My Dog Has Worms,can Someone Help?
My dog vomited this morning and there were several worms. One was about 3 inches long. He had been tested at the vet when we got him about 3 months ago and he was negative. He takes his heartguard medicine. Can these intestinal worms invade his heart? How long has he had them if they are that big and what damage would they have caused.
February 28th, 2010 at 11:00 am
If he is taking straight Heartgard, then they could be hookworms, roundworms, whipworms or tapeworms. Regular Heartgard does not prevent any intestinal parasites.
If he is on Heartgard Plus, they could be whipworms or tapeworms. Heartgard Plus includes pyrantel palmoate to protect against some worms, but not all.
He couldn’t get heartworms if you have faithfully given him his Heartgard or Heartgard plus.
He will need to go to the vet with a stool sample for diagnosis and treatment of his worms.
February 28th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Your dog obviously picked up some intestinal worms after the vet checked him. Typically intestinal worms do not invade other organs, but there are certain exceptions to that rule. An example would be a certain species of nematoda encysting in the muscle tissue.
The heartgaurd meds only protect against the heart worm nematodes, not the other species.
Best to bring him back to the vet for appropriate dewormer.
February 28th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Intestinal worms aren’t the same as heartworms so no they won’t invade his heart.
Even though your dog is on heartguard it won’t totally prevent worms from being present..it helps but sometimes another dewormer needs to be given as well. Just because your dog tested negative for worms 3 months ago doesn’t mean he didn’t have worms. It depends where in the life cycle the worms were at the time and if worm eggs were being shed.
You need to return to your vet and get a good, safe dewormer for your dog,
February 28th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Dogs are supposed to be wormed every 3 months throughout their entire lives.
This is because Negative only means there is not a high count at the time of testing. But the worms, eggs and larvae are always present.
If you do not worm your dog every 3 months, the eggs and larvae have chance to hatch and worms then multiply like wild fire, invade your dogs body and will make him anaemic. Since the worms eat the dogs nourishment, the dog has weight loss and eventual death.
Take your dog to the vet and get some wormer. Keep a note of the date you wormed him, then worm him again in 3 months time. Keep doing this every three months, and your dog will be healthier.
Humans can get worms from dogs, so please worming is important.
Heart guard is for hearworm..that kind that invade the heart
There is more than one kind of worm, so you need to get a broad spectrum wormer like Milbemax.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:04 am
Take the animal to the VET – just as you would take yourself to the doctor if you were sick!!!
This is why people should not get animals unless they can afford to take care of them..So sad:(
**** “I would never leave my dogs health up to strangers” – then why are you asking?
March 1st, 2010 at 8:44 am
People, here, are NOT vets. Why would you ask total strangers for medical advice when it comes to your dog’s health? How would we know how long he’s had the worms? Take a stool sample to the vet’s and he/she will give you the correct medication and dosage.
March 1st, 2010 at 2:39 pm
i went to the vet today and they told me if a puppy has worms it can cause kidney failure and eat at thier lungs. take him to a vet!!!
March 1st, 2010 at 7:40 pm
Get him to a vet asap. He needs Rx for this illness. It will get worse before it gets better.
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:21 am
Take Him to the vet
March 2nd, 2010 at 6:35 am
This will sound weird, you could give him G2. Im saying this ‘ill cure it but it will help 4 sure
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:50 am
Go to vet not yahoo answers
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:14 am
He’s had them at least two weeks, probably a little longer. (It takes two weeks from the time the immature worms are ingested to the time they grow into adults).
Worms in the stomach cannot invade the heart. Heartworms (which are a very specific species – Dirofilaria – of worm) live their entire lives in the blood vessels and heart of the dog (except for a brief period where the immature worms live in mosquitos). They never infect the stomach. Likewise, roundworms (which these probably are), don’t really bother the heart.
Scoop up a sample of worms for the vet to identify (preserve them in alcohol if you want) and take them, your dog, and your dog’s stool sample back to the vet next week. Some simple deworming should take care of the problem.
It is not uncommon for young dogs to vomit up worms. The immature worms often cause some irritation in the lungs or abdominal organs, but no permanent damage. Once he’s dewormed, your dog should be just fine.
ADD: If the vet only tested his blood (for heartworm), then he could have had intestinal worms at that time. If the vet tested his stool for intestinal worms, he could have been infected for as long as about a week and a half before that test, since the stool check only looks for eggs and it takes two weeks from the time of infection for a worm to become an adult and start laying eggs.
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
they dont need to be gotten rid of this moment, it wont kill your dog
get some worm drops from your nearest town centre, you can get drops or these dry sprinkle things,
drops= you drop them on their coat / fur
dry sprinkles = powder you can put in their food
they can easily be gotten rid of, so no worrys!
on the paket it will tell you how to use the product properly
xxx