Dog Training Advice

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WORMS
Worms can present a serious health problem to puppies; adult dogs, aged or convalescing dogs.

SIGNS OF WORMS:

If you regularly check your dog then you will notice the changes.
Obvious weight loss, a potbelly, dull dry coat, scooting, lethargy, diarrhoea, coughing, vomiting and anemia.
It is very difficult to prevent puppies from having worms.

You should take your puppy in regularly for worm testing or de-worming.
There are palatable worm syrups for puppies and also chewable tablets available to make worming easier.
Make sure when you administer the tablets that all is swallowed otherwise worming will not be complete.
If you are unsure about how to give a tablet to your dog, ask your Vet or Vet nurse to show you how.
They may have the time to administer the worm medication when you buy the tablets if you bring your dog with you.
Collect a faecal sample and take it to your vet for microscopic examination.
Worms can interfere with the puppy’s growth if left unchecked. Since it is very common for puppies (even from the best breeder) to have worms from the dam’s dormant worms, you must take care to have your puppy checked regularly when young.

The most common intestinal worms are HOOKWORM, ROUNDWORM, TAPEWORM and WHIPWORM.

HEARTWORM is a worm, but not an intestinal worm. It lives in the muscle tissues and finally in the bloodstream.
Heartworm is covered separately for this reason.

WORM TREATMENT:

Only feed raw offal if it has been inspected e.g. from butcher shops.
Otherwise cook it well.
Do not let your dog wander. Scavenging for carcasses can give your dog Hydatid tape worms.

De-worm dogs as follows:

If worms are seen in the faeces or the vomit, repeat worming in two weeks.
Worm puppies at 2,4,6,8,10,12 weeks of age then at 16wks, 20wks and 24wks.
Then worm as an adult dog every 3-4 months or more often if required.
Make sure that the worming medication is designed to kill all of the worms, including the Hydatid Tapeworm and the Flea Tapeworm as well as the normal Round, Hook and Whipworms.
Dogs should be wormed at least every 3-4 months or more if the dog is in constant contact with other dogs and young pups.
E.g. dog clubs, training groups, breeders and parks that are visited by a lot of other dogs. 
Grooming, washing your dog, washing food bowls / utensils, washing bedding, collecting faeces and keeping a clean tidy yard are all essential to GOOD HYGIENE.
Because this worm can penetrate skin it poses a threat to humans especially CHILDREN.
An infected environment (backyard, pavement and lawn) can easily infect barefooted people. Good hygiene before eating especially after playing with the dog is essential for all pet owners.

WORM LIFECYCLES

HOOKWORM:

The larvae of the Hookworm enters the animal through the skin, (usually the feet or belly) or by cleaning/licking their feet.  Vermin containing the larvae can also transmit hookworm. If a dog eats a mouse or rat then it can get infected.
The puppies can get Hookworm from their mother. The mother can have adult worms in her intestines or dormant larvae in her muscle tissue or mammary glands.
The pups are infected while still in the mothers’ womb, by 3wks of age they can have adult worms, (2wks before whelping, worm larvae in the mother migrate through the uterus and infect the unborn pups).
The larvae in the bitch remain dormant in the mammary glands and become active when suckling commences.
During suckling the pups can swallow the dormant worm larvae in the milk, then directly to the intestines to mature.
Worm larvae that enter through the skin, enter a blood vessel and are carried to the lungs.
The larvae then migrate up out of the lungs and into the windpipe and Trachea. They are then swallowed and mature in the intestines.
Once here they attach to the lining and begin sucking blood and laying eggs.
It is here that treatment and GOOD HYGIENE is effective for the next 10-17 days. The eggs that pass out in the faeces then hatch into larvae in 5-7 days.
The larvae can live for many months before infecting the dog.
The whole cycle takes 3 weeks.
Hookworm can be up to 10-20 cm long, they are white and very slender compared to the roundworm (The ends are tapered).

ROUNDWORM:

This worm is the most commonly found worm in puppies. The puppies can get the worms from their mother. The mother can have adult worms in her intestines or dormant larvae in her muscle tissue or mammary glands.
Firstly, the pups pick up the worms by being infected while still in the mother’s womb, by 3wks of age they can have adult roundworms.
Secondly, when suckling the pups can swallow the dormant worm larvae in the milk.

Finally, the environment.

The mother can be re-infected when cleaning the pups.
The pups can get infected from the eggs in the yard and from the eggs on each other (fur) and on bedding and grounds.
When Roundworm larvae are first swallowed they hatch in the stomach then migrate out of the stomach to the liver and lungs. This causes considerable damage.
Once in the lungs they move up the windpipe to the trachea to be re-swallowed.
They then mature and lay eggs (up to 200,000 per day). The eggs pass out in the faeces where the larvae develop in 2wks. Millions of eggs can lay dormant for months until eaten by the dog.
ROUNDWORMS are as their name implies round, slender with tapered ends.
They look rubbery, white and shiny and can be as broad as a match.
They can grow as big as 10-28CM.

TAPEWORM

There are several types of Tapeworm, but the two main ones, which concern HUMANS and the DOG, are the FLEA Tapeworm and the HYDATID Tapeworm.

Hydatid: (Echinococous Granulosus)

This worm requires the sheep as an intermediate host to complete its life cycle. Other grazing animals can also be the host.  E.g. kangaroo, goat, pig and cattle.
These grazing animals ingest the egg of the tapeworm, which develops into small cysts.
These cysts then enter the bloodstream and are carried to the liver, lungs and brain.
Once in an organ, the cyst develops into a Hydatid cyst, which produces adult tapeworms.
If these organs are eaten uncooked by a dog, the cycle is complete.  The eggs are passed out in the faeces onto the grass where the grazing animals are.
The Hydatid Tapeworm becomes a problem to humans if an egg is ingested and a cyst develops. This can be life threatening.  The cysts develop in the brain, lungs and liver.
The Hydatid Tapeworm grows only to 5mm in size and is white, flat and has a broad tail segment.

Only feed raw offal if it has been inspected e.g. from butcher shops.
Otherwise cook it well or freeze for more than two weeks at minus 30 degrees.
Do not let your dog wander as scavenging for carcasses can contain hydatids.

Flea Tapeworm:

Flea larvae ingest the tapeworm eggs around the anus of the dog.  The flea then matures into an adult flea on the dog while carrying tapeworm eggs.
When the dog bites a flea, which is annoying it, the flea is often swallowed. The tapeworm then grows into an adult thus completing the cycle.
The flea Tapeworm can be up to 50cm long and the segments being 5mm long. They are white, flat and made up of segments that look like grains of rice.
Pups of only four weeks of age can have adult tapeworms.

WHIPWORM:

The eggs of the Whipworms are picked up from the dog’s environment and swallowed. The eggs could be stuck to the dog’s fur while it grooms itself and then they are ingested.
Once the eggs are in the dog, they develop into larvae and travel down the intestines until they reach the large intestines.
Here they mature into adult worms and begin laying eggs, which pass out on the faeces.
The whole process takes 3-4 months. The eggs in the environment can survive for years.
The whipworm grows up to 7cm long and is white with a whip-like shape, being broader at one end (whip) with a thin, long body.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 6:37 am and is filed under Dog Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.