Treating dog against roundworms: Here's how to do it!

Dog with Roundworms rather not!

Dogs can infect themselves with worms and this is detrimental to their health, but can also have consequences for humans. The most common worms in dogs are Roundworms, Hookworms, Whipworms, Tapeworms, Fox tapeworm, Heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) and the French heartworm (Angiostrongylus Vasorum). Whether a dog infects itself with a worm depends on the area it lives in, the protection the owner puts on the dog but also the diet and everything it eats counts.

Rubworms (Toxocara) in puppies and adult dogs

The roundworm is a very common worm across Europe. Almost no puppies are born without being or becoming infected with roundworm. What you notice in puppies infected with roundworms is that growth often lags a little. In addition, they are often a bit skinny, but the belly actually appears thicker. This may make it less noticeable that the pup is getting skinnier rather than fatter. If very many worms are present, they may also suffer from diarrhoea, for instance. In adult dogs, we often don't see anything at all on the dog, even though worms are present. This makes it impossible to see then that the dog is infected until you deworm. The moment you then deworm the dog, you can be able to detect the roundworms within 48 hours.

How does a dog infect itself with roundworms?

Dogs infect themselves by ingesting the eggs from the environment by eating faeces or an infected prey animal. Pups can become infected already in the bitch or when they drink milk from the mother dog. Roundworm larvae always make a migration through the body first. These young worms may deactivate somewhere in the body until they become active or crawl directly through the lungs to the trachea. Here they cause a coughing stimulus in the dog, which will then cough them up. Usually the larvae are then swallowed, rarely do we see them outside the dog. After swallowing, they end up in the intestines where they become adult worms and can start laying eggs. These eggs are excreted and then the cycle begins again. There is about a month between an infection with roundworm larvae and the time when the worms mature and lay eggs.

Rubworms also in humans

Recorded roundworm larvae from dogs can also make a trek through the body in adults. These roundworm larvae will not develop into adult roundworms in adult humans because they do not arrive in the intestines. In children, however, this is different. In this group of people, the larvae may get stuck in the brain or eyes. Recent research has also shown that allergic reactions in children with a predisposition to asthma can be amplified by roundworm infection. The chance of this happening is obviously not very high, but it is a reason to worm dogs regularly.

Deworming against roundworms, how often do you do it?

Deworming against roundworms happens more often in puppies than in adult dogs. The first time at 2 weeks of age, then which 2 weeks until the puppy is 12 weeks old. After that, worming every month until 6 months of age. And then on the same schedule as all adult dogs: deworming every 3 months. Deworming is always retrospective and does not act as a repellent like flea medication. Deworming against roundworms can be done with many different remedies. You can use a paste or a tablet and here you can find all deworming remedies.

-This is an automated translation-