More often than not, our dogs are victims of intestinal parasites, also referred as worms. Most of them develop immunity but at some point during stressful situations like pregnancy, illnesses and diseases, the immunity will break down. These worms then tend to multiply and later on produce symptoms of infection particularly in the intestines. Diarrhea, anemia, weight loss and presence of blood in the feces are the usual signs and symptoms for intestinal parasitism. On the other hand, some worms may cause few or no symptoms at all.

The most common parasites are roundworms and tapeworms which can be seen using you bare eyes, but other worms can’t easily be diagnosed. Sometimes eggs or larvae of Ascaris, hookworms and threadworms migrate in the tissues of the dog and activated only in stressful situations. If worms are suspected, a stool sample should be brought to the veterinarian at least once or twice a year for microscopic examination. Proper diagnosis is important so that the safest and the most effective medication will be prescribed. No particular drug is effective for all kinds of parasite, although some may be effective against more than one species.  It is not right to deworm the dog who suffers from unexplained illness without proper consultation and diagnosis.

DEWORMING A PUPPY

Ascaris and hookworms are most common to puppies. There is presence of other parasites but they are rare. It is recommended to let you veterinarian examine the stool first before giving any deworming agent. Some might need a much stronger and a broader-spectrum medication due to the severity of the case.

Usually, puppies are dewormed at 2 weeks of age before eggs of the Ascaris are eliminated in the feces, and once again in 4^th, 6^th and 8^th week after birth. Then, a monthly deworming is required until 6 months. With this schedule, there will be a higher chance of eliminating all the eggs of the Ascaris even though it is passed through pregnancy, lactation and ingestion. Pyrantel pamoate (suspension) is the drug-of-choice for this because it is safe for a 2 week old puppy. Heartworm prevention will then be given by the veterinarian to eliminate presence of roundworms and hookworms.

Deworming agents may be harmful to puppies, especially those who are suffering from respiratory problems, high body temperature and those who live in an unsanitary surrounding. These problems ought to be corrected before giving any deworming medication. Keep in mind not to deworm any puppy with diarrhea without any confirmation from the physician that this symptom is caused by worms.

DEWORMING A DOG

Veterinarians would usually recommend that dogs should be dewormed at least once a year or only when there is a reason to do so like persistent diarrhea because of the presence of intestinal parasites. If your pet lives in an unsanitary environment, it would be best to deworm them every 3 or 6 months depending on the recommendation of the veterinarian and the case of the dog. They can also take a yearlong preventive medication for heartworms which protects them from most worms.

PREVENTION

Treating and eradicating worms in the environment is vital before these infect other dogs, and human beings. One must remove dog’s feces in the lawn or in the backyard at least twice a week or every other day using appropriate equipment like gloves, masks and aprons. Have a stool sample for the bi-annual microscopic examination. During a walk with your dog in the park or in your neighborhood, remove the feces your dog left so that your dog doesn’t pass the worms or contaminate other dogs. Do not let your dog take any medication or dewormer unless prescribed by the physician in order not to develop resistance to these drugs.

Nevertheless, it’s always an excellent idea to maintain a worm-free dog so that if any stressful situation occurs, your dog will be spared from having a parasitic infection.

Fleas and other parasites need to be given always a priority by the dog owners. The common incidences of flea bite allergy in case of dogs cause worries among the dog owners.  Flea bite induces allergic reactions in the concerned area bitten by the fleas. Hence, the affected area looks like hairless area and the animal starts scratching.

Fleas cause severe dermatitis in dogs with severe flea infestations. Many times, the flea bite causes allergic reactions in the dogs.  In many occasions, dogs experience severe discomforts due to these allergic reactions. Medicated collars are available to treat and prevent the infestation with external parasites like ticks or fleas.

Other parasites like ticks, lice in addition to the internal parasites like hook worms, round worms, whip worms etc. cause affections in the health status of the animal. For example, if hookworm affects the animal, most of the times, the dog has anemia. The anemic signs become more prominent depending on the degree of affection by the hookworm.

Hookworm larvae can pass directly through the skin and cause problems in the affected ones. Such dogs may reveal lesions pertaining to the dermatitis in the feet region and in the skin areas. Skin rashes may be seen frequently in such cases and the affected animal passes loose stool, which is of red tinged and mixed with blood material.

If the round worms are seen in more numbers, the affected puppies reveal a potbelly condition, which is easily recognized by the dog owners themselves. Piperazine salts are given by oral route for the treatment of this problem. However, broad-spectrum anthelmintics like pyrantel pamoate, fenbendazole etc. are given to treat these conditions.

Many drugs have come in market to treat the fleas and other parasites.  Nowadays, the medical agent called as ivermectin is highly preferred by many dog owners to treat the fleas and other parasites in dogs. This drug is available in injection form and oral form. Even the drug is available for the external application also.

Parasites too cause the scooting. Scooting is a an anal sac disease. First let’s understand what scooting is in detail. This is the dragging of anus with the hind limbs in an extended state. Parasites causing irritation in the anus regions lead to such type of actions in animals like dogs.

However, one should not be under the impression that it is the parasite that alone causes such scooting in case of dogs.  There are many occasions in which the dog may have the scooting without any parasite based etiological agent.  For example, the anal gland infections, tumors at the anus and injuries near the anal regions also may lead to such type of dragging of anus region, frequently by the affected dogs.

Flea bite allergy often causes irritation at the anus region and the animal may try to bite the anus region and the irritations due to these factors lead to the final dragging of anus region on the ground. Cestodiasis in dogs is the condition caused by tapeworms.

In such occasions, if the animal is not treated in time, the animal may be seen exhibiting the scooting activities.  Tapeworm segments passed in the stool create crawling like activities near anus.

Such crawling activities of the tapeworm segments lead to severe itching at these regions. Hence, to make a relief from this type of constant irritation, the animal starts pressing the anus region on the ground first and then tries to drag it on the ground with typical extension of rear limbs.

Usually there is a packet of eggs when the fecal sample is examined by microscope. However, the flotation technique leads to breakage of these packets to burst and hence, diagnosis is difficult in such occasions. Scooting dogs need to be examined to rule out tapeworm segments, which look like rice like pieces.

These segments are white in color and turn yellow when taken from the body.  Tapeworms themselves may be seen in the motion or near anus below the tail regions.  Consult your veterinarian for specific cures for this.