Intestinal Worms
There are four main groups of intestinal worms that dogs and cats get. These are: Round worms, tapeworms, hookworms and whipworms. These are generally transferred from dog to dog via the faeco-oral route. Ie: when dogs sniff around trees where other dogs have been they may pick up a few worm eggs and the cycle continues in the pets intestines.
Worm burdens are a potentially serious problem in pups, but more of a mild sinister problem in adults. It's important to worm pups regularly from 2 weeks of age. Adults ultimately we recommend worming only every 6 months. If this regular 6 monthly worming is not kept up, it's not too much of a problem. At least worm your pets once a year. Unlike heartworm (refer heartworm link) if the intestinal wormer is missed, a subsequent teatment will still kill the worms, no matter how old they are.
We used to recommend intestinal worming every 3 months, but on our “risk-reward” scale have decided recently this is probably over doing things and would be more comfortable with every 6 months, and as a minimum at least once a year.
We need to treat our pets with moderation when it comes to all the routine health, and I would recommend people worming their pets every 6 mths rather than every three months. We do recommend regular worming of pups. The following is a good guideline:
PUPS:
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Worm every 2 weeks from 2 weeks of age up until 12 weeks |
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Then worm once a month up until 6 months |
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Then worm every 6 months throughout life. |
Pups are more prone to roundworms in particular, which can in fact transfer to humans. Human children in particular can be prone to contracting round worms from pups and can occasionally cause blindness in children. Hence worm your pups regularly, but once over 6 mths of age, every 6 mths is all we recommend.
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