Dealing With Hookworms in Dogs

Many pet owners fear the word worms when they take their dog to the vet or their dog appears to be sick. Many different types of worms exist in the world of canines. Some of them are potentially deadly and even possibly spread to humans. While worms are definitely something to try to prevent in your dog, most types of worms are successfully treated. While ridding your dog of hookworms is not as easy as treating tapeworms, hookworms can usually be dealt with safely in a series of treatments if action is taken quick enough to the infestation time.

Hookworms enter a dog's system through its skin. Therefore, a dog can get hookworms from simply stepping in areas where infested dogs have infected an area through droppings. Mother dogs can also pass the worm on to their pups. And of course, dogs can contract hookworms from eating or even smelling, the feces of other dogs.

Once infected with hookworms, dogs typically appear to be tired and begin to lose weight. Their gums may not be a healthy shade of pink as normal and they may have diarrhea with blood in it. You may see the dog scratching more than usual from the worms entering the skin. Overall, the dog will not grow as it is expected.

If you feel that your dog may have hookworms, it should visit a vet as soon as possible. To diagnosis the worms, the vet will examine the dog's stool under a microscope. If the vet concludes that in fact your dog does have hookworms, treatment will begin.

Most hookworm treatments only kill the adult hookworms. One worm can have 20,000 eggs per day; therefore several treatments are usually needed. Depending on the severity of the case, the dog may be treated with injections or oral medications. Some dogs may even need a blood transfusion due to anemia caused from the hookworms.

The best way to treat a dog for hookworms is to prevent them. Heartgard is a common type of medication used for prevention and treatment of worms in dogs. There are several other oral medications that are designed to prevent dogs from getting the worms. Some lawn treatments are even available to rid a yard or kennel or hookworms.

Pregnant or nursing female dogs can be treated with fenbenddazole from day 40 of pregnancy to the 14th day of nursing. This will help prevent the pups from getting worms also. If it is known that the mother has hookworms, pups may be treated every couple of weeks for the first eight weeks of life.

In addition to treating the dog with medications, the area in which the dog resides must be treated also. Be certain to remove the feces from the area daily. Use bleach to clean any metal or concrete areas of a kennel or pen. The soil or gravel in the area can be treated with sodium borate or heat.

Once the dog and areas that surround it have been successfully treated and you begin a prevention program, the risk of a re-infestation is very minimal.