Puppies and Deworming

 Puppies and worms are a thing that happens. It's gross, we know. And the thing is, they don't just happen once but they will happen again if they aren't prevented, so please continue to address it after your puppy leaves our care. Often people don't understand how it works and think that the puppy came home with worms when they return weeks later. Not so. Our promise is that your baby was taken care of while here with us and we want to make sure you have the proper education to continue that care once they move on with their life adventure AZ (after Zerenity). Worms can be serious but they certainly don't have to be! 

The main parasites found in puppies are roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms. Of these, roundworms are the most common. It is safe to assume all puppies have roundworms as little guys. If the mother has been exposed to roundworms at any point in her life, larvae from those worms will travel to the mammary tissue and go dormant. These are called "encysted larvae". When the mother becomes pregnant and begins to lactate, the larvae emerge from dormancy and travel to the milk ducts. When the puppies start to nurse, they get a dose of roundworm larvae along with the milk. Not very palatable, but an excellent survival adaptation on the part of the worms.

 Accepted guidelines for the treatment of parasites recommend deworming puppies at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. Here at Zerenity we continue deworming once a month after that. While we are talking about roundworms, the dewormers that kill roundworms are generally effective on the other worm types as well. Roundworms are the ones that look like (trigger warning!) spaghetti when they poop them out after the meds. 

Once the initial 4-treatment regimen is complete, we recommend deworming puppies monthly until 6 to 8 months of age. It is impossible to prevent puppies from picking up and eating things that we do not typically think of as food. Some of these things, like feces from other dogs or carcasses of small animals, may contain infectious parasites. Generally puppies are over this stage by 6-8 months of age and you can stop the monthly deworming. However, there are important exceptions to the "stop at 8 months" recommendation. Canine roundworms are infectious to humans, especially to children (it is a hygiene thing). When dog roundworms infect children, they don't just stay in the intestine. The larvae travel through the tissues, including through abdominal organs like the liver, causing damage. They can even end up traveling into the eye and causing blindness. For this reason if the dog is in a home with small children we recommend monthly deworming as an adult as well just to be safe. Likewise, dogs that live in a home with an immunocompromised person should be dewormed on a monthly basis. Better safe than sorry! 

You may also choose to put your pup on a tick and flea prevention. Many of these preventives are available in a form that combines a dewormer with them, making monthly control of fleas, ticks, and internal parasites simpler.

 Examples of dewormers: Pyrantel pamoate, Milbemycin (Interceptor, NexGard Spectra, others) Fenbendazole (Panacur), Praziquantel (Drontal Plus)