ntestinal parasites, often called worms, are microscopic organisms that live inside your dog, where they silently cause harm. Common intestinal parasites in dogs include roundworms, tapeworms, and hookworms. Some worms, like roundworms and hookworms, can take up residence in humans, too.
If your dog has worms, you need to eradicate them quickly and prevent them from returning. Deworming medications kill the parasites your dog already has, and intestinal parasite preventives, most of which are given monthly, prevent future worm infections. Some products also kill fleas, ticks, and heartworms.
Description
When trying to deworm our pet, we often forget to weigh it, or we do not do so and simply refer to what we think its weight is, or what its weight was when it was last dewormed. This is the main reason that can lead you to underdose or, even worse, to overdose your dog. Please keep in mind that the total dose of an anti-parasitic varies according to the dog’s weight, so it is always important to weigh it first. If for any reason your dog cannot be weighed, it is better to use anti-parasitics having formulations with weight range classification, which ensures that we are administering the right dose.
Uses/benefits of Deworming Medicine For Dogs
Dogs are curious animals, and they encounter much of the world with their noses and mouths. Unfortunately, this means intestinal worms are a common and constant threat. If you’ve discovered evidence of worms in your dog, using a worming treatment can quickly and effectively address the problem.
Many options are available to help you treat and control worms in your dog; the most common are tablets and spot-on treatments. Once you’ve found the right product for your dog, administering the treatment is usually straightforward. But what happens after you’ve treated your dog for worms? Here’s what to expect in the first hours and days after deworming.
Features of Deworming Medicine For Dogs
It’s a good idea to deworm your pet at home where your pet is comfortable. If possible, choose a quiet weekend so your pet is calm and relaxed — not stressed or excited by a lot of commotion and so you will have time to monitor your dog after administering the worming treatment. Worming your dog is a relatively simple process, much like giving your pet a treat. In fact, if you use a tablet-based worming treatment, it can be helpful to hide the pill in a treat like cheese, peanut butter, turkey or wet food to help make sure your dog completely swallows the tablet. Some tablets are already flavored to taste like a treat to your pet, so they may not need to be hidden in food. However, some dogs may try to spit out a tablet immediately or even several minutes after you give it to them — even if it’s flavored — so disguising the pill as a treat can make the process easier for you and your dog.
As with any oral medication, dogs can occasionally vomit shortly after taking the dose. If your pet is a puppy or has a habit of eating food or drinking water too quickly and getting sick, monitor them for vomiting for two to three hours after administering the worming tablet.
If your dog vomits the tablet whole, wait a little bit for them to calm down and then re-administer the pill. If the tablet is partially digested or not visible at all, contact your veterinarian to get a new dose. If your dog hates pills and knows all your tricks, there are also topical worming products available.
Regardless of what kind of worming product you use, the treatment will typically begin working within a few hours and your dog will most likely behave as normal.
The Deworming Process after a Few Days
Depending what kind of worms your dog has, you may or may not see worms in their stool in the days following a worming treatment. Most worming products treat roundworms, hookworms and whipworms by paralyzing and killing the parasites; tapeworms are killed and broken up into smaller segments. Some intestinal worms, like hookworms and whipworms, are so small that you won’t see any worms in your dog’s stool at all.
You may be surprised to still see live worms in your dog’s feces after worming them, but this is normal. While this can be an unpleasant image, it’s actually a good thing — it means the worms are no longer living inside your dog! Additionally, you may see dead worms in your dog’s stool for a few days following treatment, or your dog may have diarrhea as they digest the dead worms. Most of the time, regardless of what you see in their stool, recently wormed dogs behave like normal.
Directions
For the removal of large roundworms (Ascarids) and hookworms, give 1 tablet for each 10 lbs. of body weight. (Dosage is designed to provide at least 2.27 mg per pound of body weight for dogs weighing over 5 lbs., and at least 4.54 mg per pound of body weight for dogs weighing less than 5 lbs.). For dogs weighing more than 10 lbs., tablets may be broken in half to provide 1/2 tablet for each additional 5 lbs. body weight. The presence of these parasites should be confirmed by laboratory fecal examination. Do not withhold food from your dog prior to or after treatment. Place tablet directly into back of mouth or conceal tablet in a small amount of food. A follow-up fecal examination should be conducted in 2 to 4 weeks after first treatment to determine the need for retreatment.
Since anthelmintics cannot be relied upon to prevent reinfection or to remove larvae not present in the intestinal tract at the time of initial treatment, for maximum control, it is recommended that puppies be treated at 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks of age. Lactating bitches should be treated 2-3 weeks after whelping. Adult dogs should be routinely treated at monthly intervals to protect against environmental T. canis reinfection. Retreatment of adult dogs may be necessary at monthly intervals as determined by laboratory fecal examinations or in animals kept in known contaminated quarters.
Prices of Deworming Medicine For Dogs
$20.98 – $46.48