Puppy’s first worming treatment

Why is worming important?

Intestinal worms in puppies can make them sick, tired and reduce the absorption of much-needed nutrients and vitamins. This can lead to blood loss and anaemia, which has the potential to be very serious in the early stages of your puppy’s young life. That’s why it’s so important to worm your puppy as soon as you can (usually from the age of two weeks)1.

How do puppies get worms?

Puppies are more susceptible to worms than adult dogs because of their young immune systems. Puppies can even be born with worms passed on by their mother or they can pick them up through their mother’s milk during nursing.

Other dogs can pass worms to pups too, and infected fleas can carry the tapeworm, which will infect a puppy if ingested.

What common types of worms are puppies at risk of?

In the UK, your puppy isn’t just exposed to one type of worm, in fact there are four common types of intestinal worms you need to be aware of:

Roundworms

Roundworms are the worms most commonly found in dogs, particularly puppies. There are two types of roundworm; Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina Roundworm larvae initially infect the intestinal tract but as the Toxocara canis larvae mature they move onto the lungs where they will develop and eventually target the airways. Once they’re coughed up and swallowed, they re-enter the intestine and their lifecycle is complete2. The lifecycle of the Toxascaris leonina larvae is much simpler, and they will stay put in the intestinal tract. 

These parasites have the appearance of long, thin spaghetti, and often grow to around 12 cm.

Puppies can contract them through infected faeces or contaminated soil. Roundworms can even infect humans and children, so by worming your dog, you’re protecting the whole family.

Hookworms

Hookworms look very different from roundworms and tapeworms – they’re short, have teeth and feed on your puppy’s (or dog’s) blood. They can be a dangerous intestinal parasite and can even be fatal to puppies because they suck large amounts of nutrients from their host.

Puppies can contract hookworm from their mother during suckling.

Although hookworms are less common in the UK than roundworms and tapeworms, they exist in Europe and can pose a risk to pups. 

Tapeworms

Tapeworms are more commonly found in adult dogs than puppies. Infected fleas spread the parasite when a puppy or dog accidentally eats them, so it’s important to use a flea preventative treatment as soon as your puppy starts venturing outside.

Tapeworms can grow up to 16ft inside an adult dog! But when excreted, the worm splits into shapes that look like tiny grains of rice.

These worms absorb nutrients as they’re being digested in the small intestine but it often doesn’t harm the pet in the early stages which means it’s often difficult to detect a tapeworm infection.

Whipworms

Less common in the UK than abroad, whipworms live in the large intestine and pose the greatest harm if they burrow into a pup’s intestinal tissue.

What are the signs of worms in puppies?

Worms can cause unpleasant and uncomfortable symptoms, and, in extreme cases, even death. But not all infected puppies and dogs will show any obvious signs of having worms, which is why regular treatment is especially important.

In cases when dogs are showing signs, worms can cause:

• weakness and listlessness
• loss of appetite
• weight loss despite an increased appetite
• diarrhoea or vomiting
• abnormally swollen belly
• dry coat
• scooting (when your puppy rubs their bottom on the floor)
• licking their rear
• coughing (in the case of roundworm, Toxocara canis, which may be living in your puppy’s lungs)
• signs of infection in your puppies faeces, such as spaghetti-like worms, rice-like grains, mucus or blood

How do I get rid of worms in my puppy?

Although worms are a nasty business, if your puppy or dog has worms, they’re fairly easy to treat.

The best defence is regular treatment against worms in both puppies and dogs.

When and how often should I worm my puppy?

As mentioned above, most puppies are born with worms and they acquire more from their mother’s milk. Because of this it’s important they’re treated every two weeks from two to 12 weeks of age.

Puppies of three to six months of age should be treated for worms monthly, then at least once every three months for the rest of their life.

Should I treat my pregnant or nursing dog for worms?

It’s recommended adult dogs are wormed at least four times a year and it’s also important during pregnancy to help reduce the likelihood of passing them onto their litter.

Pregnant bitches should be wormed in the last third of their pregnancy (always follow product instructions carefully) and nursing bitches should be wormed when her puppies are two weeks old and again every fortnight until the pups are 12 weeks old. This will help reduce the risk of the puppies becoming infected through their mother’s milk.

After this, the mother should be wormed at least every three-months.

Some dogs may need worming more often than others, depending on their lifestyle, for example, farm dogs may need to be wormed more frequently than household dogs.

It’s important to note that not all worming products are suitable to use on pregnant bitches, so speak to your vet for advice.