Intestinal Parasites

De-worming is recommended for all puppies and kittens. Puppies and kittens readily obtain intestinal parasites from their mothers or other animals. All puppies and kittens should be de-wormed several times.

Roundworm, Hookworm, Whipworms are common intestinal parasites. Adult worms produce eggs that are passed into the stool and are visible only under the microscope when a stool sample is examined. These worms can cause serious damage to the intestinal tract. Occasionally a very young puppy or kitten may have young adult worms that are not yet producing eggs, thus a fecal exam may be read as "negative" when the animal truly does have worms. In this case, we would recommend a repeat fecal exam a few weeks later. You may see your puppy or kitten pass adult worms in its stool or via vomiting- bring these in for identification. Yearly stool examinations are recommended for older dogs and cats.

Coccidia are parasites that can only be seen microscopically. They can cause serious diarrhea and are readily transmitted from one pet to another. They require a medication different from that used for roundworm, hookworm, and whipworms.

Tapeworm are contracted by swallowing fleas or from eating rodents. They are most often seen by you at home, in the stool or on the pet's fur or bedding. They look like small off-white rice segments. As long as your puppy is exposed to fleas, he can become re-infested. Tapeworms  do little physical damage, but are treated for aesthetic reasons.

Heartworm Disease in Dogs

Heartworm disease is a serious year-round problem in this area. Larva of the parasitic worm are carried by mosquitoes and are transmitted to a dog when the mosquito feeds. The larvae travel to the dog's heart, mature, mate, and produce microfilaria. Heartworms cause extensive damage to the lungs, liver, heart and kidneys of the infected dogs. Heartworm disease can be treated, but not always successfully. We strongly recommend that all dogs in this area be placed on preventative medication. Puppies may start as early as 6 weeks of age. A monthly tablet or chew, called Heartgard, is available. Dogs should be kept on preventative year-round. Any dog over 6 months of age that has not been on preventative must be tested for the presence of microfilariae prior to starting preventative or doing any surgical procedure such as a spay or castration.