What do you do when your dog has worms?

Worms in dogs is it really unhealthy?

Worms are a very real threat to all our dogs. Maybe we don't want to think about it and maybe some of us are disgusted by it, but all dogs have had worms at some point in their lives. To prevent dogs from getting health problems from worms it is important to worm them at set times. Worms are parasites and the eggs end up in the intestines of the dog after ingestion. Then they become larvae and migrate through the body on their way to the lungs or heart depending on the type of worm. When the larvae are in the lungs they crawl into the airways. The dog reacts to this by coughing and will swallow them again. When it comes to heart worms they stay in the heart and the blood vessels around it, we will not discuss this worm further in this article when we talk about worms.

What are the symptoms that worms cause in adult dogs?

Adult dogs often have few complaints from worms. If they have developed complaints they are usually chronic gastrointestinal complaints. Why worming 4 times a year? They are a source of infection for other animals and perhaps even more important, also a source of infection for humans (especially young children and old or sick people). Worms spread very easily, especially because other dogs come into contact with the faeces of infected animals. The removal of faeces contributes enormously to a reduction of the infection pressure. Because of the large spread of worms and the ease with which the infection can be contracted, adult dogs should also be treated 4 times a year.

What are the complaints that worms cause in puppies and young dogs?

Pups are almost all infected with roundworms. Almost always this happens in the uterus or afterwards via the mother's milk. In the belly of the puppy the (spindle)worms will grow into adult worms. If these pups are not dewormed, the whole abdomen will become full of large worms. Of course this will cause complaints. You can then see that the pup has growth retardation, has a bulkier belly and they have diarrhea more often. In case of serious infections it sometimes happens that the intestines become so full that they become clogged. This can damage parts of the intestine permanently but unfortunately it is also the case that puppies die. In addition, the larvae make a whole journey through the body of the dog. This can also cause liver, lung and brain damage. These are the reasons why puppies of 2 weeks of age are dewormed every 2 weeks until they are 3 months old. Then we switch to the monthly deworming until they are 6 months, after that they fall under the adult deworming scheme.

Treatment for dogs with worms

Worms can infect children and humans just as easily, so it's vital that you give your dog the right treatment he needs to eradicate the worm problem. Leaving the worm infection untreated in your own dog can also cause problems for children if the larvae start migrating. Worms do not cause complaints in healthy adults.

Rinsing worms are well sensitive to all dewormers. There is a choice of wormpastes or tablets. If tapeworms also need to be treated then a wide working anthelmintic with Milbemycin oxim, praziquantel/ Febantel or oxibendazole is the right choice.

How can you check whether the treatment has worked against worms?

Check the effectiveness of the treatment, you can do that yourself. If you have dewormed the dog, possibly present worms will come out within 48 hours with the stool. They are then visible in the stool. You can also ask the veterinary surgeon to check the stool of your dog for the presence of worm eggs. This is of course also possible if you only want to worm when there is actually an infection. It is however so, that a dog can infect itself every day again, so at the moment of testing a dog is then free of worms, but can infect itself (again) the next walk.