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Paige Masters, Gainesville Wedding Photographer in Gainesville Florida
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Dog owners should be familiar with the risks of worms in dogs; not only to themselves but to other people too. A type of internal parasite, worms in dogs can cause ill health in both humans and dogs.

Although worms in dogs can be damaging, there are often no outward signs of ill health until the worms are already damaging the dog’s health. Worms in dogs are difficult to spot, but be alert for general loss of condition, sickness and diarrhoea.There are two types of worms in dogs: roundworms and tapeworms.

Roundworms

Pale white or beige in colour, roundworms look as though they are coiled like a spring and may grow up to 100mm long. You might be able to see them in your dog’s faeces or sick. The way in which dogs become infected with roundworms is by eating their larvae, allowing adult worms to develop inside the body. Later, new eggs are passed through the dog in his faeces, restarting the chain again. The most common form of roundworm, Toxocara Canis, sadly affects the health of people, and notably children. When children ingest eggs as a result of contact with contaminated soil, larvae can grow in their bodies and migrate around the body. Should the larvae reach the eyes, they have the potential to cause serious damage to the eyesight. This is one of the main reasons why dog owners should always pick up after their pet.

Tapeworms

Tapeworms look like flat segments filled with moving eggs which look a lot like grains of rice and you might be able to see them in the dog’s faeces or around his anus. Fleas carry tapeworm larvae so dogs become infected when they swallow fleas whilst grooming. Inside the dog, tapeworms can grow as long as 5m.

In keeping with the general rule of thumb for any health problem, prevention is better than cure for worms in dogs. It is therefore important to ensure your dog is wormed every three months. Young puppies require worming even more regularly than that. You can buy effective worming medication from both pet shops and the vet’s surgery: your vet will be able to advise you which is best.