Worms
Summary
| Worm | Symptoms |
|---|---|
| roundworms | pot belly, dull coat, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of weight |
| hookworms | anemia, diarrhea, bloody stools (esp. puppies) |
| tapeworms | "rice" on anal area or in stools, possible diarrhea/vomiting |
| whipworms | loss of weight, some diarrhea, difficult to detect |
| threadworms | profuse watery diarrhea, lung infection symptoms (esp.puppies) |
Preventing worms
(summarized from Carlson & Giffin.)
The best way to deal with worms, of course, is to make use of worm prevention techniques.
Most worms have a life cycle that makes it easy to reinfest dogs because only part of that lifecycle is on the dog. Steps you can take to control worms in general:
- If you have a kennel, do not use dirt. A water tight surface that can be hosed down is best; gravel works also. Remove stools from pens daily.
- Lawns should be kept short and watered only when necessary. Remove stools from the yard daily.
- Control fleas, lice, and rodents, as all these pests can be intermediate hosts for tapeworms.
- Do not let your dog roam, as it may ingest tainted meat. Any meat fed to your dog must be thoroughly cooked.
Puppies
Most puppies have worms, as some immunity to worms only comes after six months of ages and the mother will infect them with her dormant worm larvae. Puppies should be wormed at 2-3 weeks and again at 4-6 weeks. You should be especially vigilant for worms while your puppy is still growing; a bad case of worms can seriously interfere with its development. Bring fresh fecal samples in regularly to the vet for analysis.
