As dog guardians, we want our dogs to have proper care. The well-being and health of our furry friend is of top priority. One crucial aspect of maintaining your dog’s health and well-being is being extremely vigilant and observing symptoms of any disease at the earliest possible stages. One of the nasty problems the dogs encounter a lot is worm infestation. The problem of worms in dogs is not new and most guardians are aware of their occurrence. However, what they might not know is that these worms can also infect dogs in their adult life.
In most cases, dog guardians may not know that puppies have worms when they give birth. Therefore, deworming begins right after. However, the rule says that the deworming should continue throughout the life of the dog depending on a few conditions. However, dog guardians feel that once the pup grows into an adult, deworming is not necessary. Unfortunately, that is not true. Therefore, in this blog post, I aim to show you the different types of worm infestations and the importance of deworming throughout your dog’s life.

Topics covered in this blog post
Worms in dogs
Among the variety of parasites that can affect your dog, there are five different types of worms in dogs that stand out because of their prevalence and the high health risks that they pose to your dog. These are tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, and finally, heartworms. Each of these worms has its own life cycle, way of transmission, and finally effect on the health of your dog. Therefore, dog guardians and caretakers have a fundamental understanding of the different types of worms and how they can affect the dog.
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Types of worms in dogs
As I mentioned before, worms in dogs are something that every dog guardian should be aware of. Every type of worm is different and comes with its challenges and risks. Therefore, it is imperative that as a dog caretaker, you are aware of at least these five types of worms that can infect your canine friend. Let’s look at the most common types of worms in dogs, how they infect dogs, how to identify them, and finally the potential health implications of these worms.
Roundworms
- Roundworms are pretty large worms. They look like spaghetti.
- They normally inhabit the intestine of your dog
- Usually, they are present in puppies. However, they can also infect adult dogs.
- Roundworms can infect dogs via injection of contaminated species, soil, or prey like rodents.
- Mother’s milk can infect the puppies. This occurs if the mother dog is carrying the larvae of roundworm.
Tapeworms
- Tapeworms are segmented parasites.
- They normally attach to the lining of the small intestine in your dog.
- The different segments of the worm resembles grains of rice.
- These worms are most commonly seen in the feces of your dog or around the anus region if your dog has a worm infestation.
- The most common source of infection via tapeworm is through the injestion of an infected prey. Most commonly these prey are rabbits and rodents, but they can also be fleas.
Hookworms
- Hookworms are small and thin.
- As the name suggests, they attach to the intestinal lining of your dog and feed on your dog’s blood.
- Their consumption of blood can cause severe anemia. This is severe in the case of puppies, who are immune compromised at that stage.
- The contraction of these worms occur via direct injestion of either the worm from the environment or skin contact.
Whipworms
- The most common sign of a whipworm infection is diarrhea with blood, and general and severe weight loss. In most cases, these symptoms are pretty serious and chronic and can be very difficult to manage.
- Whipworms are transmitted by the injestion of contaminated substances or soils containing the larvae.
- The eggs of these worms are shed into the surrounding environment by the feces of the dog.

Heartworms
- These worms are called heartworms because they inhabit the lungs and hearts of infected dogs. This leads to severe lung disease and heart failure.
- The transmission of Heartworms occurs via the bite of an infected mosquito.
- Unlike the other worms, heartworms need the mosquito to act as an intermediate so that they can complete their life cycle. This makes heartworm a very dangerous parasite in the areas where mosquitoes are common.
Signs and symptoms of worms in dogs
Now that you know the different types of worms that can infest your dog, the next step is to understand the general symptoms that these worm infestations can cause. These symptoms normally range from mild to very severe. However, this depends on the type of worm, the infestation intensity, and the competence of the immune system. If the dog has a good immune system, he can fight off the worm for a longer period. Recognizing the symptoms of worms in dogs is crucial so that management and treatment can begin early.
General symptoms of worms in dogs
Weight loss
This is one of the critical sign that your dog is suffering from a worm infestation. Your dog may either lose weight or fail to gain weight despite engaging in a healthy appetite. This is because worms are present in the intestine where they interfere with the process of nutrient adoption. This leads to malnutrition in the dog.
Presence of worms around the dog’s rear, fur, or feces
Another common sign of gestation is the presence of the worms themselves. You may either find the worms or the eggs of the worms in the feces, fur or around the anal region. These worms don’t need to always look like spaghetti and be easy to identify. They may also look like small rice in certain instances.
Potbellied appearance or abdominal swelling
This symptom is mostly seen in puppies. Since puppies do not have a fully functioning immune system, the worms multiply rapidly. This in turn leads to a buildup of worms in the intestine of the dog. This buildup of worms causes the puppy to become potbellied.
Diarrhea with blood or mucus
Since worms cause inflammation and irritation in the intestinal tract of the dog, it results in diarrhea. If you notice the presence of mucus or blood in your dog’s stool, it indicates that the infection is severe and needs urgent vet care.

Presence of worms in vomit
In some cases, the worms may be thrown out in the vomit. If you notice the symptoms, please do not delay taking your dog to the wet. Your dog needs medical care.
Increase or decrease in the dog’s appetite
When dogs are not well, it directly impacts their eating habits. If there are worms in dogs, your dog may experience a significant change in his appetite. He may start eating more than usual because of the malabsorbtion of nutrients. Or he may start eating less because of the discomfort he is experiencing in the intestine as a result of the worm infestation.
General reduction in well-being and lethargy
One of the common symptoms that is noted by dog guardians, when there are worms in dogs is decline in the dog’s energy levels. A dog who is hunky and loves to play stops playing, interacting or being social at all. You may notice that the dog starts to appear lethargic and less interested in the activities that the dog enjoys regularly.
Coarse or dry fur, skin problems
Your dog’s nutrition level directly impacts the quality of the skin and fur of the dog. If there are worms in dogs, it will severely impact the absorption of nutrients from the intestine. The absorption and deficiency of nutrients will be expressed in the fur of the dog. The fur will appear coarse, dry, or very dull. Your dog may also experience skin irritation.
Coughing
This is a symptom that is commonly associated with severe roundworm or heartworm infection. In the case of heartworm, coughing occurs because the primary location of the worms is in the lungs and heart of the dog. However, in the case of roundworms, if the infection is serious, the largvae can migrate to the lungs and cause coughing.
Special symptoms of worms in dogs
Depending on which w has infested your dog, the symptoms may differ. Therefore, you must be aware of at least a few symptoms of each worm infestation. Every worm species impacts the dog’s body differently. This leads to a range of symptoms that can help with quick identification and diagnosis. Let’s have a look at the different symptoms that are associated with the different worms in dogs.
Roundworms
Potbelly-type appearance in puppies
This is the hallmark of a roundworm infestation in dogs. This symptom is mostly seen in puppies. The puppy gets a swollen pot belly type of look. This symptom primarily rises because as I mentioned before, the roundworms, inhabit and multiply in the intestine of the puppies. This causes physical distension of the intestine and bloating.
Tapeworms
Visibility of the segments around the anus or faeces of the dog
The hallmark symptom in case of tapeworms is the presence of the tape worm segments. The segments most commonly look like grains of rice and are present near the anus of the dog, in their feces or it can also also be found in the bed of the dog. The segments contain the eggs of the larvae, worm, and is a clear-cut indicator of tapeworm infection.
Hookworm
Weakness and anaemia
Hookworms feed on the blood of the puppy and most commonly cause a case of severe anemia in dogs. Severe anemia occurs in cases of heavy infestations. The signs of the existence of anemia include weakness, lethargy, and the presence of pale gums. Puppies are particularly vulnerable to hookworm infection and can either become severely ill or even die if the worm infestation is extreme and causes severe blood blood loss.
Whipworms
Bloody diarrhoea
Most often, whipworms tend to latch themselves in the colon and caecum sections of the dogs intestine. This causes irritation of the intestine that eventually leads to bloody diarrhoea. Often, this symptom occurs in chronic cases and is accompanied by a severe weight loss and a general decline in the condition of the dog.

Heartworms
Fever, cough, and weight loss
During the early stages of the heartworm infestation, the dog may appear to be asymptomatic. However, as the disease continues to progress, the dog may develop a case of persistent fever, fatigue after a little bit of activity and weight loss. In case of severe infestations, heartworms can also cause significant damage to the heart and lung of the dog. This leads to a condition that is referred to as the heartworm disease. This condition is fatal if not treated urgently.
Diagnosis and treatment of worms in dogs
There is no question that with a worm infestation, veterinary treatment is the way to go. The first step is to take your dog to the vet the moment you identify anything wrong with him. Effective management of such parasites not only helps in recovery of the affected dog, but it also plays a huge in keeping the infection from spreading to other dogs and pets. In some cases if these diseases are left untreated, they can also affect humans. Therefore, it is critical to understand the process of diagnosis, treatment and the importance of prevention methods for every dog guardian.
Importance of veterinary diagnosis.
If you want to accurately identify, which type of worm has invested your dog, the best way to go about it is to take your dog to the vet. The problem with medication is that there is no one approach fits all type of method. Therefore, the vet will need to identify the kind of worm that has infested your dog to administer the proper treatment modality. The process of diagnosis usually involves:
Fecal exams
One of the ways to identify presence of worms in Dogs is by conducting a microscopic examination of the dog feces . This can reveal the presence of worm eggs or larva that distinguish between the presence of the different types of worms in dogs by the eggs, since different worms produce different types of eggs.

Blood Test
Another way of identifying which type of worm has infected the dog is by conducting a blood test. Certain worms like heartworms can be easily diagnosed via blood test. Blood test can detect the heartworm presence via antigen-antibody interaction. The dog’s body produces antibodies against the, worm antigen. The presence of antigen in the dog’s blood is an identification of the presence of a specific type of worm.
General Methods for Treatment of Worms in Dogs
The primary method of treating any kind of worm infestation in the case of dogs involves deworming. Deworming medications are specifically formulated in a manner that they can target and eliminate various types of worms from the dog’s body. The treatment approach by the vet may vary depending on which type of worm has infested the dog. It will also depend on the infection severity and the dog’s health condition.
Medications for deworming
Medications are primarily administered orally. Your vet may prescribe a single or multiple dose depending on the type of worm, your dog and the drug that is being used. Certain medications are extremely broad spectrum. They can easily target different worm types. Other medications may be more specific and should be used only in case specific worm infestation has been identified.
Follow-up test
To ensure that the medicine is acting properly and removing the worms from the body, the vet may conduct follow-up examination of the feces or the blood of the dog. This will let the vet know the effectiveness of the medicine and how much the dog has recovered from the infestation.
Prevention strategies for worms in dogs
None of us want our dogs to have a worm infestation. The best way to avoid this is by identifying and following accurate prevention strategies so that the worm does not infect your dog in the first place. This is a crucial component of routine dog care.
- You can ask your vet to regularly examine the feces of your dog so that any worm infestation can be detected at the earliest point.
- Since heart diseases are pretty fatal and difficult to treat, regularly administer heartworm prevention medication to your dog. This is especially crucial if you stay in an area where there are mosquitoes.
- Maintain proper hygiene involving the removal of feces from the environment. This can help reduce the chance of worm infestation. Do not let your dog eat rodents or other small animals. This reduces the risk of tapeworms.
- Last, but not least, nothing beats a regular veterinary checkup. This will help identify any kind of worm infestation at the earliest, and the treatment can begin before the symptoms get severe.

Control and prevention of worms in dogs
Is crucial to maintain effective prevention strategies to keep the worm infestations at bay. This is crucial not only for your dog safety but also for your safety. Studies have suggested that opting for a multi-faceted approach that contains regular deworming, clean environment, maintenance, and proper care is crucial and can significantly reduce the chances of worm infestations.
Regular deworming schedule
Puppies
For puppies, the deworming should start right after birth. During the initial stages, the puppies acquired deworming through their mother’s milk. At around 2 to 3 weeks of age, external deworming should start as well. This should continue every two weeks till the puppies reach eight weeks stage. After this, monthly deworming treatment should continue till the puppy is six months old.
Adult Dogs
with adult dogs, the frequency of deworming depends on the risk factor and lifestyle of the dog. Dogs who have high exposure towards other animals, are mostly outdoors, or live environments where mosquitoes are prevalent, will need more frequent deworming than others. At typical deworming schedule would involve deworming the dog every 3 to 6 months. However, your vet can provide you accurate guidance of the timeline using which you can administer deworming medication to your dog.
Maintenance of a clean environment and preventing exposure to worm-infested feces
Hygiene
Regularly clean the environment in which your dog lives. This will include the yard, bedding and kennel of your dog. This will help minimize the risk of worm infestation. If you live in communal areas, immediately dispose of the dog feces. This helps prevent the spread of larvae and eggs of the worm.
Prevention methods
One thing that you can do to prevent exposure to worms is to prevent your dog from injesting feces of any other dog or any other animal. Furthermore, you can also employ control measures so that you can prevent flea infestations can reduce the risk of tapeworms. The reason you need to work on preventing flea infestation as well is because fleas act as intermediate hosts for these parasites.

Regular vet examination of the dog
Veterinary care
Make sure that your dog is getting biannual checks at the vet clinic. This will help in early detection as well as prevention of any kind of worm infestation. During your vet visits, your vet can also conduct exams to check for the presence of worms and recommend a deworming schedule based on your dog’s lifestyle. You can also provide you advice on which are the best preventive medication that you can give your dog to keep worms away
Use of heartworm prevention medicines
Heartworm is one of the most fatal diseases in case of dogs. Since it gets transmitted by mosquitoes, all dogs, irrespective of their lifestyle can be risk. Therefore, if you’re living in a mosquito-ridden area, get heartworm medication and regularly, administer them to your dog. Medications are very effective and should be given as per your veterinarians advice.
Conclusion
Dogs cannot tell you if it hurts. As a dog guardian, it is your responsibility to be constantly vigilant and identify if there is something wrong with your dog at the earliest possible stages. To maintain the well-being and health of your dog, you must take proactive measures to prevent any kind of worm infestation. Worms stand to pose serious risk to your dog’s health. This discomfort can range from mild to potentially fatal situation. One way you can help your dog is by learning the symptoms that different type of worm infestation can show. However, beyond this, regular veterinary checkup, blood test and physical exams can help with accurate diagnosis and development of treatment plans that can stop worm infestation at the earliest.
The key to protecting your dog from worm infestation is prevention. Make sure that your dog undergoes regular deworming, maintains a clean environment and reduces exposure to infected feces. If you live in a mosquito-infested area, regularly administer medication to your dog. These preventive strategies can help you significantly lower the risk of your dog getting infected by worms in dogs.
If you aim to be the best dog guardian to your pup, please subscribe to The Happy Puppers. The subscription option is present in the sidebar. If you like watching videos, subscribe to the YouTube channel of The Happy Puppers, Shruti and Delta, remember to ring the notification bell and set it to ALL so that YouTube can notify you every time a new video goes live from the channel. if you have any queries about this blog post or any other on The Happy Puppers, feel free to leave it in the comment section. I will be happy to answer them as soon as possible.
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Frequently asked questions
There are many ways in which worm infestation can occur. Some of them are
– Injection of contaminated feces, water, or soil
– Consuming prey infected by worms like rodents
– Transmission of worms from the mother to the puppies
– Via the bite of infected mosquitoes (This is specifically in the case of heartworms)
The most common symptoms of in case of worms in dogs are:
– Weight loss or low levels of weight gain irrespective of a good appetite
– Presence of worms or worm eggs in the faeces, fur or around the dog’s butt region
– Potbellied appearance or abdominal swelling
– Diarrhea containing mucus or blood
– Vomiting
– Changes in appetites
– Lethargy
– Fur or skin irritation
– Coughing in case of roundworm or heartworm infection
There are primary two methods for the diagnosis of worms in dogs:
Examination of feces to detect the presence of worm eggs or larvae
Blood test to identify the presence of worm antigen in the bloodstream of the dog
There are primarily two methods to treat worms and dogs. They are:
– Administration of oral deworming medication that specifically eliminates the distinct type of worm that has infected the dog
– Follow-up examination of the blood and feces of the dog to confirm that the treatment is effective.