How to Tell If Your DOG Has Worms..
One of the most common concerns that you may face as a dog owner is whether or not your dog has worms. As gross as that thought may be, intestinal worms are pretty common.
Here’s what you need to know about worms in dogs: how to tell if your dog has worms, how dogs get worms, and how to get rid of worms in dogs.
How Do Dogs Get Worms?
Here are some of the most common ways that dogs get worms:
Eating Feces
Transmission of intestinal worms (hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms) commonly occurs when your dog ingests contaminated soil or feces containing eggs or immature worms (larvae) that have been passed from other infected animals in the environment.
Roundworm infections can develop when the ingested eggs hatch and the larvae migrate through the tissues of other organs, often a dog’s lungs and liver, before returning to the small intestine to grow to maturity. Whipworms typically grow to maturity in the upper part of the large intestine.
Getting Them From Their Mother
Pregnant and nursing dogs can transmit hookworm and roundworm larvae to their puppies during pregnancy if the larvae migrate across the placenta. These larvae can also migrate into the mammary glands and be passed to puppies during lactation. Hookworms, like roundworms, will eventually grow to maturity in your dog’s small intestine.
Ingesting Fleas While Grooming
Your dog could be infected with tapeworms while licking herself during grooming, or by chewing at her fur. Fleas transmit tapeworms by ingesting the tapeworm egg packets in the environment before jumping on your dog for a blood meal. Once the flea host has been swallowed and digested, the tapeworm larva is able to attach to the wall of your dog’s intestine and grow to adulthood.
How to Tell If Your Dog Has Worms
Since worm infestations can sometimes show few to no symptoms, keep an eye out for any or all of these changes in your dog’s daily health and appearance:
Diarrhea, sometimes containing blood or mucus
Vomiting, which can sometimes contain adult worms
Weight loss, particularly if your dog has a good appetite
A bloated belly or generally “unhealthy” appearance
A dull, dry coat
Excessive scooting and chewing at their bottom
Visible segments that look like grains of rice attached to the fur around their bottom or on their tail (or in their feces)
Common Types of Worms and Their Symptoms
Here’s a list of common types of worms in dogs and the specific symptoms you might see for each.
Whipworms
Adult whipworms are smaller than roundworms and may be visible to the naked eye, but they are uncommonly seen as adults in the feces. These worms can cause:
Chronic weight loss
Bloody diarrhea and/or a visible mucus coating on the feces when passed
Hookworms
Adult hookworms are usually not visible to the naked eye. Hookworms could cause:
Bloody diarrhea
Anemia
Weakness
Lethargy
Roundworms
Roundworms are visible to the naked eye (they look like spaghetti) and can be seen in feces or sometimes vomited or coughed up as single worms or in clusters. They can cause:
Diarrhea
Weight loss
Lethargy
A ”potbellied” appearance
A dull coat
Tapeworms
Tapeworms can look like grains of rice on your dog’s fur (individual egg packets) or may be visible to the naked eye in longer segments. They can cause:
Excessive scooting
Itching
Chewing at the rear end
Can Humans Get Worms From Dogs?
Humans can also contract hookworm and roundworm infections if they accidentally ingest contaminated soil or feces. Frequent hand washing and wearing shoes and appropriate clothing outdoors can decrease the chance of exposure.
Roundworms
Humans can be exposed through dogs, usually by coming into contact with their contaminated waste. Theoretically, it may be possible to contract roundworms by petting a dog, if the dog had recently rolled outside in the dirt and picked up either contaminated soil or fecal material on their fur.
Roundworm ingestion can sometimes lead to a condition called “visceral larval migrans,” which occurs when the roundworm larvae migrate through the intestinal wall into other internal organs, including the lungs, heart, nervous system and eyes. Roundworm larvae have been identified in several cases of acute blindness and retinal detachment in humans.
Hookworms
People can get hookworms by walking barefoot, although there have been cases of people developing lesions on their back or shoulders after lying on the ground with no shirt on. Any exposure of bare skin to contaminated soil/feces could pose a risk for transmission.
Exposure to soil that is contaminated with hookworm larvae can lead to a skin condition known as “cutaneous larval migrans.” These infections look like red tracks or coiled lesions just below the surface of the skin and can cause a great deal of itchiness as the live larvae migrate through the tissue.
It is rare, but hookworm larvae can also survive in the intestine and grow to adulthood in a human host, which can cause intermittent and recurrent episodes of abdominal pain and cramping.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms can be passed to humans much like they are transmitted in dogs—by ingesting an infected flea. Once the flea is swallowed and absorbed in the digestive tract, the tapeworm larva can attach to the wall of the intestine.
Whipworms
Canine whipworm infections are species-specific and not typically considered a zoonotic threat to humans.
How to Get Rid of Worms in Dogs
Here’s what to do if you suspect that your dog has any type of intestinal parasites.
Call your vet for a Appointment !
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