Worming Frenchies

[lou lou]

Just wanting to check how often you need to worm frenchies. I have been told every six months is this correct? Once a month for ticks?

[Martina]

first of all: ask your vet! they will give you the proper answer for your region.

now about my two: the vet has us on heartworm medication once a month - religiously. he got very mad when I 'forgot' a month. however, different worms have different cycles. and, most puppies are de-wormed for a variety of worms and then aren't treated again unless they show symptoms.

so really, i think that your vet is your best source of information. as roosje pointed out, different areas (even w/in the us) will have different problems. for instance, in san diego, ca dogs are given kennel cough vaccine as a part of their annual routine - regardless of whether or not they are kenneled. here in st louis, mo we only do it once a dog goes to a kennel. again, different areas, different problems.

good luck!

[Carolyn]

For those of you that live in areas with lots of mosquitos...heartguard is a must. It is a once a month chewy tablet that dogs seem to enjoy eating. It will also take care of roundworms and hookworms. It is relatively cheap and very important as a preventative. What it doesn't take care of is tape worms which dogs get from ingesting fleas/flea larva. You can have your dog wormed for tapes but if the fleas are not removed from the environment they will likely get tape worms again after a few weeks.

As far as kennel cough....I think it depends on the exposure your dog has with other dogs. I live in California and know that boarding facilities do require treatment prior to boarding. Kennel cough is highly contagious and although not life threathening...it is miserable for the dog and requires antibiotics. That being said....speak with your vet and find out what they recommend not only for your area but also considering the life style of your pet...exposure, etc.

[Kelly+Manja]

i use revolution once a month on manja which apparently is an all in one monthly drop to the back of the neck. It prevents heart worm, fleas, ticks and parasites. Im not too sure about the diiferent types of worms and their cycles. Youve made me wonder if maybe Im not quite treating everything too. Theres also stomach worms arent there? Im not sure if revolution treats for that... is anyone else using revolution?

[Martina]

Heartgard - that's it - is what we use monthly. I also use, in the warm weather, a monthly drop on the neck for fleas and ticks. I don't know if it's called revolution.

I think that worm 'awareness' is important, but I don't think it's that big a deal for most dogs. Except heartworm which is deadly and easily prevented. Really, I think asking your vet what to be aware of and if there are any particular problems in your area will keep you informed enough to at least get your dog to the doctor is something seems out of whack.

Oh yeah, Gigi was checked for worms ad-infinitum before it was concluded 100% that her anal prolapsing was an internal physical problem as opposed to a result of an external (worm) stimulus.

Dogs will be dogs and they will eat all sorts of things we wish they wouldn't. All we can do is keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Heck! Loads of children end up with worms - eeeww! If I'm not mistaken, scooting (the butt) across the floor/ground after defecation is one of the first signs of worm problems. I'm sure no one can miss that!

[Carolyn]

Martina....there is a reason why it is so important to continue with heartguard each month. If you stop giving it....the vet should NOT fill the medication without another test. Can you imagine the law suits if he prescribed medication to a dog already infected with heartworms??

And...I take issue with your comment about worms (other than heartworms) not being a big deal. They are a very big deal.....whether they are heartworms, roundworms, hookworms or tapeworms. Like I said...if you live in an area with mosquitos....give heartguard monthly. For other worms....an anual fecal exam is cheap and well worth it. Worms are parasites and no dog should have them...especially because the test and treatment is a small price to pay for what could become a serious health problem.

Off of my soap box. Carolyn

[Martina]

I totally didn't mean to sound blase about worms ... all I meant is that most worms, caught early enough (but you do have to pay attention), are not life-threatening -- except heartworm.

Tapeworms cause coat luster problems, break off in segments that are excreted in the feces but do not generally cause health problems and are frequently undetected in otherwise healthy dogs (even humans!). Roundworms are almost always passed onto puppies from the mother because most dogs carry dormant larvae - regardless of whether or not the bitch was de-wormed prior to preganancy. It's just part of the roundworm life-cycle. Roundworms are definitely life-threatening to puppies, but that's why they have the series of worm shots 2-4-6-8 weeks (though mine were done at 8-12-16). Roundworms can cause serious diarrhea, vomiting, dull coat and weight gain/loss -- mostly in puppies. Hookworms, again, are most serious in puppies and can cause anemia and tarry diarrhea. The series of worm shots a puppy goes through should also target hookworms. Hookworms are the worms that are passed as larvae in feces that is eaten by another dog who then becomes infected. Many, many adult dogs carry inactive hookworm cysts that only become active during stress or illness. You will usually find an oval shaped egg about the size of a grain of rice in the feces of an infected dog that you will be able to see with the naked eye.

When I got my dogs, this was just something I researched. Just because most of these types of worms are not immediately life-threatening does not mean that they are not serious. As a dog owner, I think it's definitely the sort of thing that we all worry about, and noone wants their dog to have worms. Even if most of these are not life-threatening, they are definitley uncomfortable. Not to mention that long-term undetected hookworms, roundworms or tapeworms could be detrimental to a dog's health. Which is another reason why it is recommended that a dog have its stool sampled twice a year (very inexpensive, as you say, and well worth the peace of mind). However, as I've said, I think YOU are your dog's best defense is maintaining vigilance over his/her health. If you notice a change in eating pattern, weight, trouble with passing stool - constipation/diarrhea (or urine - could be a bladder infection), scooting the butt, and coat luster - start paying attention! It could just be a minor tummy upset from something they found under the table or in the yard or something way more serious than a tapeworm. Any symptom that lasts several days (or less depending on the severity) should be checked out by a vet.

Heartworms, on the other hand, are totally, totally deadly and are tested by a blood test. Early symptoms are coughing, weight loss and develping an intolerance for exercise (based on you own dog's activity level). All very easy to overlook during a hot allergy season, for instance, which makes it even more difficult to catch early. As this disease advances, the worms occupy the heart chambers and basically eat the tissue of the heart. Then more severe breathing problems set in, fever, and the dog usually develops a belly swollen with fluid. Once a dog has adult heartworms, death is usually only a matter of time. That's why the best defense against heartworms is a vigilant offence - a monthly Heartgard chewy in the case of mine.

So, I hope that you can see that I don't mean that worms aren't "important." However, with regular vigilance and support from your vet, most of us should be able to keep worm problems under control without much difficulty. It takes a bit of vigilance on the part of the owner to be aware of what is "normal" for every individual dog, and, when in doubt, go to the vet!

And, every vet I've ever taken my dogs to has requested a stool sample. Probably because they are/were so young and all of those worms are problematic for puppies. I mean, I've probably had 6 stool samples run on both of these - and they're only 8mos old!! But, better safe than sorry ...

[Carolyn]

Martina...thanks. appicon