Worming
The most common intestinal worms that affect dogs in Australia are:
- roundworm
- hookworm
- whipworm
- tapeworm
Some of the symptoms a dog can experience are:
- loss of appetite
- vomiting
- diarrhoea
Severe cases lead to death.
Common worms are readily controllable with a routine worming treatment. Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until 12 weeks of age, then monthly until six months old. After six months all dogs need to be wormed every three months for effective protection.
Heartworm
Mosquitoes bites cause immature stages of heartworm to spread in dogs. A dog effected by heartworm will have an infestation of long thin worms (up to 30 cm in length) lodge in the heart and vessels and feed on surrounding blood.
