What types of helminths do dogs have? How to find out that your dog has worms and start treatment on time? Main types of helminths

There are a great variety of helminths in nature. They attack any living organism. Owners should remember this and keep this aspect of their pet's health under constant control. The veterinarian can tell you a lot about the disease, symptoms of infection and proper treatment. If suspicious signs indicating helminths are noticeable, you should immediately contact a veterinary hospital.

Worms in a dog

Symptoms of worm infection cannot be ignored. Some of them are observed in all types of helminths, and some are specific.

Typically this is:

Long, up to 15 cm roundworms are whitish in color, pointed at the ends. They tend to come out alive with feces, curling up into springs that look like swallowed thread.

Did you know? Toxocara, getting into the eye, causes blindness.

The female lays 200 thousand eggs per day, which are incredibly adapted to the external environment. They remain in nature for up to a year and are not afraid of heat and cold.

Without knowing it, she swallows the eggs of this type of worm. In the stomach they quickly become larvae and begin their destructive work. Some gnaw on the walls of the intestines, while others enter the liver and lungs through the bloodstream.

If a dog has shortness of breath or coughs, it is not a fact that he has a cold or heart disease. Whenever symptoms appear that at first glance are not associated with helminthic infestation, it is necessary to conduct an analysis specifically for helminths.

Reproduction of this type of worm occurs in the intestines, from where eggs are constantly released. It turns out to be a vicious circle. There is a type of Toxocara that lives only in the stomach and does not migrate throughout the body.
A relatively small, yellowish, round nematode, up to 2 cm long. But this does no less harm. It has several rows of teeth with which it bites into the intestinal walls, eats the mucous membrane and drinks blood. There is no escape from them either, because they are distributed everywhere.

The larvae also have the ability to spread throughout the body. Characteristic symptoms of hookworm infection are coughing and wheezing.

Important! If action is not taken in time for hookworm, the animal will die. Infection is especially dangerous for puppies and young dogs under one year of age.

Uncinarii. Voracious and prolific roundworms 2 cm long. If a dog has constant bloody diarrhea, it makes sense to do an analysis for these helminths. Live individuals do not come out, but there are enough eggs in the feces, so detection is relatively easy. Small worms are very dangerous; they kill an animal in just a month.
. Long 5-15 cm, depending on gender, heartworms, which animals become infected with from mosquito bites. The larvae clog the heart from the inside, causing tachycardia and a hysterical, severe cough. If the helminths are not expelled, the animal will die.
Nature has come up with many ways to become infected with worms. For example, a tapeworm consists of segments, some of which periodically fall out. In nature, they dry out and burst. The flea first swallows the egg, and the dog accidentally swallows the flea.

It would seem that many circumstances should come together to reduce the likelihood of infection. Not at all: they converge, and ingestion of infected people occurs quite often. Symptoms of tapeworm infection are severe. This is, first of all, inflammation of the intestines.

Important! The particular danger of a huge worm, sometimes up to 1.5 m long, is that it often causes intestinal obstruction, clogging it with its segments.

Dogs become infected through raw meat, but for this, echinococcus must first enter the body of a sheep, pig, or cow. And it gets there when livestock eats grass, which in turn is infected by stray animals, foxes, and other wild small animals.

The eggs and larvae of this helminth are visible only under a microscope. Small size does not negate great harm to the dog. A puppy can die in 3-4 weeks, a young dog will last a little longer. Few people survive with severely damaged intestines.
A huge worm up to 10 meters long, consisting of hundreds of segments. The animal becomes infected through raw fish. Conclusion: there is no need to pamper your pet with freshly caught fish. Yes, dogs love it, but it is fraught with huge problems.

Tapeworms damage the intestines and poison the dog’s body with toxins. The pet quickly weakens and eventually dies.

Small worms, less than 1 cm, but with two suckers: peritoneal and oral. Habitat: gall bladder, liver, pancreas, bile ducts. Primary localization is in river mollusks.

The fish eats shellfish, ingesting opisthorchis larvae along the way. The dog eats the contaminated fish, again out of the kindness of its owner. Antihelmintics are not effective; special treatment is long-term. Opisthorchises destroy the liver. The end of the animal, if no action is taken, is predictable.

There are a huge number of helminths in nature. Only some of them, which are more common than others, are named.

How to detect?

Examining dog feces is not the most pleasant activity, but it is necessary. If the feces have an abnormal appearance and some foreign elements are noticeable, then the likelihood of infection is high.

Some types of worms come out alive, and then all doubts disappear. Other species cannot be visually detected. A veterinarian will come to your aid and prescribe the necessary tests.

Some owners think: why bother, tests require time and money. I’ll carry out the sanitation, feed some drug, and everything will be in order. No, it's not okay. As already noted, some helminths require special treatment.

Did you know? Worms produce toxoids, these are strong poisons and allergens.

Therefore, the dog needs to be examined from time to time, and based on the results, the veterinarian will prescribe the best deworming remedy for dogs.

Rules for prevention and treatment

Worming is a necessary procedure. You can’t neglect it if you don’t want to lose your dog.

How often should you worm your dog?

There are well-established, practice-tested recommendations on how often to anthelmintize dogs. Veterinarians recommend doing this once every 3 months. It is often not recommended unless there are special indications.

It is practically impossible to remove all worms at once due to their biological characteristics. You can only maintain their population within the body within “decent” limits. Therefore, any planned deworming is both treatment and prevention of worms in dogs at the same time.

When is the best time?

The anthelmintic should be administered to the animal during the first morning feeding. Then it is easier to track whether the medicine worked. A large number of dead worms may be excreted in the feces.

If this is not observed, this does not mean that the procedure was unsuccessful. Many drugs simply break down the worms, and they are not visible in the feces.

Features of the procedure

As a rule, the latest generation of deworming tablets for dogs on the market do not require a preliminary starvation diet for the animal. There may be another problem. Particularly smart dogs know how to eat food, but neglect the tablet.

Then several techniques are used.

• You can forcefully administer the medicine. The method is simple: put the medicine on the root of the tongue, clamp the jaws and throw back the animal's head.
• Crush the tablet, dilute it with water and use a syringe without a needle to inject it into the animal’s mouth. This technique is often practiced with puppies.
• Crush the tablet, coat a piece of treat with powder and feed it to your pet.

The rest is completed by gastric juice. Whitish mucus in the stool is a sure sign that anthelmintic treatment was successful.

The best drugs and rules of use

As already noted, there are a lot of tablets for deworming in dogs on the market. You should get acquainted with their range in more detail to make the right choice.

Did you know? Worms in the stomach secrete anti-enzymes, this is protection against digestion.

You should know that no matter what the drug is called, no matter who produces it, it is always based on the same active ingredients.

Namely:

• "Abamectin";
• "Albendazole";
• "Pyrantel";
• "Praziquantel";
• "Febantel";
• "Fenbendazole."

The price of the drug depends on some market factors, such as: the promotion of the manufacturer, the markup of the intermediary. You can go online, do a little market research and see for yourself. You can always find an analogue cheaper.
But looking at the price is not the right approach. First you need to determine that the dog has worms, and most importantly, which ones. How - this was reported above. It often happens that an animal is infected with several types of helminths at the same time.

In this case, you should purchase a broad-spectrum anthelmintic. Taking into account all these factors, you should choose a medicine.

For puppies

It should be especially noted that medications for puppies are produced separately, as a version of the drug for adults. They have a gentle formula and contain less active ingredient.

A puppy is considered such for up to two months - from the point of view of anthelmintic treatment, of course. Once they reach this age, they are wormed the same way as adult dogs.

For adult dogs

Complex products with a wide spectrum of action are, for obvious reasons, particularly popular on the market. Let's take a closer look at them.
. A wide range of effects is achieved thanks to the combination of two active components - praziquantel and febantel. These chemicals simply paralyze the worms, leaving them no chance of survival.

Of the above types of worms, it is effective against echinococci. Your veterinarian will provide more detailed advice. The rate of use for rehabilitation is 1 tablet per 10 kg of dog weight. According to reviews from dog breeders and veterinarians, this drug sometimes produces side effects that quickly pass - vomiting and diarrhea.

"Dirofen". The active ingredients are fenbendazole and pyrantel paomat. The effect on helminths is similar to Drontal - paralysis. The dosage rate is 1 pill per 5 kg of animal weight.

. Dose: ½ tablet per 1 kg of weight. For large animals, more than 25 kg, a special release form is provided, for the rest - a standard one. The side effect of this drug is peculiar - loss of coordination of movements and an unhappy appearance of the dog. But everything passes quickly.

"Pratel." This remedy is popular as a preventative. The norm is 1 pill per 10 kg.
"Febtal." The main active ingredient is fenbendazole. Effective against any stages of worm development - larvae and eggs. The inconvenience of this drug is that it must be given to the pet for 3 days in a row, this is how the mechanism of action is organized.

Are there any harm from drugs?

Like any medicine, anthelmintics can in rare cases cause side effects. The characteristic signs of poisoning should cause alarm: diarrhea, vomiting, but only if they appear immediately after administering the drug to the pet.

Actions in case of poisoning are standard: help the animal regurgitate the contents of the stomach and give any adsorbent. In severe cases, the help of a veterinarian is required - a dropper, rarely a blood transfusion. Note that such effects are caused primarily by an overdose of the drug.

Features of use during pregnancy

Pregnant and puppy dogs should be given any anti-worm medications with extreme caution, only when the situation is critical. It's better to wait until the puppies arrive. This is especially important when valuable offspring of purebred dogs are expected.
Be that as it may, it is imperative to sanitize our little brothers from worms. This is the key to the health of the dog and the owner too.

Most pets experience infestation with worms at some point in their lives. In an urban environment, the risk of infection is much higher in dogs, and almost every owner is faced with the need to treat their pet. But in order to carry it out most effectively, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the types of worms in dogs in order to understand what kind of danger threatens your pet.

Main types of helminths

Nematodes, or roundworms

Trematodes, or digenetic flukes

Causes and symptoms

If you have the slightest suspicion of worm infection, you must contact a veterinary clinic as soon as possible to prescribe the correct treatment.

Treatment of helminthic infestation

When the diagnosis is made, the owner faces a serious problem: how to treat his pet? Of course, for an answer, first of all, you need to contact specialists who can determine what kind of worms the dog is infected with and select the optimal treatment regimen.

Treatment of the animal is usually carried out using suspensions or tablets for deworming. There is a huge selection of different medications for dogs - both for adults and for puppies. As a rule, it is not possible to remove helminths in one go, so you should prepare for a long course of treatment.

For adult dogs, the following drugs are usually used: Azinox Plus, Drontal Plus, Vermox, Kanikvantel, Helmintal, etc. These are broad-spectrum drugs that require increased attention to dosage.

To cure puppies, completely different dosages are required, so separate drugs are produced for them: Dirofen, Prasitel, Drontal Junior, Prazicide suspension, etc. They must be used only in accordance with the instructions.

Treatment procedures must be carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian. Self-medication is unacceptable, it can worsen the dog’s condition!

Prevention of helminthiasis in dogs

It is also worth mentioning that good frequent cleaning of the house can be an additional preventive measure. Outdoor shoes must be removed from the dog's access area, and the floor must be thoroughly washed, preferably every day. Disinfectant solutions can be used several times a week.

Attention, TODAY only!

Part 1

Identifying symptoms

Roundworms. Almost all dogs, including puppies, at one time or another in their lives become infected with roundworms, the most common type of worms in dogs. Puppies are especially susceptible to infection with roundworms, which are often passed on to them from their mother in the womb or through milk. Eating small animals, such as mice, also often leads to infection. Often the presence of roundworms is not accompanied by any noticeable signs, although in the case of a serious infection, the puppy may experience the following symptoms:

1. Part 2

   Prevention of worm infection

   Give your puppy preventive medications. When fighting worms, prevention plays an extremely important role. Giving your puppy preventive medications monthly will help prevent heartworm infections and keep your pet healthy and well.

   Maintain your pet's hygiene. Proper hygiene is another key factor in preventing worm infestation. By picking up your puppy's stool and keeping your home and yard clean, you will minimize the risk of heartworm infestation.

   Make sure your pet doesn't have fleas. Worms are often transmitted through fleas. Use flea products to prevent heartworm infestations.

General symptoms of the presence of helminths are quite difficult to determine. Some types provoke gastrointestinal disorders - nausea, poor appetite, rumbling, diarrhea or constipation, vomiting. Other types cause chronic diseases of internal organs, general exhaustion, and allergies. Therefore, owners usually notice something is wrong when worms not only manage to infest the pet’s body, but also migrate into the bodies of people, if the species is common to dogs and humans.

Worms in dogs are transmitted to humans not only through direct contact with feces. The dog washes itself after using the toilet, the eggs fall into the saliva, and from there onto the hands and face of its beloved owner, onto the dog’s fur, onto the furniture (especially if it is a “slobbering” breed).

To notice the symptoms of infestation as early as possible, it is worth studying the unpleasant “neighbor” more closely. Different types have different consequences and manifestations.

1. Tapeworms or cestodes– flat, segmented, often gigantic (several meters in length!). People call these reptiles tapeworms because their body structure appears to be made of separate pieces.

Diphyllobothriasis (raw fish), taeniasis (raw meat) and alveococcosis (raw meat) manifest themselves in a similar way. The helminth Diphyllobothriosis in the intestines of a large dog can grow up to 8 meters, in the human intestines its length reaches more than 15 meters, and the life expectancy of this disgusting creature is up to 30 years! Even in the photo it looks creepy:

2. Roundworms or similar to laces - round in diameter, tapered at the ends. They can be quite large (several tens of cm) or microscopic.

Since these worms appear in dogs that have been infected for a long time, prevention is extremely important! In addition to gastrointestinal disorders (diarrhea and vomiting with clouds of worms, perverted appetite, flatulence), the pet quickly becomes exhausted, the level of red blood cells drops, and serious nervous disorders can develop. Puppies' bellies quickly enlarge, they are delayed in development, sleep poorly, squeak a lot, look weak, the ribs are visible under the stretched skin.

Microfilariae enter the dog's body through a mosquito bite. While traveling, the larvae penetrate the heart and develop into adult individuals - heartworms. Worms literally clog the heart, which leads to poor circulation or other symptoms characteristic of heart disease. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract, dry cough, shortness of breath, swelling, weakness, exhaustion - act harshly, certainly leading to the death of the “owner” if the worms are not destroyed in time. The disease is difficult to treat; therapy lasts for years.

Paragonimiasis or lungworms cause a dry cough, and over time - a gurgling cough with mucus. You can hear wheezing in the chest, increasing shortness of breath and general weakness, characteristic problems with the gastrointestinal tract (foam and/or mucus in vomiting and diarrhea). With severe infection, the temperature rises and the heart rhythm is disturbed, fever, nervous disorders, and convulsions.

Alaria provoke similar symptoms, although only larvae live in the lungs. When a dog coughs, the larvae are coughed up into the mouth, swallowed, enter the intestines and develop into adult worms.

Flukes occupy the liver, less often the gallbladder or pancreas. Symptoms include frequent debilitating vomiting, painful abdomen, exhaustion with normal appetite; over time, loss of appetite, intoxication, and rising temperature are possible.

Since worms in a dog can be determined by the presence of eggs or worms in vomit and feces, every owner should have the habit of inspecting these secretions. However, many types of worms are very small, and the eggs of others are colored in the color of feces - they cannot be noticed at a quick glance. Therefore, if you have any suspicions, immediately contact your veterinarian - the enemy will be detected through simple tests. Read about the prevention and treatment of helminths in a separate article.

Types of worms

• increased body temperature;
• exhaustion up to cachexia, weakness, apathy, decreased activity;
• loss of appetite to the point of refusing food;
• nausea, vomiting, diarrhea followed by constipation, increased gas formation in the intestines;
• intestinal obstruction;
• dull coat, the appearance of dermatitis accompanied by itching;
• pale gray or bluish color of mucous membranes.

This is an incomplete list of signs that a dog has worms; there are also specific manifestations that will be discussed below. Whether a dog has worms can be determined within a few days after infection. The most pronounced signs of worms in a dog become after 2 weeks; before that, the disease can occur hidden. If left untreated, after a few weeks the disease enters the chronic stage.

Almost all existing types of worms in dogs can be removed from the body if treatment is started in time.

Intestinal helminthiases

An animal can become infected with Toxocara anywhere, usually on the street, where helminth eggs can be found in huge quantities in the soil and water bodies. Swallowed by a dog, they enter the gastrointestinal tract and there turn into larvae. Through the intestinal mucosa, the larvae enter the bloodstream and move throughout the body. With the bloodstream they enter the lungs, and from there, with a cough, they end up in the oral cavity. Re-ingested larvae develop in the animal's gastrointestinal tract and develop into adults.

For a long time, toxocariasis was considered harmless to people, but recently scientists have discovered that these worms can be transmitted to humans.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms in dogs have a long, ribbon-like body consisting of many links.

The most common representatives are bovine and pork tapeworms, but there are also other types of tapeworms.

Heartworms

A dangerous invasion that should not be ignored is dirofilariasis. Dirofilaria worms living in the heart pose a threat to both animals and humans. And although heartworms do not reach the mature stage in the human body, their larvae still cause various diseases. In humans, heartworms mainly affect the skin and eyes; cases of larvae being found in the heart are extremely rare.

Dirofilariasis is a vector-borne disease, i.e. its pathogens are transmitted through the blood by blood-sucking insects, in particular mosquitoes. In dogs, the dirofilaria larva, having entered the blood after a mosquito bite, migrates to the heart and nearby blood vessels and there turns into a sexually mature individual. A large accumulation of worms in the heart and nearby blood vessels can create a blockage, which will inevitably lead to the death of the animal.

You can determine whether a dog of this species has worms based on certain signs.

This is a disturbance in the functioning of the heart; severe weakness, tachycardia, shortness of breath with a debilitating cough, edema, etc. appear. Nonspecific symptoms include increased thinness, convulsions, and a pathological desire to gnaw on inedible objects.

Liver helminths

Liver worms provoke symptoms of liver and pancreas disease: yellowness of the mucous membranes, sclera and skin, lethargy, and in especially advanced cases - ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity). Appetite may decrease, general exhaustion is noted, gastrointestinal activity is disrupted (diarrhea with constipation is common), the coat becomes dull and disheveled.

Opisthorchiasis is a disease that also occurs in humans.

Lungworms

How can you tell if a lungworm infection has occurred? There are a number of symptoms that indicate infection: frequent, continuous cough that does not respond to antibiotics and antitussives, sneezing and rhinitis. Animals quickly lose weight, anemia develops, their fur loses its shine and becomes disheveled. In severe cases, hemoptysis occurs, and the disease progresses to pulmonary hemorrhage.

Treatment of helminthiasis

How to remove worms from a dog? In order to cure helminthiasis, anthelmintic drugs are used, which are prescribed by a veterinarian after analyzing the data obtained.

There are no universal drugs for worms, so it is important to identify what type of worm infestation your pet is affected with.

When choosing an anthelmintic agent, it is taken into account what worms are found in the dog’s body, age (puppy or adult), the general condition of the dog, and the site of infection.

Removing worms from dogs and treating the consequences of infection should be carried out under the supervision of a veterinarian.

For the doctor to determine what treatment is required, he must examine the dog and order the necessary tests. Based on the examination results, the specialist will select a drug, prescribe treatment and determine a regimen for its administration.

How do you know if the medicine has worked? Usually the worms are passed out in the feces, and this can be observed visually. Improvement can also be determined by the general condition of the dog: appetite, energy will appear, and the animal will gradually recover.

You can remove worms from your dog using folk remedies.

Prevention of helminthic infestations

Since the likelihood of helminth infection in four-legged pets is very high, it is necessary to periodically prevent helminth infestations.

But it cannot be guaranteed that if these drugs are given, the dog will not get worms. It is necessary to periodically conduct a preventive examination with a veterinarian.

How to give your dog medicine correctly? The tablets are given in the morning on an empty stomach, 30–40 minutes before meals. Adult dogs can be given the drug by hiding it in their favorite treat. What to do if your pet spits out medicine? You need to sit the dog down, stand behind it and, opening the animal’s mouth, put the tablet on the root of the tongue. Close your jaws and stroke the dog's throat with your hand. A tablet given in this way will cause the pet to swallow as a reflex.

How to give anthelmintic to a puppy? This is not difficult - sweet suspensions have been developed for them. In addition, you can give your puppy a tablet after crushing it and mixing it with a small amount of water. This mixture must be poured into the puppy’s mouth through a syringe.

How often should dogs be treated for worms? You need to do this periodically.

The first time the anthelmintic drug should be given to puppies at 3 months, 2 weeks before vaccination.

Along with deworming, the owner must provide proper care for the dog. It is necessary to ensure that the dog does not pick up anything from the ground or drink water on the street. It is necessary to provide the pet with adequate nutrition, since the good general condition of the animal increases the level of resistance to infection. Weak animals are more likely to become infected.

In addition, it is necessary to promptly treat your pet against fleas and ticks, since they are carriers of certain types of worms in dogs.

A properly formulated diet, dog hygiene, and proper living conditions will be the best guarantee against infection of the animal with helminths.