Intestinal parasites or worms are very common in dogs. These are unwanted guests that can ruin the gastrointestinal health of your dog. It is very important to treat worms as soon as possible, as their presence for a longer period of time can cause havoc to the health of your dog’s body and can cause serious issues as well.
The best veterinary doctor in Lahore says that it is not easy to detect worms in your dog. However, it is very important to have proper know-how of the major signs that can tell the presence of worms in your dog’s tummy.
Dog owners usually get really confused when they come to know that their dogs have been affected.
But at the same time, if you are a dog owner, I know you must be curious to know the reason behind the occurrence of these worms.
How Can Dogs Get Worms?
Before jumping on the major signs, it is very important to understand how dogs get affected by these worms and where do they come from? Let’s have a detailed look at this.
From their Mother
Nursing dogs and pregnant dogs are very much likely to transfer the larvae of hookworms and roundworms to their babies. This can happen only if the larvae start to travel through the placenta.
Now, these larvae can also easily be transferred while the nursing mother feeds the baby. This happens when the larvae travel through the mammary glands. The dogs when fed on the milk get affected by these worms and these can later grow and mature in the intestines of the dogs
From Feces Consumption
Intestinal worms can be transferred to the dogs easily when the dog eats and indigests feces that contain immature eggs of the worms (whipworms, roundworms, and hookworms).
With that, contaminated feces play an important role too. If the soil in which your dog is taking a poop is contaminated or has premature eggs of worms, it can easily get transmitted to the dogs.
During Grooming
Dogs can clean themselves by licking their fur or chewing n them. But did you know that they can get affected by tapeworms by doing so?
Well, fleas here, are the main culprit. They can transmit tapeworms to your dogs by consuming egg packets of tapeworms before attacking your dog for a full course of blood meal. The tapeworm larvae can easily get stuck to the walls of the intestines and here’s how your dog gets affected by tapeworms while grooming itself.
Common Type of Dog Worms and Their Symptoms
There are a few types of worms that can affect your dogs. These include:
Hookworms
Hookworms are very difficult to be seen by the naked eye. These can cause a number of signs and symptoms that makes you detect them. These can be:
- Weakness
- Diarrhea with blood
- Anemia
- Extreme Lethargy
Tapeworms
Tapeworms can confuse a lot of people. These can sometimes appear as the fur of the dogs or sometimes look like grains of rice. These are mostly easy to detect and are longer compared to other worms.
These can make your dog make:
- Itch a lot
- Scoot excessively
- Chew at the back
Roundworms
Roundworms appear like spaghetti and can be easily seen through the naked eye. These are visible on the feces and sometimes appear in the vomiting or just come out as clusters of worms. Roundworms can result in:
- Drastic Weight Loss
- Diarrhea
- The appearance of the belly becomes like a pot
- A dull coat of fur
- Lethargy and weakness
Whipworms
These appear smaller than the roundworms and sometimes can be seen through the naked eye. These are more commonly observed as matured and adult worms in the feces of dogs. These worms can cause your dog:
- Bloody Diarrhea
- Mucus coating over the feces
- Drastic weight loss
Major Signs to Tell If Your Dog has Worms
It is not always observed that the worms come with alarming signs or symptoms, but it is very important for you to keep a check on these health changes in your dog. These can be relevant to the appearance or the overall health of the dog. These include:
- A bloated belly is observed which looks very unhealthy in appearance
- Weight loss is observed even when your dog eats everything
- Excessive chewing at the bottom is observed
- Diarrhea containing blood and sometimes mucus
- Segments appear like white rice grains attached to the back of the dog or appearing in the feces
- A dry or a dull coat
- Vomiting that contains worms that are adult
Conclusion
Worms can affect your dog’s health in many ways. It is very important to know the major signs and symptoms in order to have the proper know-how. In case of any emergency, make sure that you visit your nearest veterinary doctor.
