Controlling Internal Parasites of your Dog
Worming
Our pets commonly carry intestinal worms. Although serious disease can result, worm infestation often occurs without obvious signs or visible worms in the droppings. Worms are prolific egg producers and these eggs can survive for years on the ground. Your pet can be infected via contact with droppings, uncooked offal, rodents or through skin. If symptoms occur, they include pale gums, diarrhoea, a potbelly, weight loss, scooting and dull hair coat.
Worms can infest people as well with children being most at risk. This public health risk is a major reason to worm our pets as commonly available human worm treatments do not control all of these worms.
Worming treatments are available as tablets, chewable treats or top spot products as well as syrup for pups under 6 weeks.
Our recommended worming options and schedule is:
| 2-6 weeks old | Every 2 weeks with Canex Puppy syrup or Drontal syrup | |
| 6-12 weeks old | Every 2 weeks with | Drontal (tablet or chewable), Milbemax or Advocate spot on. |
| 3-6 months old | Every month with | |
| Over 6 months old | Every 3 months with | |
Pregnant/lactating bitches should be treated before mating and then 2 and 4 weeks after whelping.
Dogs should be weighed to calculate the correct dosage of worm treatment for your pet. Common Intestinal Worms In Dogs
Roundworms
These are round bodied, white worms about 10-18 cm long. They produce large numbers of microscopic eggs that pass with the dog’s droppings and can contaminate the pet’s coat. The eggs can live for years on the ground. Infection occurs through swallowing eggs in infected soil or droppings. Puppies can be infected they are born or when suckling. Roundworms can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, a pot belly and colic in dogs, particularly puppies. In very severe cases they can cause seizures and intestinal blockages and death.
Humans, particularly children, can swallow the eggs after cuddling or kissing pets or eating finger foods after stroking a pet without washing hands. In humans, larvae can migrate to the eyes, especially in children, where they may cause blindness or vision impairment. Larvae infrequently migrate to other tissues causing fever, rashes, headaches, coughing, seizures or abdominal pain.
Hookworms
These are fine 1-2 cm worms that are difficult to see in droppings. They can cause severe illness by burrowing into the pets intestinal wall and feeding on blood. Symptoms include diarrhoea, dehydration and even death from anaemia. Infection can occur via skin penetration or ingestion of larvae. They can also penetrate human skin, causing itchy tracts.Whipworms
These worms, up to 75 mm long, are also fine and inconspicuous in droppings. They lay many eggs, which pass in the feces and can live in the soil for years. Infection occurs via ingestion of larvae. Whipworm can cause severe illness in adult dogs. Symptoms include diarrhoea and weight loss. This parasite does not tend to cause disease in people.Hydatid tapeworm
This worm, up to 7 mm, spreads when dogs eat the uncooked offal of livestock and wildlife that have grazed pasture contaminated by feces of infected dogs. Whilst these worms do not make dogs ill, they pose a serious health risk to humans who can develop hydatid cysts after swallowing the worm eggs on the dog’s coat. Humans infected with these cysts can face invasive surgical treatments and high recurrence rates. Prevention is by far the better option.Common Flea Tapeworm
Dogs become infected when they swallow infected fleas when grooming themselves. The flea tapeworm develops in the dog’s intestine and can grow up to 500mm long. Flat white segments about 1 cm long containing many eggs are shed from the end of the tapeworm and passed with the feces. Though not a major health risk, flea tapeworm can cause dogs to have an itchy anus and scoot their bottom along the ground (as with impacted anal glands) Flea control assists tapeworm control. This parasite does not seem to affect people.Heartworm
Heartworm are large worms (up to 30 cm long) that live in the heart and main blood vessels of the lungs.
Heartworm causes a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease of dogs, which exists at a low incidence in the Canberra region. It is more prevalent in warmer parts of Australia where mosquitoes are more prevalent. Signs of heartworm disease take up to 18 months to develop after infection and include a loss of exercise tolerance and a persistent cough. By the time symptoms are observed, the disease well advanced.Treatment for heartworm disease can be dangerous and expensive and may not reverse some of the damage already caused by the heartworm.
We advise that pups begin monthly preventative treatment from 12 weeks of age with tablets, chewable treats or spot on products that are continued for life. An annual injectable preventative is also available for dogs six months of age and older. Dogs over six months of age, which have not yet been given heartworm prevention, and dogs whose prevention has lapsed may require a blood test prior to starting prevention. The vet can give advice dependent on the case. The blood test is quickly and easily done during a consultation or combined with desexing. The annual heartworm injection can also be started when your puppy is being desexed.
Next: Flea and tick control in your dog.
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