Ensuring Health - Internal parasites

There are several kinds of worms which can infect a dog; roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, lapeworms, and heartworms, as well as the protozoan parasites Coccidia and Giardia. It is wise to know something about the different types of internal parasites and how they affect a dog’s general health.

Hookworms - these parasites are also common. They live in a dog’s intestines, where they “ hook” into the intestinal wall and suck the blood. They can be present in newborn puppies that have been infected in the womb from their mother. Most dogs become infected by hookworms, however, when they eat soil or fecas contaminated with larvae from other dogs. Symptoms of infection include pale gums (due to anaemia), vomiting, and intermittent bloody diarrhea.

Whipworms - these parasites live in a dog’s colon and ececum ( the junction of the large and small intestines). Dogs between six months and two years old are most susceptible to infection. They get whipworms by eating the egg-infested faeces of an infected dog. Symptoms include loss of weight and anaemia. As infection increases, the dog becomes emaciated and suffers from foul-smelling diarrhea. Whipworms are not easy to diagnose because their eggs don’t often show up in stool samples.

Tapeworms – these live in a dog’s intestines, where they attach their heads to the intestinal wall. Unlike the three previously mentioned parasites, tapeworms require an intermediate host to develop their growth and larval stages. For dogs, the most common host is the flea. Tapeworm larvae are often ingested when a dog, biting himself for relief, swallows a flea.
Although tapeworms are virtually impossible to detect by microscopic examination, they can often be determined with the naked eye as flat cream-coloured segments when they leave the rectum. Then they become dry and brownish and look like grains of rice in the hair. You might find a few sticking around the dog’s rectum or to his bed.

This parasite may become several feet long and continue to grow unless the head part is eliminated. Symptoms vary with severity of infection, age and physical condition of the dog, but include a dull and brittle coat, listlessness, thinness, and diarrhea , infection also causes irritation at the rectum, and the dog will often drag its rear along with floor.

Protozoan Diseases – Coccidia and Giardia are both protozoan parasites ( small one-called animals) that live in the intestinal tract. Coccidian most often infest puppies, while Giardia can also infest adult dogs. Transmission occurs when an infected dog. Infestation causes the same symptoms as worms, especially loose and bloody stools. Giardia can be transferred to and from humans.

Treatment for intestinal worms of protozoan parasites. A veterinarian can determine if your dog has roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, or protozoan parasites by microscopic examination of a fresh stool sample. Tapeworms, as previously mentioned, are tough to detect in this manner. You can often tell when your dog has tapeworms because segments break off and pass out in the bowel-movements.

Once the kind of parasite is identified, your veterinarian will dispense the correct anthelmintic. There are special medicines for each kind of intestinal parasite but the specific type must be identified before the right drug can be given. Worm medicine is powerful stuff, irritating to the stomach and intestines, weakening to the patient, and often dangerous unless given in the proper amount, carefully measured by the age, size, strength, and condition of the individual dog.

It is safer to let your veterinarian worm your dog for you, and not advisable to try over-the-counter remedies. And be sure to follow your veterinarian’s instructions to the letter. If he states that the dog should not eat for a certain number of hours before giving the medicine, make sure the dog fasts, with not tidbits or even milk to “ tide him over”