Has my puppy worms?

Question

My 13-week old puppy has been treated twice for worms, once when a positive diagnosis of Round and Hookworms, and a second just two weeks ago as a follow up. Just today my fiancee found a little blood in her stool with thin, short (maybe .5 inches), little "worms" in her stool. What kind of worms does this sound like? She's still eating, drinking, and playing, and her stools are not runny nor is she vomitting, so I'm not too concerned about parvo or anything...any ideas on what kind of worms they could be? How did she get them? She has no contact with other dogs and she was just dewormed (Strongid) two weeks ago!! Can they be passed to us???

Answer 1

Dogs are victims of several internal parasites frequently referred to as worms. The most common are the roundworms that infest most puppies at some time in their young lives and tapeworms that can be a big problem when flea infestations are high.

Evidence of roundworms and tapeworms can be seen without the aid of a microscope, but other worms are not so easily diagnosed. Occasionally adult whipworms can be seen in the stool when the infestation has already caused some debilitation or weight loss in the dog.

Early diagnosis of the presence and species of intestinal parasite is important, for not all worms respond to the same treatment. Therefore, stool samples should be taken to the veterinarian for microscopic examination if worms are suspected. Many veterinarians include the stool check as part of the annual health examination.

Most worm infestations cause any or all of these symptoms: diarrhea, perhaps with blood in the stool; weight loss; dry hair; general poor appearance; and vomiting, perhaps with worms in the vomitus. However, some infestations cause few or no symptoms; in fact some worm eggs or larvae can be dormant in the dog's body and activated only in times of stress, or in the case of roundworms, until the latter stages of pregnancy, when they activate and infest the soon-to-be-born puppies.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Roundworms
Roundworms are active in the intestines of puppies, often causing a pot-bellied appearance and poor growth. The worms may be seen in vomit or stool; a severe infestation can cause death by intestinal blockage.

This worm can grow to seven inches in length. Females can produce 200 thousand eggs in a day, eggs that are protected by a hard shell and can exist in the soil for years. Dogs become infected by ingesting worm eggs from contaminated soil. The eggs hatch in the intestine and the resulting larva are carried to the lungs by the bloodstream.

The larva then crawls up the windpipe and gets swallowed, often causing the pup to cough or gag. Once the larvae return to the intestine, they grow into adults.

Roundworms do not typically infest adults. However, as mentioned above, the larvae can encyst in body tissue of adult bitches and activate during the last stages of pregnancy to infest puppies. Worming the ***** has no effect on the encysted larvae and cannot prevent the worms from infecting the puppies.

Although roundworms can be treated with an over-the-counter wormer found in pet stores, a veterinarian is the best source of information and medication to deal with intestinal parasites. Dewormers are poisonous to the worms and can make the dog sick, especially if not used in proper dosage.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hookworms
These are small, thin worms that fasten to the wall of the small intestine and suck blood. Dogs get hookworm if they come in contact with the larvae in contaminated soil. As with roundworms, the hookworm larvae becomes an adult in the intestine. The pups can contract hookworms in the uterus and the dam can infest the pups through her milk.

A severe hookworm infestation can kill puppies, but chronic hookworm infection is usually not a problem in the older dog. When it does occur, the signs include diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, and progressive weakness. Diagnosis is made by examining the feces for eggs under a microscope.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tapeworms
Another small intestine parasite, the tapeworm is transmitted to dogs who ingest fleas or who hunt and eat wildlife infested with tapeworms or fleas. The dog sheds segments of the tapeworm containing the eggs in its feces. These segments are flat and move about shortly after excretion. They look like grains of rice when dried and can be found either in the dog's stool or stuck to the hair around his anus. Tapeworms cannot be killed by the typical over-the-counter wormer; see the veterinarian for appropriate treatment.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whipworms
Adult whipworms look like pieces of thread with one end enlarged. They live in the cecum, the first section of the dog's large intestine. Infestations are usually light, so an examination of feces may not reveal the presence of eggs. Several checks may be necessary before a definitive diagnosis can be made.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prevention
Several worms that infect and reinfect dogs can also infect humans, so treatment and eradication of the worms in the environment are important. Remove dog feces from back yards at least weekly, use appropriate vermicides under veterinary supervision, and have the dog's feces checked frequently in persistent cases. Do not mix wormers and do not use any wormer if your dog is currently taking any other medication, including heartworm preventative, without consulting the veterinarian.

When walking the dog in a neighborhood or park, remove all feces so that the dog does not contribute to contamination of soil away from home as well.

Dogs that are in generally good condition are not threatened by worm infestations and may not even show symptoms. However, it's a good idea to keep the dog as worm-free as possible so that if disease or stress do take a toll, you're not fighting worms in a sick pet.

Answer 2

Could be either round or hook, hard to say from the description. hooks can be transmitted to people through the skin. dogs can get them thru the skin too. make sure, though that you're getting the stool practically just out of her butt, though, because flies can lay eggs and hatch into larvae in minutes. if there's blood in the stool, it's pretty likely that it is worms again. is she doing the "poop scoot" on the carpet? if any of the worms remained in her system encysted, they would have been unaffected by the meds. also, what are you doing with her potty area? get rid of everything in there quickly. anything that gets into the soil can reinfect her later. as i said, she can pick up hookworms thru the skin. you should get her wormed 2x a year, and get a rx for sentinel or interceptor. they prevent hearworm, roundworm, whipworm, and control hookworm; you need a med for heartworm anyhow.

Answer 3

Hi, Round worms are the longer of the two types that you mentioned, so it is round worms. How she is still picking them up is a question.
Do you have cats?
Other Dogs?
Did you clean up the spot she poops in and lime it?
Do you pick up her feces every time she goes?
Also you can worm her again, it won't hurt her!
As far as humans go,yes there is a rare chance to get round worms if you sit in the same dirt and play trucks and cars, put dirt in your mouth etc.
I assume that you are no longer that age group to be willing to play that way, so no real need to worry about contracting worms.

Answer 4

I know that forms of worms can certainally be passed on to you. They wait in the grass and when you go walking barefoot, they can climb into your fleash, or by water. I would call your vet and talk to him/her. Maybe they gave the wrong shot or amount.

Answer 5

no they can't be passed 2 you but it's not to bad if he's not vomiting well it's not parvo have you gone for "worm rays" they do this x-ray thing to check for worms try that

Answer 6

She has tape worms,And she gets this from swallowing a fleas...Fleas are the cause of tape worms...

Clowmy

Answer 7

Have a vet check right away.That could be very bad!