Does Your Poodle have Worms?

In the past almost all poodles had worms at one time or another. But with improved dewormers the odds that your poodle has worms is much lower. However, even today many poodles may have worms.

4 Main Types of Worms

Roundworms (Toxacara Canis and Toxascaris Leonina) – The most common parasite in dogs. These live in the intestine and can grow up to 7 inches long. There are four ways a dog can become infected with roundworms. 1. Through the placenta in utero. 2. Through drinking the mother’s milk. 3. Eating infested soil and 4. Eating infected animals.

Roundworms can be found in the vomit or stool and appear like white earthworms.

Treatment: Pyrantel Pamoate

Hookworms (Ancylostoma) – There are three species of these that affect dogs. These are mostly prevalent in the southern states. These worms are very short with small teeth that latch onto the dog’s intestine and suck blood, resulting in anemia in severe cases.

Puppies can have severe hookworm infections in the first two months of life (infected through the mother’s milk) Signs of infection are black tar like stools.

Treatment: Panacur

Whipworms – Two to three inches long, long and thin (whip like appearance) This worm causes a mucoid bloody diarrhea often accompanied by straining.

Treatment: Drontal Plus, Panacur

Tapeworms (Diphylidium caninum) – Tapeworms vary in length from a few inches to a few feet. These are commonly seen as grains of rice around the dog’s anus.

Treatment: Drontal Plus, Droncit

Signs Your Poodle May Have Worms

The most common signs your poodle may have worms include: diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, and blood in the feces.

Older dogs have stronger immune systems and are therefore not as prone to becoming sick due to worms. Puppies however are very prone to becoming sick from worms due to their immature immune system.

Dewormers For Poodles

No dewormer works for all worms. Remember the best way to deworm a poodle is to diagnose the exact parasites present and then choose the drug.

The way to diagnose which worms are present can be done mostly through fecal floats, fecal smears, or gross examination.

Puppies

Puppies most commonly have roundworms. Puppies should be dewormed at two weeks of age, and then again at 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. Pyrantel Pamoate is the best choice for this.

Worm Prevention

Prevention is best done through good sanitation and maintaining a good, clean and dry living environment.

Don’t house dogs on dirt floors. Gravel or cement are better choices. Frequent daily cleaning of the housing area is a must.

Another way to prevent infection is to prevent dogs from hunting or roaming in the woods or unclean dog parks.

Summary

As you can see there are several types of worms that can infect Poodles. However due to the fact that we have so many dewormers that work well, most dogs are now parasite free.