- What worms attack dogs?
- How do you tell if your dog has worms?
- Worms in a dog: symptoms
- Worms in a dog: he alth effects
- Are dog parasites dangerous to humans?
- Deworming the dog: pills and other preparations
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Dog worms and other dog parasites are a real problem for the owner and a lot of unpleasant ailments for the pet itself. What does deworming a dog look like and are dog parasites dangerous to humans? The symptoms of worming in a dog depend on the type of canine parasite.
Dog parasites are quite a common ailment. Any dog can have worms, even the one that spends most of its time cuddled up on a soft sofa and spends its time walking mainly on a leash. Most often, however, they annoy these animals, which often run around freely and outside may come into contact with rodents infected with parasites or with the faeces of other carriers, as well as with stray dogs.
What worms attack dogs?
Internal (or endogenous) parasites that live in a dog can be divided into several groups. The first of them are roundworms, or roundworms, so called because of their shape. This group includes mainly:
- roundworms,
- nematodes,
- whipworms,
- hookworms.
The second group are flatworms, so:
- canine tapeworm,
- spirochetal tapeworm,
- echinococcal tapeworm.
Apart from them, internal parasites also include flukes and protozoa - but they are not worms.
Worth knowingHow does a dog get infected with worms?
Parasites can enter the organism of a quadruped in many different ways. This is most often done by the oral route when the dog licks the shoes of the handler who brought the parasite eggs on the soles of the shoes or eats food with larvae in it. Sometimes puppies become infected in this way, as certain forms of parasites are also present in the milk of infected bitches.
Parasites can also penetrate the body through the placenta during pregnancy (therefore a puppy can be wormed soon after birth), and also before direct contact, the genitourinary system during copulation, or through the skin.
How do you tell if your dog has worms?
Parasites are rarely seen in the stool of an infected dog or in the skin around the anus. The fact that the pooch may be infected with them, however, signals other symptoms. Which one depends on the type of parasite that has attacked the quadruped. It may happen that a pet has several different stowaways in its body, who systematically destroy itorganism.
Wormed animal:
- is lethargic,
- avoids contact,
- still wants to sleep,
- has diarrhea (sometimes with blood),
- is vomiting,
- coughs weird,
- is breathing hard
- may have irritation around the anus,
- may have trouble with his hair becoming dull and falling out.
A possible parasite infection can also be seen inlack of appetiteandsignificant weight loss , as well asnotorious rolling around floorcaused by ridge itching.
Worms in a dog: symptoms
Most often, a dog is infected with a parasite of one species. The fact that this is so is best assessed by a veterinarian. However, parasites make themselves known in a very characteristic way, and the symptoms of infection vary depending on which worm inhabits the dog's body.
- Ascarids.They are located in the small intestine and can lead to the development of various diseases, among which the most dangerous is toxocarosis. The fact that a dog has roundworms can be recognized by the fact that he suffers from diarrhea, loses weight, coughs, is lethargic, and his coat becomes weak and falls out.
- Hookworms.Symptoms of infection are lack of appetite, vomiting, emaciation, unformed faeces, pale mucous membranes, anemia, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and a tendency to lethargy.
- Whipworms.The most common symptom is chronic, bloody diarrhea that gradually destroys the body and can damage the intestines. The dog may also lose weight, have a fever, be weak.
- Tapeworm- lives in the intestine, where it excretes waste products, poisoning the dog's body, it can also lead to the closure of the intestinal lumen. It may be suspected if the dog suffers from vomiting, has alternating diarrhea and constipation, and has mucus in sparse faeces. Symptoms of infection are also unsteady gait and epileptic seizures.
Worms in a dog: he alth effects
Dog worms are typical parasites: when they benefit from living in a dog's body, the animal suffers damage. This detrimental effect is mainly due to the parasite taking up the necessary nutrients - including the dog -, which in turn may lead to their serious deficiency, and in the case of puppies, also to impaired growth and development.
Living in a pet, they take care of all their needs, including the excretion of toxic metabolic products, which can poison the pet, lead to diseases, especially to the digestive system, and also cause allergies.
Finally: their presence provokes a dealimmune system, which, instead of protecting the animal from bacteria and viruses, fights parasites, which makes the animal more susceptible to various infections.
Are dog parasites dangerous to humans?
Some canine parasites can be a threat to humans - the disease they cause is called zoonosis. Roundworms are the most dangerous and can cause toxocarosis. Children are mainly exposed to infection, both those who play with an infected dog and those who come into contact with mature roundworm eggs (these may be present, for example, in the sand at the playground). When these eggs reach the digestive tract, they hatch larvae, which then pass through the intestinal walls into the bloodstream and continue to various organs, including the lungs, liver, eyeball, and even the brain, causing inflammation in them.
Hookworms are also a threat to humans - when they penetrate the skin, they can cause inflammation - as well as tapeworms, especially bubble worms. The larvae of this tapeworm in the human body settle in various organs, most often in the liver, and turn into cysts that grow over many years, gradually putting pressure on other organs. Their rupture can even lead to death.
Deworming the dog: pills and other preparations
The owner who suspects parasites in the dog should report to the vet as soon as possible, who will prescribe the appropriate treatment. Since parasites are common, they cause unpleasant and often severe ailments in the pet and are also a threat to people, deworming should also be performed prophylactically.
If there are several dogs in the house and one of them has parasites, all dogs should be cleaned at the same time.
Preparations against endoparasites are available in various forms and most of them contain more than one active ingredient (the most common are pyrantel, fenbendazole and praziquantel).
Deworming dogs can be given:
- tablets - have a broad spectrum of activity and work against hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, tapeworms, lamblia, nematodes.
- suspension - usually prescribed for hookworms, whipworms and roundworms.
- Oral paste - effective against hookworms, roundworms, whipworms and tapeworms.
- spot-on preparations - they are in the applicator and they are dropped on the skin of the animal, in which hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, heart or lung nematodes are present.
Deworming the puppy
The first time the puppy should be backed off between 2 and 4 weeks of age. Subsequent deworming treatments should depend on the vaccination schedule- you have to plan them so that they take place a week before the next vaccination visit.
This is not the end: the puppy should be given the next doses of the anthelmintic drug every month until he is 6 months old. Older dogs should be dewormed at least four times a year.
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