Intestinal worms worms or Intestinal Parasites Many owners of dogs believe that if a dog is found to have parasites in the

stoo l, then the dog must be suffering from some disease. This is not necessarily the case. Depending on the region of the country where you live, this will determin e whether your dog will experience heavy or light infestation of intestinal para sites. Some puppies can be born with them and others acquire them periodically t hroughout their life. From exposure to the parasites, the dog develops some immu nity and so it helps to control the severity of the parasite load that he gets o r carries. One should take the time to distinguish the difference between a disease state a nd the mere presence of a parasite. For example, demodectic mange mites live on the skin and in most dogs they produce no disease and require no treatment. The same may be true for other intestinal parasites. If worms are causing disease, there should be some change in the appearance of t he stool, In turn, this is reflected by a decline in the general health of the d og. You should note decreased appetite, loss of weight, upset stomach, anemia, m ucus and/or blood in the feces. Dogs are capable of developing a resistance to certain worms those having a larvae p hase which migrates in their tissues (roundworms, hookworms and threadworm). The effect is on the maturation cycle. The larvae remain dormant as cysts in the ti ssues instead of becoming adults in the intestine. Whipworms and tapeworms have no migratory stage and thus cause little build-up of immunity. Resistance to roundworms appears age related. Experimentally, it is difficult to induce a heavy infestation )over 10 worms in the gut) in dogs over six months o f age. Immunosupressive drugs such as cortisone have been shown to activate lar ge numbers of hookworm larvae lying dormant in the dog s tissues. Stressful events s uch as trauma, surgery, severe disease, and emotional upsets (i.e., shipping a p uppy), also can activate dormant larvae. This leads to the appearance of parasit es in the stool. During pregnancy, round and hookworm larvae are activated and migrate to the unb orn puppies. Accordingly, a heavy parasite problem may appear in a litter even w hen the mother was effectively dewormed. This can happen because none of the dew orming agents are effective against larvae encysted in the tissues. Deworming Your Dog Puppies Most puppies are infested with roundworms, but other worms may be present, too. It is advisable to have your veterinarian check your puppy s stool before treating h im for roundworms. Otherwise, other worms may go undetected. Worm infestations a re particularly harmful in puppies subjected to overfeeding, chilling, close con finement, and a sudden change in diet. Stressful conditions such as these should be corrected before administering a deworming agent. Puppies should be dewormed at two to three weeks of age and again at five to six weeks. If eggs or worms are still found in the stool, subsequent courses should be given. There are a number of patent dewormers on the market. No one preparat ion is advisable for all occasions. If you decide to use one of these preparatio ns, be sure it is safe and effective and be sure and follow the recommendations supplied by the manufacturer. Adults

Most veterinarians recommend that adult dogs only be dewormed when there are spe cific signs of an infestation. A stool examination is the most effective way of making an exact diagnosis and choosing the best agent. Most dogs carry roundworm s as encysted larvae, but intestinal infestation by the adult worm in the health y dog is rare occurrence. Hookworms are likely to be a problem during periods of stress. Routine deworming may catch an intestinal phase, but it is not effectiv e against enscysted larvae. When whipworms are present, usually several courses of treatment are required to eliminate the infestation. Tapeworms are common in the dog, but the worm segments are easy to detect in the stool. Fortunately, the y cause very little difficulty. Threadworms are not common. Fery few agents are effective against this parasite. Caution should be made to not over-worm the dog with harsh preparations. They ar e stressful to the dog, irritate his intestines, and may actually lower his resi stance to the worms. Concurrent disease can complicate any deworming procedure a nd also pregnancy in the female dog can complicate the choice of deworming agent s used. It is best to check with yoru veterinarian before using one of those pre parations.