What You Need to Know about Puppy Parasites and Deworming
Your new little puppy will be dependent on you for everything including health care, and one of the biggest health problems that young puppies face are parasites. While we all would rather not think about parasites, most puppies will at some time experience a parasitic infection. Even worse, many puppies are already carrying parasites when they are adopted. To keep your puppy safe from a parasitic infection, here is everything that you need to know about parasites and deworming before you bring your puppy home.
Puppies usually become infected with parasites while they are in the mother's womb or through ingesting the parasites once they have been born. Roundworms and hookworms can migrate through the placenta of an infected mother and these parasites can also migrate to the mammary glands and infect the puppies when they nurse. If the mother was not consistently dewormed before she became pregnant, chances are that the puppies will have worms.
Puppies may accidentally ingest parasites through soil and fecal matter that are carrying parasitic eggs. Roundworm and whipworm eggs are particularly resilient, and these eggs can live in soil for years. Once a puppy eats the soil, or gets contaminated soil or feces on their paws and licks it off, the parasitic infection begins.
Puppies can become infected with hookworms if they accidentally ingest contaminated fecal matter through grooming; hookworms in the environment can also migrate through the skin of the paw pads and then travel to the intestines. Fleas carry tapeworms, and if a puppy eats a flea then a tapeworm infection may occur.
The most common symptoms of parasitic infection in puppies include weight loss and diarrhea. In severe infections, the puppy can become anemic and its gums may become pale. The puppy may also have a poor coat quality, a pot-bellied appearance or become easily tired.
Once a parasite infects a puppy, it can take weeks or months for the parasites to develop into adults. Before that time occurs, the parasites remain in the egg and larval stages. Deworming medications only target the adult worms; they cannot kill the egg and larval stages of the parasites. Since puppies are often exposed to a parasite multiple times, veterinarians recommend using strategic deworming procedures to ensure that the puppy is totally cleared of the infection.
When a puppy is strategically dewormed, the deworming medication is administered at regular intervals to target any new adults that may be developing. Strategic deworming protocol recommends that puppies are dewormed at two, four, six, eight, and 12 weeks of age; puppies that are severely infected by one, or multiple, parasites should then be dewormed once a month until they are six months of age.
If you are bringing a new puppy home, and the puppy has already been dewormed a few times, don't assume that the puppy is now clear of parasites. You should continue the strategic deworming protocol based on your puppy's age. The puppy should also receive a veterinarian examination to check for any internal parasites.
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Comments (27)
elaina May 23, 2009 7:59 PM
you
chrystal May 24, 2009 1:05 AM
you guys are so lame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
gina May 25, 2009 10:34 AM
poop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Q-VO May 27, 2009 1:59 AM
u guys are so helpfull thanks for the info
LaToya May 29, 2009 12:17 PM
my two new dogs are amazin but i needed this information AWESOME!!!!!!!
kiyon June 3, 2009 5:26 PM
cool this is the best dog i ever seen
airicka June 5, 2009 6:45 AM
that was really helpfully. First time with new born puppies
dakota June 6, 2009 10:50 PM
hav you herd a bout apselotle loose it a baut a begel
kourtney June 7, 2009 2:26 PM
thanks for info
ALEX June 10, 2009 3:00 PM
I KNOW MORE ABOUT DOGS NOW THANKS
Kimberly June 19, 2009 3:33 AM
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Anonymous June 19, 2009 1:03 PM
age of pups first bath to deeflea it
stacy June 19, 2009 9:56 PM
hey guys
shelby.n June 20, 2009 7:28 PM
I've been a dog lover all my life.I love dogs so much
Anonymous June 23, 2009 2:37 PM
I need to know what age I can bathe my puppies to deflea them before they get infested, right now they are two weeks old.
ana June 23, 2009 4:05 PM
ur the best
Anonymous June 24, 2009 7:35 AM
Can deworming make a dog vomit and cry like they are in pain?
debbi June 25, 2009 8:06 PM
Can they vomit a piece of the worm?
brigitt graves June 26, 2009 11:39 AM
great info, thanks
Rosie June 28, 2009 2:24 PM
my Dog is grat Bat sametimes he Bors at Dogs
savahanna salsone June 28, 2009 10:08 PM
the puppy is so cute
Liz o5 july 2009 July 5, 2009 9:01 PM
i have 4 pups 4wks old. three are doing ok but the 4th isn't I think after reading the above I am happier that my diagnosis is right.And have began treatment for worms.
pete August 7, 2009 1:05 PM
you can give a puppy a bath at any age, use dawn dishsoap to control any flee problem. it will kill the flee's and not harm the pup
Frank August 16, 2009 9:33 AM
While the information contains the protocol, the 99% secure inftection at some point, and the ways the infection gets n the pet, I feel it lacks info on treatment w/o a visit to the vet.
Eric September 24, 2009 5:20 PM
Our 7 week old pup was dewormed and given a defleaing treatments two weeks ago. There appears to be no worms in his stool. Today he vomited up a live 2 inch white worm. We'll be contacting the vet in the AM. How concerned do we need to be about this? We also have 4 cats in the house. Do we need to worry about them contracting worms from the pup?
raj November 16, 2009 9:57 AM
i am getting a miniature shnauzer puppy about 6 to8 months old now can it be deworm or not pls comment me back thx
Ida Q December 8, 2009 4:04 PM
I have a small dog dont no how old but the other day she started vomiting not eatting didnt want to do anything so we went and get the 7-in-1 for puppys now she eatting a little bit but she still not her self. what can i do? email me idaquesada01@aol.com
deborah January 1, 2010 7:21 PM
FlagAt what age does a female puppy goe into heat?
ReplyMonica February 10, 2010 11:05 AM
ApprovedCan a dog pee worms? I found worms in a puddle of pee last month. I gave the dog some hertz dewormer he vommited an hour later and just yesterday my daughter yelled out mom! the dog went poop and worms are all in it. Gross!
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