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April 30th
Parasites, worms, and all of those other nasty critters are something we want to keep as far away from our pets as possible. That’s probably why you recently had your dog dewormed—or you’re thinking about doing so.
While not deworming your dog can cause all sorts of terrible health issues, the deworming process itself can cause your pooch some mild discomfort and distress as well. Although these problems will pass in a few days, some dog owners are worried when they see their pooch feeling ill after visiting the vet.
Today, we’re going to teach you everything you ever wanted (or didn’t want) to know about canine parasites, deworming medications, and how these medications will affect your puppy.
First things first. When your vet believes that you pooch has worms, they may prescribe medicine to eliminate them. Worms are often diagnosed by examining your pup’s poo under a microscope, or even worse, seeing the little horrors crawling around after your puppy does his business outside.
Heartworms are a bit different, and may require a blood test to diagnose.
Either way, your dog’s deworming medicine is usually administered orally to kill off a variety of worms like roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm or whipworm—without harming your puppy.
Deworming medications include fenbendazole, praziquantel, epsiprantel, and ivermectin (for heartworms). Because worms lay eggs, your dog may have to receive more than one treatment to ensure that both the adult worms and eggs are totally eradicated.
Of course, these medications are killing off the parasites living inside your puppy. Once the pests are dead, you dog has to get rid of them somehow—and that’s how side effects happen.
Apologies if you’re squeamish, but you know what you signed up for when you clicked on this article. Anyway, after your puppy has taken deworming medicine, you might begin to notice whole worms or parts of those worms in your dog’s poop.
This is completely normal, and not cause for a midnight call to the vet’s office.
It’s also totally normal if your dog is pooping more often after being dewormed. Vomiting is also not uncommon. However, if either diarrhea or vomiting persist after 24-48 hours, it may be time to contact your vet.
Your vet should have given you the correct dosage and instructions for dewormer medicine based on your dog’s size—however, it’s important to be aware of the signs of dewormer overdose in case where your dog has taken too much of the medicine:
If you notice any of the following, seek immediate care for your pet. In addition, some dogs are genetically predisposed to being sensitive to ivermecton—ask your vet what they recommend as the best course of action for ivermectin-sensitive pups.
Deworming is all part of your puppy’s routine healthcare in early life. Deworming is especially important for young dogs because they can even become infected in the womb, catching parasites from their mother before birth.
Nobody wants to hurt their puppy, but it’s important to realize that deworming medications are usually very safe, and some vets may start deworming puppies as four weeks old. Your puppy will need to be dewormed several times throughout their first year of life to set them up for a happy, healthy future.
Again, diarrhea and vomiting are normal after deworming your puppy—just watch out if those symptoms last longer than 24-48 hours and you’ll have nothing to worry about.
Oh, and be sure to wash your hands extra carefully—intestinal worms can be transmitted to people, too!
Luckily, Uptown Puppies have already been started on their first round of deworming medications before you even take them home. Take a look at our puppy finder and find the perfect pooch you’ve always dreamed of—healthy and worm-free.
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