Dog health problem: Worm control

All dogs are susceptible to both internal and external parasitic
infestations. One common dog health problem is worm infestation. The two
common worms that cause dog health problems are the tapeworm and the
roundworm.

The tapeworm is a dog health problem that affects dogs at any age, but they
are less common in young puppies than in older dogs. Tapeworms have a life
cycle that depends on two different types of host species, in the case of
the most often seen worm, the dog and the dog’s fleas. But in another
species, they are transmitted through sheep.

Tapeworms are usually recognized as very similar to rice grains in the
feces. Your dog may show a symptom of this common dog health problem by
frequently licking and cleaning his anal region.

Controlling this dog health problem of tapeworm is simple. Modern
veterinarian treatments are trouble free and do not require fasting before
the treatment. They are very effective in curing this dog health problem
with very little side effects, of occasional vomiting.

Roundworm is another dog health problem that occurs mostly in puppies.
They are usually transmitted directly form dog to dog by fecal
contamination which is very difficult to avoid. Many puppies are actually
born infected with this type of dog health problem which is transmitted
through the uterus of the mother. Worms that are inactive in the mother’s
tissues are activated by the pregnancy hormones and then circulate in the
mother’s bloodstreams, passing into the unborn puppies.

There are ways to control this dog health problem using a safe anthelmintic
early on pregnancy to destroy the mother’s worm load. Another way of
treating this dog health problem is treating the litter at three or four
weeks of age, and then repeating the treatment before leaving the kennels.
Once your puppy arrives home, he should be treated on a regular basis.
Treatment of this dog health problem should be done every three to four
weeks until your puppy is six months old.

Adult dogs usually build up immunity to the effects of the dog health
problem of roundworm infestations and do not require regular treatment
after six months of age. However, you need to keep an eye of this dog
health problem, because roundworms are not always easy to detect in your
dog’s feces.

There are effective drug treatments against these dog health
problems that are
applied in one dose. You may also give your older dog this type
of treatment
once every six months.