Very important

[galaxllg]

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.

[sandgrubber]

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.

 

 

Edited Monday at 07:05 AM by sandgrubber
didn't change anything

[_PL_]

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.  

[tdierikx]

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.

[Mairead]

The location of this poster is overseeas. 

Is more information needed before giving advice?

 

[_PL_]

10 hours ago, Mairead said:

The location of this poster is overseeas. 

Is more information needed before giving advice?

 

Worms are worms. They've just been advised to go to the vet anyway - armed with a bit of extra info - so the only thing I'd be concerned with is that I think Drontal is an Aus brand and might not be overseas. And that the vaccines might have different names. 

Anyone can use the 'overseas' location on their  profile though as added privacy.  

[sandgrubber]

23 hours ago, _PL_ said:

Worms are worms. They've just been advised to go to the vet anyway - armed with a bit of extra info - so the only thing I'd be concerned with is that I think Drontal is an Aus brand and might not be overseas. And that the vaccines might have different names. 

Anyone can use the 'overseas' location on their  profile though as added privacy.  

Not entirely.  No heartworm in NZ.  No heartworm in winter in snowy latitudes.  Tapeworm is more common in tropical regions (I think.... unsure).

[Rebanne]

Heartworm is not an intestinal parasite 

[sandgrubber]

23 hours ago, Rebanne said:

Heartworm is not an intestinal parasite 

The OP didn't appear to be asking about intestinal parasites specifically, but about anything the general public called "worms".  

[_PL_]

6 hours ago, sandgrubber said:

The OP didn't appear to be asking about intestinal parasites specifically, but about anything the general public called "worms".  

'Ringworm' is also something I see confused with intestinal worms. Same answer. Go to vet.
 

Tapeworm ...  fleas +\- cats = tapeworm and I'm not sure that's regional.
Maybe Hydatid is though.

 

Given they were talking about an 8wk old I'd think intestinal worms are the concern and frankly at that age they should be a concern. 

I don't want to tippytoe around as the OP is long gone so I'll just say it. It's an enormous drag on their little body and one of the main healthcare issues in youngsters with no worming history. From experience, most BYB or 'oops' home litters don't do the 2, 4, 6, 8 worming still advised.

Seeing a pup dealing with heavy worm burden anaemia or passing away frightened and in pain is 100% worth telling a concerned owner to take their puppy to the vet, regardless of the HW factor which they can discuss in the consult. I don't thing that telling them to go to the vet is anything that really needs nitpicking over.

As receipt, yes, I saw a litter of four Mini Foxies pass away on old fashioned, mild, recommended, Canex Puppy - which wasn't even an allwormer. Just roundworm and hookworm. 3 decades ago now, but I saw them die and will forever have that burned in my memory as we put them in the black bag.

Anyone reading this on Google, G O  TO  Y O U R  V E T forums aren't the answer.

[tdierikx]

Back in the days I was with NSWAR, we had a litter come to us with massive worm burden... roundworm AND hookworm. We had to worm them, there was no question about that, but they all died as the hookworms literally dug their way out through their stomachs. It was probably the most horrific thing I'd ever seen at the time.

 

Ever since, I've been VERY stringent with the 2,4,6,8 worming schedule for any litter that comes into my care - and mums that come to me with babies also get done monthly until the pups have left her.

 

Not long ago, we had a mum and 2 bubs come to us from RSPCA - the pups had been born in their care, and were a month old when we got them. Mum dog had a roundworm burden, which had actually been noted by RSPCA 2 weeks prior in a vet checkup there, but there were no notes on it ever being treated. I dosed her and the pups immediately and that fixed the problem. Don't know why they weren't treated at RSPCA, as they'd C5 vaccinated mum AND the 4 week old pups before giving them to us, so why not worming as well? Who vaccinates 4 week old pups by the way?

 

T.