When keeping your dog healthy, veterinarians recommend annual wellness checks, which can include updating your pet’s necessary vaccines and dewormings. However, if your dog becomes exposed to worms between your annual visits to the vet, you can visit Vet Products Direct for dog worming tablets.
How did My Dog Become Infected with Intestinal Worms?
The ways in which a dog becomes infected with intestinal worms depends on the type of worm. If a pregnant dog is infected, she can pass those worms to the fetus through the placenta, and the puppies are then born infected with worms. Older puppies can have a tendency to eat feces, their own or from other animals, and this increases the risk of exposure to intestinal parasites. While older dogs are less likely to eat feces, the soil is the perfect environment for intestinal worm eggs. Digging in the dirt or playing in an area with eggs in the soil can lead to an infection.
What Types of Intestinal Worms Can Infect My Dog?
When you visit Vet Products Direct for dog worming tablets, it is important to identify the type of worm your dog may have. The common types of intestinal worms found in dogs are the following:
- Tapeworms
- Roundworms
- Whipworms
- Hookworms
Tapeworms do not pass fully in the stool. Instead, segments of the tail end of the worm break off and are seen in the feces. In the stool, these segments resemble grains of white rice. Dogs are commonly infected with tapeworms by either ingesting feces with worm segments or ingesting fleas. Fleas can carry the worm eggs, and when the flea is ingested during grooming, the eggs hatch inside the dog’s stomach. Roundworms are common in younger puppies, and they can be passed to puppies either while the puppies are developing in the uterus or through the mother’s milk when nursing. While not as common as roundworms and tapeworms, whipworms and hookworms can cause more damage to the dog. Both of these worms irritate the intestines, causing blood loss. Blood can be seen in the stool, and if an infection with either of these worms is bad enough, the dog may form anemia which is a lack of red blood cells circulating through the body.
How Can I Tell My Dog has Intestinal Worms?
Some dogs may not show signs of infection with intestinal worms, but common symptoms include:
- Lack of appetite
- Distended belly
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarhhea
Along with symptoms, a veterinarian can check a fecal sample for eggs to confirm a diagnosis of worms.
Prevention is an important aspect of keeping your dog healthy. When you visit Vet Products Direct for dog worming tablets, you will find a variety of products to prevent and treat common intestinal worms. Deworming new pets that enter the home and pets that are pregnant also decreases the risk of infection with intestinal worms. By combining these deworming options with other preventative measures, annual wellness checks and fecal exams, you can protect yourself and your family, both human and animal, from these parasites.
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