Dog owners should be familiar with the risks of worms in dogs; not only to themselves but to other people too. Worms in dogs can cause ill health in both canines and humans: they are internal parasites.
Often, there are no outward signs of ill health until the worms in dogs have already caused damage. Worms in dogs are difficult to spot, but be alert for general loss of condition, sickness and diarrhoea.There are two types of worms in dogs: roundworms and tapeworms.
Roundworms
Roundworms, which are very pale white or beige coloured, look as though they are coiled in the shape of a spring and can grow as long as 100mm. You might be able to see them in your dog’s faeces or sick. The way in which dogs become infected with roundworms is by eating their larvae, allowing adult worms to develop inside the body. When further eggs are later passed out of the dogs in faeces, the life cycle is completed. Unfortunately, the most common type of roundworm is dogs is Toxocare Canis and it can have devastating effects on human children. When children ingest eggs as a result of contact with contaminated soil, larvae can grow in their bodies and migrate around the body. If they reach the eyes, the larvae can potentially damage the eyesight. For this reason, dog owners must always pick up after their dog.
Tapeworms
Tapeworms look like flat segments filled with moving eggs which look a lot like grains of rice and you might be able to see them in the dog’s faeces or around his anus. Dogs become infected with tapeworms when they swallow fleas whilst grooming because fleas carry tapeworm larvae. An adult worm inside the dog can be as long as 5 metres.
As with most conditions the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’ is true of worms in dogs. Therefore worming your dog every three months is important. Young puppies require worming even more regularly than that. Effective worming medication can be bought at either a pet shop or a veterinary surgery, but you should ask your vet to suggest the most appropriate one.
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