Worms

[porkchop]

I gave my 4 mos old puppy a heartgaurd chewable yesterday afternoon. Upon walking her this morning I noticed worms in her stool!!:eek: Of course its gross and all the days i was kissing her around the mouth now makes me wonder, but is this normal and should I be worried for my own health?

[mdenglund]

I don't really know the answer to this questions, but worms are a serious matter especially heart worm. You should contact your vet asap and probably bring in a stool sample.

[porkchop]

I brought a stool sample in and she does in fact have a worm that the medicine should erracticate. I was told I can bring in stool samples whenever I want to check on the progress of the how the Heartguard is working towards elimninating these nasty lil creatures!! Now, another quick question is my pups coughing, although she had kennel cough previously, can I attribute her coughing to the worms? I've read some things that they will cough if they have worms, but what is too much coughing to a point that I should be worried, or hold on until it passes?

[mdenglund]

I always worry when it comes to anything when it comes to frenchies breathing. When they are coughing or wheezing I don't take the chance to wait it out. They are already very sensitive when it comes to breathing, and she may be stressed even more so with coughing.

Last winter our baby Madison started to have really weird breathing habits on a Saturday night, it scared us to death so we brought her to the emergency vet right away. It was a good thing she had aspiration pnuemonia (sp?). Thanks to our early reaction she didn't need as much treatment.

I'm not saying that your frenchie has this, it's just better to bring her to the vet early. Frenchies are sensitive and as she gets older you will have a better idea of if she really needs medical attention. But when they are young I think it is better to be safe than sorry. I hope this helps.