deworming your dogDoctors Foster and Smith Deworming GuidelinesDeworming history of newly acquired puppies should be obtained to determine whether additional deworming is needed. |
| Puppies |
Initiate treatments at 2 weeks; repeat at 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. |
| Nursing Dams |
Treat concurrently with pups. |
| Adult Dogs |
Treat regularly for prevention. Also monitor and eliminate parasites in pet’s environment. |
| Newly Acquired Animals |
Worm immediately; repeat in 2 weeks, then follow above recommendations. |
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