Worms and your puppy

Anyone whos ever owned a puppy knows how common, and annoying, worms can be.

Most worms set up home inside your puppys digestive system, but some worms invade other, more critical organs such as the heart. Having worms can cause all kinds of problems for a puppy, ranging from vomiting to more serious illnesses such as anemia or possibly even death.

Although they can be worrying, treating puppy worms is fairly straightforward and generally very effetive.

There are 5 main types of worms that are usually seen, these are

Roundworms

Roundworms are the most common kind of puppy worms and many puppies are born with them as an infected mother dog can pass them onto her puppies in-utero. They can sometimes be seen in your puppys faeces, and are most often transmitted through contact with the worm eggs or larvae in the contaminated stools.

Roundworms can be passed onto humans, and children are most at risk as they tend to play close to the ground where they can come into contact with infected soil, grass or even the faeces themselves. A childs tendency to put their hands in their mouth, and to be less stringent about personal hygiene makes them an easy target.

A fecal exam performed by your veterinarian can detect the presence of roundworms, and appropriate medications usually cure the problem fairly quickly.

Tapeworms

The most common type of tapeworm is spread by fleas. The worms are usually visible in your puppys faeces, and look like small grains of white rice. They are generally not easily transmitted to humans but good hygiene is still important.

In addition to any medication your veterinarian may prescribe to treat a tapeworm problem, using a regular, monthly flea and tick preventative is a good way to avoid an recurrence of the infestation.

Whipworms

Whipworms may be more common that generally thought, but they are difficult to detect. If your pup has these parasites he may show few symptoms early on, but regular (and often repeated) fecal exams are necessary to make sure hes whipworm-free and to head off any future problems.

Hookworms

The hookworm is a very, very tiny but still pretty nasty little puppy worm. They do best in warm, moist soil and actually penetrate through your puppys skin and then travel to his intestines.

Humans can also pick up hookworms in the same way, so its best not to run around barefoot if your puppy has hookworms. A simple fecal examination performed by your veterinarian, and the correct medication, is the answer to a hookworm infestation.

Heartworms

Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes and theyre the most deadly of the puppy worms. Heartworms (as their name suggests), take up residence in your puppys heart and can cause serious health problems. If a heartworm problem is left untreated, its quite possible that the puppy or dog will die.

A preventative medication (such as Heartgard), given regularly in strongly recommended as treatment for heartworms is long, complicated, expensive and not always successful.

If you have a new puppy be sure to have your veterinarian give him, or her, a fecal exam to check for worms at his first check-up. If at anytime you notice worms in your puppys faeces, or see symptoms that suggest a worm problem, talk to your vet straight away.

Dont try to treat puppy worms with over-the-counter-medications. Theyre generally not very effective and can have unwanted, even dangerous, side-effects.

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A life long dog-lover and dedicated hobby breeder of top quality Rottweilers, the author has many years of experience in breeding, raising and training puppies. To find out more about puppy worms, go to http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com/puppy-worms.html or for lots of free information on all aspects of puppycare go to our homepage at http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com