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The location of this poster is overseeas. Is more information needed before giving advice?

In my experience after raising literally hundreds of rescue puppies over the years, I've only had one puppy die on me after being treated for worms. That most likely happened because he was already quite sick from the massive worm burden he had, and his little body just couldn't cope with the treatment, but if left untreated, the worm burden would have killed him anyways. It was worth trying to treat him in any case, and his 2 siblings who also had heavy worm burdens both survived the same treatment and lived long happy lives. I'm with @_PL_in recommending the Drontal puppy liquid for small puppies, as it is gentler on the stomach than the tablet form. For older puppies (12 weeks to 6 months), I prefer Fenpral or Popantel branded allwormer tablets, as they are gentler on the stomach than Drontal tablets. Dogs over 6 months old seem to handle Drontal tablets much better than small puppies. I wouldn't treat pups under 12 weeks for heartworm, and it's not really required until they are at least 6 months old anyways. Some vets will want to start heartworm treatment at 12 weeks, but my advice is to do the monthly treatment for heartworm until your dog is at least 12 months old, and then investigate whether the annual heartworm vaccination is better for your lifestyle, OK? Another thing to be mindful of is vaccinations and worming should not really be done on the same day in pups under 12 weeks old. I usually worm them the day before or after they get their vaccination. Vets will usually tell you it makes no difference, but my experience has proven that my foster pups are less likely to have adverse effects from either treatment if done separately, and if there are side effects, you will know which treatment caused it. As for vaccinations, I usually only give small pups (under 12 weeks) a C3 vaccine, and over 12 weeks are usually fine to get the C5 that vets prefer to give. As you really shouldn't be taking your pup out and about much before their vaccine schedule has been completed, the chances of them contracting Kennel Cough (C5 vaccine adds 2 strains of KC resistance on top of the C3 component) is low. Puppies MUST have at least 3 doses of the C3 vaccine within their first 16 weeks to ensure immunity from the most deadly 3 diseases dogs can get, OK? T.

There's a worming schedule but if you don't have a record of her baby wormers from her breeder it's best to call the vets for advice or take her in to see if she's 'wormy'. You can always take in a poo sample along as well. If it makes you feel better, have them weigh and worm her there. Do it in the morning though. In the very slim chance something goes sideways you can get her in asap. I like the Drontal liquid for puppies. If you've heard that a heavy worm burden can kill if you try to treat it, that's true but not as common as the internet will tell you.

Worth discussing this with you vet or a local dog expert. It's complicated. There are several species of worms that can infect dogs. Some species are more common in some regions than others. Puppies typically get roundworms, but older dogs are much less likely to suffer from them All worms don't respond to the same medications, though some allworm tablets contain more than one medication and kill most of not all common species, except heartworm, which requires yet a different medication. Opinions differ on how often to medicate, but yes you should worm your dog, especially if you see worms in its feces. And if heartworm is found in your region you should definitely use some sort of heartworm medication.

Hello, I have a question. I adopted a two-month-old Maltese and shih tzu dog. Should I give her a dose of worms or not? I am very afraid that I will not give her the worms and something bad will happen to her, or that I will give her the worms and something will happen to her. I want your experiences.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-29/canine-ehrlichiosis-endemic-spreads-across-northern-australia/105814976

Yeah nah mate no issues there - there've been more changes here check it out

think you need to join to access the SBS Iview or hit the links offered to access via facebook, apple or google is this what came up? sbs.com.au/ondemand/watch/1985674819565

many panic these days and they have absolutely no idea how to behave when presented with a loose dog new neighbour came to say hello with two daughters, my chihuahua ran up to say hi and the the children were so afraid they tried to climb their mother. mum? screaming in fright set off any dog behaving like that, more so dogs bred to guard, disaster looking for a good spot. my chi was so confused by their screaming ran to me for comfort

Nonetheless, unacceptable behavior. If any dog of mine behaved like that around small children and I was unable to train it out of the behavior, I'd either keep it caged or have it put down.

The link sends me to an SBS banking site

The brindle/white one was definitely targetting the smaller child, and was trying to drag her off. The tan one seemed to just be caught up in the excitement of the squealing, but seemed happy to go look to other people for attention. I agree that they should not have been roaming off lead... especially if that easily aroused to action of this type. T.

They look like normal rose ears to me.

To me they are attacking and I'm sick of the victim blaming - those dogs should not have been out loose.

I thought the same initially but then I watched the video in slow motion and I’m not so sure. The brindle and white dog, in particular, seemed to be targeting the child and possibly darting in to nip. Maybe it was just excitement but I think it could have escalated to something much worse. As an aside, do the dogs have cropped ears? They don’t look like normal rose ears to me.

I didn't see any dogs attacking or biting. I would like to know if any injuries were only from falling on the hard surfaces. It looks to me like people not experienced with how to behave around dogs. Remember the GSP "attack" which from the video was a dog wanting to play? A woman and child in a panic on the footpath and someone filming from indoors but not helping.

That is absolutely terrifying. Those poor girls. The way those dogs were circling them. I certainly know that feeling. Makes me so sick in the stomach and sorry if I offend anyone but those dogs need to go.

Commiserations Cavstar, You really have had a 'bad run' with this & then your 2nd dog suffering extreme pain from a likely slipped disc. I'm 3wks new to this forum & only just figured out how to see the most recent posts (by using the 'custom' sort option & choosing the number of days to 'search' for updates - when I sort by updated posts, they only present chronologically). I've just found your 2 posts, almost 2wks late. I imagine I'm too late to aid your decision for your 14yo suffering kidney stones & renal failure & I'm sorry for that. I couldn't have told you what to do, anyway - only you have the knowledge of your dog to honestly assess her quality of life. I would only have suggested you try undertaking a mental empathy exercise: putting yourself in her place - with her priorities in life - & then asking if you'd like to die in your sleep if your balance of pain and pleasure was similar, & expected to worsen? As someone once wisely told me: there are many experiences worse than 'the long sleep'. I figure this is especially true for animals who receive sedation before their barbiturate overdose (some vets don't give sedation, as a nightmare vet experience in Craigieburn in 2023 taught me). Anyway, I trust you made the right choice for her and I hope your other dog is now pain-free, too. I have a 12yo dog with earlier stage renal failure (no weight-loss, yet, & she improved 1 stage on Royal Canin renal diet supplemented with chicken, tuna, peas and carrots, now with Canine Rosehip Vital supplement). I've been told that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) - often used as first-line painkillers - will harm her kidneys. One vet recommended them by mistake to treat unrelated nerve pain, so I mention this for other guardians of animals suffering chronic kidney disease (CKD). There are other analgesic options, reportedly gentler on kidneys, eg: Gabapentin, Paracetamol & CBD oil. But the pain from passing kidney stones appears renowned in human Emergency Departments - my elderly Mum with a high pain threshold found it excruciating: "much worse than childbirth". Probably depends on size of stones and ducts, & the availability of treatment for dogs. My sympathies

Have admit seen similar on sheep and cattle stations as a kid Although the dogs and mum's usually had a massive hollow log each as a kennel as protection from heat and cold

Try this next time you need to clip/examine/fiddle around with his nail. It should help. It worked well on one on my Westies who was very afraid of storms You can get it on-line or at Petbarn (linkie here)

Many thanks to all 3 responders (plus others who read my post, looked at photos, but felt they had no value to add). I thought I'd send a 3wk update, both for responders and in case others experience similar situations in future. Please see attached photos - first taken just before 2nd nail clipping (2 nights ago), 2nd & 3rd photos taken today. After the first clipping of the damaged nail 3 weeks ago, our big, sensitive boy thankfully stopped licking his toenail, and hasn't done so, since (that we've seen). We had to ease off on the dilute Bettadine dabs (soaks became impossible, faster) as it seemed more distressing to him than potentially helpful in stemming infecfion. We decided (after reading responses) not to seek a vet opinion unless and until any signs of infection appeared, and to monitor closely for these. He'd already proven that two types of sedative/pain relief (clonidine at max dose/kg and pregabolin - used both before and after a surgery to remove his large teeth likely broken by violent humans pre-rescue - had little effect on stemming his anxious/defensive responses. In fact, Clonidine seems to make him more (not less) irritable and distrustful - his behaviour has improved as we wean him off it. My experience with this boy and another dog is that trauma anxiety of the kind triggered by flashbacks to real trauma suffered in the past (much like PTSD in humans) is not really treatable with Clonidine. Whereas, perpetual high baseline anxiety, where a dog is hypervigilant and therefore overstimulated rather than relaxed by exercise in nature; is responsive to Clonidine for the time it is needed to reduce the baseline anxiety and desensitise to calm outdoor walks. Anyway, luckily, no symptoms of infection have yet arisen... But we did discover, over time, that his nail hasn't just cracked once, but twice - once on either side of the centre. The area around each crack has also grown more brittle - a white hair got caught between the cracks as seen in photo 1 - and we discovered bruising around his nailbed on the inside edge. Fortunately, his nail grew but the cracks in it didn't lengthen. So, 2 nights ago I chose to cut the tip as short as I felt was possible while avoiding any bleeding and any substantial pain. He was both muzzled and asleep (after a meal) when I cut the nail, this time. He awoke with a start on my cut and emitted a slightly delayed snarl of defence. He was suspicious & growled at me for a while after, but by yesterday, he'd kindly forgiven me. He's never limped on this cracked nail nor cried in pain (lying on his side with sore paw in air) as he regularly does for (apparently) jarred ankles, which spontaneously recover. The shorter cut of his damaged nail is intended to reduce upward pressure on the cracks as he walks, and should increase the structural integrity of the damaged nail as it (hopefully) grows out. But we're aware this cut also raises risk of infection by reducing the external barrier to his nerve/blood supply from below. So we're reinstatimg dilute Bettadine dabs, for now. All further advice welcome. Fingers crossed infection can be avoided and damaged nail grow out with ~2-3weekly trims.

Wow! Survival of the fittest, I would guess - but how strong and healthy do those little ones look? That was interesting .

Very true, T it has changed so much - and dogs are more and more unused to different situations/kept from learning how to "dog" safely.