Worms in dogs seem to be one of those dog health care problems that return. This is because of the way their lifecycle works. Because worms in dogs can cause health problems, to humans as well as dogs in some cases, it is important that as dog owners we intervene and try to break the worms in dogs cycle and keep it broken.

Because most puppies are born with an infestation of roundworm, this is the most common type of dog worm in the UK. In puppies this infestation causes swollen bellies and may delay growth whilst in humans it may rarely cause blindness.

Like all types of worms in dogs, the life cycle of the dog roundworm (the Toxocara Canis) is not complex and can be controlled with care and patience. At first, a female puppy is infected in the womb or through her mother’s milk. In the infected puppy, some of the worm larvae will move out of the intestine and into the blood before forming indestructible cysts in the muscles. In the event of pregnancy in later life, the larvae will be reactivated and will move through the blood to infect the puppies.

Not all the larvae in the young puppy will form the cysts previously mentioned. Rather, some will stay in the intestine and become adults. Having reached maturity by feeding of the partially digested contents of the intestine, the worm will release eggs which will be passed with the dog’s faeces. In the open air, the eggs are infectious to other dogs and even people. The risk of infection for people does not arise from handling puppies, but from touching soil which has been contaminated by puppies’ faeces.

That is how the cycle works and to break it, owners must treat adult dogs for worms every three months. Puppies, being much more likely to be infested should be wormed every fortnight from the age of two weeks to twelve months, then monthly until the age of six months. However small and rare, worms in dogs can cause problems for human health, so dog owners must take responsibility for picking up after their dogs and encouraging good hand hygiene in the family, in order to break the cycle and reduce the risk.

Filed under: Dog Bed

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