Understanding Dog Worm Medicine

If you think your dog may have some form of worms or perhaps you've just come back from the vet confirming this suspicion, you might be feeling a bit worried. It's normal to feel a little anxiety after discovering your dog is sick. After all, worms are a parasite and are capable of killing their host. Dog worms are not a threat to be taken lightly.

Let me just say, it's very commendable that you've taken the time to investigate the subject. A dog owner who takes the time to investigate their dog's health has a lucky dog for a pet.

Now...about those worms...

I'm happy to say that your fears are about to be lifted. This article will give you plenty of relief from your worry over your dog's worms by explaining their symptoms, effects and how dog worm medicine will flush out the problem and get your best friend happy and healthy in no time flat.

Below I'll be explaining the three most common worm infestations.

When you understand how this parasite works, it makes fighting them more effective and increases the chances of a positive outcome. Additionally, by learning about dog worms here, you'll have some knowledge as to how to prevent them the next time around.

There are 5 different types of worms that can threaten your dog. They are heartworms, hookworms, roundworms, tapeworms and whipworms. They're all parasites, feeding off the nutrients and blood of your dog, multiplying within his body.

Additionally, these worms can be contracted to humans. If you have a dog with worms, make sure you wash your hands VERY frequently to avoid infection.

The symptoms of dog worms are relatively similar in each of the 5 different types of infestations.

The Symptoms:

• loss of weight


• loss of appetite


• pot-belly appearance


• cough


• fatigue


• diarrhea


• vomiting

Here are the three most common dog worm infestations.

Roundworms: are the most common worm found in dogs. Their eggs live in fecal matter, decaying meat from rodents or wildlife and in the soil. Your dog can easily pick them up by licking any of the mentioned specimens. Also, roundworms are commonly passed down from mothers to their puppies through milk.

When the eggs hatch, these worms can grow up to 7 inches in your dog's stomach and from there, hatch more eggs. You may notice them in your dog's stool or vomit. They look like white spaghetti strings. Also, a pot belly is common in dogs with roundworms. This is because the worms live in the dog's digestive tract, causing irritation.

The biggest threat with roundworms is that they can multiple over and over so many times that they create an obstruction in your dog's digestive tract which ultimately leads to death.

Hookworms: okay, just on a personal note...I think these are the grossest. Hookworms have teeth and also live in your dog's intestine during infestation. The difference however is that rather than nutrients, hookworms live off blood in your dogs body. Their giveaway is when you find blood in your dog's stool...especially diarrhea.

They can kill your dog by causing anemia and sometimes internal bleeding. Time is of the essence if you find blood in your dog's stool, so don't wait.

Heartworms: these worms are contracted through mosquitos during the warm summer months. The mosquitos suck blood from an infected dog and pass along the worms to another dog. These worms are obviously tiny. They make their way to your dog's heart and start to feed off the muscle tissue.

This can ultimately lead to congenitive heart failure if left untreated.

Heartworms are treated in a preventative way with most young pups. They go on heartworm medicine at an early age to avoid the disease altogether.

In all three common dog worm cases, medicine will usually flush out the problem before things get out of hand. That is, of course, if you catch the problem early enough. That's why reading articles like these are so important. By having the knowledge ahead of time you prevent the health problem from happening. Everyone knows preventions is the best medicine.