Anyone know of a worm that lives in dog's noses?

Question

My dog cant breathe through his nose and is a bit sneezy and rubs his nose a lot. Vet not sure but thinks it is a worm common in foxes but rare in dogs. Anyone heard of this? My dog's are wormed regularly so it cant be any of the regular parasites.

Answer 1

its called Pneumonyssoides caninum its actually more common in upper northern state dogs. Dogs that around foxes, coyotes, and Racoons. This more common than most people think and mis-diagnosed alot. Most of the time its diagnosed as Kennel Cough and treated as such and when the treatment doesnt work they say the dog has cronic nasal irritation which in short, is a vet not doing a through check. If a dog coninutally has nose bleeds, wet nose, coughing, sneezing, red irritation and has been treated once already for Kennel Cough they need to check for Nasal Parasites and get the proper treatment. They are not fatal but they are irritating. Have him do a test for Pneumonyssoides caninum then you can get him treated. I had never heard of it till 4 dogs at the same time came down with symptoms and we had them treated several times for Kennel Cough after our vet recommended us to take them to the U of Minnesota they finally diagnosed them with the Nasal mites. here is a link to help.
http://www.purinaone.com/dogcare_cond_atoz_article.asp?Seed=800&ArticleNumber=30076
Eucoleus boehmi (lung worms) - as CS mention below, is far rarer and harder to come across... though it can happen they are not as likely as the other parasites.
here is a link on Eucoleus boehmi
http://www.capcvet.org/?p=Guidelines_Lungworm&h=0&s=0

Answer 2

Eucoleus boehmi is the nasal nematode of the dog.The adult worms live in the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses of the dog and other related canids. It was originally described from the frontal sinuses of a fox.
This is a trichinelloid nematode parasite that is in the group of worms better known as the capillarids. The several mm long adult worms live threaded through the mucosa of the nasal sinuses. The adults are about a tenth of a millimeter in diameter, and this causes them to appear as very fine threads when they are removed from the mucosa at necropsy.
The life cycle of Eucoleus boehmi is not known. Some related species of Eucoleus, such as Eucoleus aerophilus which is in the lungs of dogs and cats, are found to require an earthworm intermediate host [4]. Other species of Eucoleus have direct life cycles. It is difficult to understand how dogs become infected
through the ingestion of earthworms, unless that ingestion is accidental. Treatment for this infection appears to be ivermectin.

Answer 3

Never heard of a worm in the nose and I have had dogs for many years. I would think you are getting confused with a dust mite and the other thing is are you sure he has not got a grass seed up there. My dog used to get those in his ears and they are horrid and because of the way they are tapered are really hard to remove. Good luck, hope you find the problem soon.

Answer 4

Yeah if your vet isn't sure and didn't do anything to treat it you need to take your dog to another vet to get a second opinion. Whatever you do, you need to take your dog to a vet that will help him and make him better. You wouldn't want to go around not being able to breathe, sneezing, and rubbing your nose alot would you? Especially if it is worms

Answer 5

there is a worm that lives in foxes noses which is caught by foxes sniffing eachothers butts, don`t know what it`s called but you can probably find out on - www.foxybutts.com

Answer 6

Nope, just had a quick look around and can't find anything to match this!

This is the best page I found:

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-1-2006-97997.asp

Answer 7

worms also live in humans, if you dont believe me check out a biology site

Answer 8

If your vet isn't sure, and isn't treating it, I would get a second opinion.

Answer 9

i'm glad I am not eating lunch right now .