How often should I deworm my dog?

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Worms are not pleasant things to talk about especially because they pose a severe and life threatening risk to your best friend. They can also get to humans and cause more trouble. Consequently, it’s very important to deworm a dog as often as possible. The fact that most canine worms and parasites can infect other animals and humans in the house makes it very important to understand everything about them and viable methods of ensuring your dog is worm-free. 

How often should I deworm my dog?

Although dog worms are horrid and very annoying, they are controllable with a routine deworming treatment. Puppies should receive their first vaccination as soon as possible. They should actually be dewormed after every two weeks until they reach 12 weeks of age. After that, they can be dewormed monthly until they’re half a year old. Six months old puppies are ready to be dewormed once in every month just like older dogs.  Older dogs should only be dewormed once every three months or when the need arises.

How do you know your dog has worms?

Knowing whether your puppies have worms is a bit easy. The dog will show a number of signs and symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting in dogs. Puppies may also suffer from diarrhea and respiratory problems which can lead to death or development of severe conditions. A mature dog may not show any viable symptom but there are some signs you can look out for. Firstly, check for worms or eggs on the dog’s feces or vomit. 

The stomachs of pups may also get inflated and their bellies remains skinny and exposed. Tapeworms may appear as some small pieces of white stuffs on the dogs poop. If you’re not sure whether your dog has worms, ask a vet free. 

Is it important to deworm your dog?

It would be ignorant to assume it’s not important to deworm the dogs. Remember parasites are nasty living things that can cause more damage to your best friend’s internal organs and eventually lead to death. This is the first reason why it’s so important to deworm your dogs and other pets. 

Additionally, some canine parasites can infect humans and other animals in the household. If puppies are not dewormed as soon as possible, they may suffer serious health problems that would directly translate to death or permanent impairment. With that in mind, you now have enough reasons to start deworming your dogs and other pets soon enough. 

What are the side effects of deworming a dog?

There are a few things you would expect immediately after giving your dogs dewormers. Firstly, you may notice worms coming out as whole or as parts. They usually come out through the dogs vomit or poop. 

These whole or parts of worms is a completely normal but very unpleasant side effect of giving the dog dewormers. It’s nasty but at least it’s an indication that the drug has worked. 

Additionally, it’s very normal for your dog to poop more after this. There are some drugs that have side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting few hours after taking the drug. What this means is that your dog would vomit or definitely be lethargic for few hours. 

How long does deworming last in Dogs?

The dewormer may take as long as 48 hours to start working. However, most of these dewormers only work after 24 hours. This means that the dewormer will stay in the dog for a comparatively longer time than most common types of drugs. 

How do dogs get worms?

Although people assume that most tapeworms are passed from one pet to the other, most of them are not directly passed from one pet to the other. Fleas and rodents pose as hosts of these types of worms. This is an indication that the dog will definitely get these worms after eating fleas and rodents. 

Dogs can also get roundworms after consuming its eggs from contaminated foods and soil or stool. Some rodents also carry these forms of worms and for that reason, the dog can get infected after eating them. 

Hookworms can get into the dog’s track through the skin or after the dog gets microscopic larval by mouth. 

Diagnosis of worms and other parasites in dogs

Some worms are large enough to see while others need special testing to determine. Some large worms can be found in feces and vomit or hanging around the dog’s anal opening. Tapeworms for example are made up of segments and can be seen clearly in the feces.

Some parasites are very small and only need specific testing and diagnosis to determine their existence. Even after seeing worms in your dog, it’s very important to still ask the vet to examine the dog and propose a dependable treatment. 

How do vets deworm dogs?

There are a couple of treatment approaches that your vet can take to eliminate these vermin from your best friend. The vet can recommend dog treats, granules that can be added on the dogs food, liquids, injections and chewable dog treats. 

The most common method of treatment is Benzimidazoles which includes Mebednazole and Albendazole. Though, this class of anti-parasites are used to treat tapeworms, hookworms, whipworms and roundworms. 

The vet would recommend giving the pet that specific drug for two to three weeks to ensure it is functional. The vet always recommends a repeat dose to kill any remains of these parasites. 

How much is dog Dewormer?

The cost of deworming your dog would vary depending on the state, the vet, the weight of the dog and several other factors. However, it’s on average $28.57 up depending on the weight of the dog. As explained above, how often you should deworm a dog depends on the age of the pet. Puppies should be given the most attention because they are the most vulnerable. You should also take a special look over your older dogs because their immunity is low and they’re susceptible to all forms of infections and diseases. 

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