Worms in Dogs.

It has been said that all puppies are born with worms. This may or may not be the case. Some litters show more symptoms than others, but it seems to be a fact that all puppies become infested with them soon after birth if they do not have them before. There are two common types of worms, round- and hookworm, and both are exceedingly harmful to the puppy. The hookworm attaches itself to the lining of the intestine and lives on the blood sucked from the intestinal wall. The roundworm lives on nourishment which it withdraws from the food in the dog's intestine. It also interferes with the digestive functions of the dog. These worms lower the resistance of the animal to such a point that he is more than usually vulnerable to various canine diseases.

Large roundworms are hatched from eggs which are deposited in thousands by one female worm. From here, their life cycle is interesting, if somewhat revolting. The eggs pass from the intestines into the stools and remain on the ground in the run unless cleaned up. After being exposed to moisture and heat, they become ready to hatch. The dogs get these ripe eggs into their mouths when feeding or chewing bones. Nursing puppies may get them from the nipples of a dam that has perhaps been lying in the run sunning herself.

Once these eggs have again obtained entrance to the stomach and intestines, they hatch into small worms. However, they do not stay here, as might be expected, but work their way through the intestinal wall and get into the blood vessels. From here they are carried to the liver, thence to the heart and then to the lungs. While in the lungs they set up excessive irritation and even cause pneumonia in some instances. A few days later the young worms crawl up the windpipe, but instead of being expelled through the mouth they are swallowed and again reach the intestine, where they continue to grow and produce more eggs. Thus it may be seen that to treat puppies or grown dogs for worms successfully, it is not only necessary to remove all the parasites within the body, but also to prevent reinfection.

To make a definite diagnosis of the presence of round-worms is difficult unless the worms are actually seen in the droppings, or are vomited because of the irritation they are causing in the stomach. They may be suspected if the coat is poor, the gums white, and the breath foul. The abdomens of young puppies will become distended, and there may be digestive disorders such as colic and diarrhea. Frequently a puppy will make unsuccessful attempts to vomit these pests, or will suffer from fits.

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