Intestinal worms and parasites in dogs

Intestinal worms in the puppy

A few weeks after the birth of the litter we are inevitably confronted with the problem of worming. The mother’s milk is the medium by which the puppies are infested with roundworms or coccidia or tapeworms. The mother has been regularly treated but this is not enough.

All puppies will soon become infested just by suckling.

For a healthy growth already from the second week of life both the puppies and the bitch will follow a worming prophylaxis.

In the first few weeks the mother is completely responsible for the hygiene of the puppies, and in doing so inevitably enters the breeding cycle of these parasites.

The first three weeks of the puppies’ life are very demanding for the mother. The kittens need to be fed every two hours and all the nutrients come from the mother. It is a very stressful period. Little rest and lots of energy to raise the offspring.

No room for parasites and intestinal worms!

Worming the puppies and the mother is essential for raising healthy and strong puppies. These treatments are repeated throughout the breeding period of the young Lagotti.

The evaluation of the consistency of the faeces and the daily growth in weight are the first indicators of the work we are doing.

As the time for the first vaccinations approaches, stool examination becomes indispensable.

Puppy vaccines, like the multivalent vaccines, are based on the immune response. A healthy, strong puppy that does not waste its defences fighting unnecessary parasites will have a better chance of responding to the vaccine.

Vaccinating puppies with intestinal worms is theoretically useless. So not to be done in practice.

This is the main reason why special attention should be paid to worming and only vaccinate after a laboratory examination of the faeces.

A vaccinated puppy that has failed to create antibodies will still be vulnerable.

Lagotto Romagnolo intestinal parasites

Once the puppy leaves the kennel it will have had its first vaccine and a prophylaxis against worms and intestinal parasites.

The puppies have not been suckling for several weeks now. However, both puppies and adult dogs can still be infected with intestinal worms.

The vehicle by which parasites enter the dog’s intestines is faeces from other dogs or wild animals.

It is again the consistency of the faeces that tells us that an examination of the faeces is necessary.

The most suitable treatment and medication can then be identified. With a stool sample the vet can determine what kind of microscopic organism is present.

Diarrhoea and the presence of mucus in the faeces should alert us. Unjustified weight loss or vomiting becomes almost a certainty.

The moment when the Lagotto comes into contact with the parasites is not always so obvious. A dog that has not ingested infected faeces may still have soiled its paws while walking. It is the subsequent actions of scratching or cleaning the curly coat that leads to the mouth and ingestion……..

Sometimes in adult Lagotto the presence of intestinal worms is asymptomatic.

We have recently equipped ourselves with a machine to produce ozonated water. We have noticed great benefits in terms of sanitation and sterilisation of the environment.

A few days before the annual vaccine booster, you should always take a stool sample to your vet. This will avoid unnecessary vaccination of the dog.

Giardia

Giardia is a protozoan that lives in water. Dogs can be infected not only through the faeces of other animals, but also by drinking from puddles or by contact with infected urine.

Once giardia has been diagnosed, treatment is based on a deworming agent given over a longer period.

The most troublesome part is preventing the dog from coming into contact with the parasite again.

It will be necessary to:

• Sanitise the environment where your Lagotto lives using bleach-based products.
• Avoid frequenting contaminated environments where your dog is likely to have contracted giardia for the first time. Areas frequented by many dogs, for example, can pose a risk.

Unfortunately, the giardia parasite has a rather long life cycle, which requires special care to eradicate it.

Giardia can also affect humans. The treatment of Giardia for dogs is with Panacur tablets repeated over several days. ext