...About Parasites But Were Afraid To Ask
Larry P. Occhipinti, DVM, MPVM
Guardman’s Bullmastiffs


Many pet owners are taken aback by parasites, and the discussion of them.
They can often be quite reluctant to accept that their pet has a parasite problem, and many get squeamish with discussions of parasite life cycles, stool examinations, and the possible risks for human cross-infections.

This is understandable, but I do believe that an awareness and basic understanding of the common canine parasites, as well as parasite treatment and prevention, is a must for all pet owners, dog fanciers, and breeders.

The pet owner also will certainly benefit being aware of the canine parasitic problems that may also infect them, and other family members, as well as their animals and animals owned by others.

When we talk about parasites we need to be aware of five things:

1. What parasites commonly infect our dogs, and how do they do so?
2. What organ systems do they infect and what sorts of problems are associated with them?
3. How do we diagnose them?
4. How do we treat and prevent parasites?
5. Which canine parasites are a risk to humans?
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The Organ Systems & Their Common Parasites:


Skin: Fleas & Ticks
Ear mites
Mange Mites-Demodex & Sarcoptic

Intestinal Tract: Roundworms
Tapeworms
Hookworms
Whipworms
Coccidia
Heart: Heartworms

Health Problems Associated With Canine Parasites:

Parasites are at the least, unsightly, and at the worst. lethal to the dog.

Where the animal lies along this wide clinical spectrum depends on the severity of infection, the length of time that the infection has been ongoing, the age of the dog, and whether other medical problems also exist independent of, or as a result of the parasites.

The patients most susceptible to serious complications of parasitic infection are the newborn, juvenile, senior, and the ill.

Fleas & Ticks:

Fleas and ticks feed on your dog’s red blood cells, and anemia related to fleas and ticks is always a very real concern.

Flea skin allergy, hot spots, hair loss, itchiness, skin infection, and tapeworm infection are all potentially very debilitating over time to the dog chronically infested with fleas as well.

I have seen dogs darn near mutilate themselves due to the intense allergy they suffer as the result of flea saliva that is deposited in the skin when the flea bites to feed.

Sometimes just one or two fleas on a dog will send them into an itching frenzy, with severe inflammation/infection being the end result.

The common spots involved with flea allergy are the tail base, flanks, caudal thighs, and caudal half of the body.

Fleas can be hard to find on dark coated and thick coated dogs, or when the numbers are few.
A simple plastic flea comb will usually quickly reveal fleas, and the dark black feces of the flea (flea poop), as well as flea larva.
Together the flea poop and flea larva look just like“salt & pepper” when you place the debris picked up by the flea comb onto a paper towel.

The good news is the marvelous effectiveness of topical products such as Advantix, Frontline, and Revolution, which do a bang up job in quickly getting rid of fleas and ticks, and controlling them to near zero levels when applied every 30 to 90 days.

You should begin using one of these topical flea/tick treatment/prevention products as soon as the pup is 6 to 8 weeks old.
I do not recommend they be used on the pregnant dog though, or on dogs with sensitivity to the products, or ill or convalescing dogs.


There are several varieties of ticks that feed on dogs....deer ticks and brown dog ticks come to mind.
Ticks do all the same things as fleas, but they are much more of a threat to both the dog and to man.
They transmit several rickettsial infections, including lyme’s disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, and blood parasites.
These bacterial infections and blood paraites can be lethal to man and dog alike, causing fevers, lameness, heart disease, and anemia.

I hate fleas, but I really DETEST ticks due to the serious health risks that ticks pose to both man and beast.

You must dedicate yourself to RELIGIOUSLY prevent ticks !!

Frontline is my preference for dogs with tick problems, and I encourage these owners to keep their tall grass mowed short, and use an outdoor premise spray in their yards which will not only kill adult ticks, but also prevent flea and tick eggs from hatching for up to 6 months.
Vet Kem Outdoor Siphotrol Spray is a good choice if your dog has a tick problem, and if you live where deer and other wildlife frequent your area.
I’d recommend you treat the property in the early Spring and again in early Fall to keep ticks away, in addition to using Topical Frontline every 30 days if necessary.

If you or your dog should have a visible tick on your skin that is attached, what I recommend is to moisten a cotton ball with flea spray, and squeeze the liquid directly onto the tick...wait 30 seconds, and the flea spray will get the tick to loosen its mouthparts and begin to back out looking for an exit.
Then, you can gently remove it with a Kleenex tissue without having to twist it off and leave moutparts in the skin that tend to fester.

If the dog has a lot of ticks, applying a flea dip will get them to drop off, but you will want to be sure you get them all off as you are applying the properly mixed flea dip as a sponge bath to nonpregnant animals, and to animals of appropriate age and general health.

Have your veterinarian examine the dog if a circular rash develops around the tick bite site, as this can be a sign of lyme’s infection.
A trip to your doctor would be advised if such a rash develops surrounding a tick bite on yourself.

Intestinal Parasites:

The most common intestinal parasite is the roundworm, but in certain geographical areas of the country it is not uncommon for dogs to obtain hookworm, whipworm, and tapeworms.

Roundworms and hookworms can be transferred from mother to her unborn pups, and can cause severe anemia, weight loss, verminous pneumonia, vomiting, diarrhea ,pot belly appearance, poor coat and itchy skin, and bowel impaction.
Tapewrms and whipworms also can cause vomiting and diarrhea, as well as poor coats and weight loss.

The life cycles of the intestinal parasites also involve adult worm eggs that are passed with the stool into the environment, and which can remain dormant and/or develop into infective larval stages which cause infection when the dog ingests the eggs or has the larval stages penetrate the skin.

These intestinal parasites can also be transmitted to man, and cause serious problems such as visceral larval migrans, blindness, and other serious organ dysfunction.
Children are most at risk of accidentally ingesting eggs passed in the dog stool, so we must prevent such exposure, and enforce good personal hygiene.

I recommend every puppy have two or three microscopic stool screens performed by the veterinarian between 6 and 12 weeks of age, and then once or twice yearly.
The screens are inexpensive, and the parasite is diagnosed by the appearance of the eggs, whereupon appropriate medication can be administered until the parasites are eliminated.

In bitches whose pups have large worm loads, I recommend they be wormed 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after whelping, and their pups be screened at 4 weeks of age, and treated quickly if parasite eggs are seen.

For the adult dog, flea control will keep the tapeworm problem down to a minimum.
Also, monthly heartworm prevention with topical Revolution, or oral Heartguard Plus or Iverheart Plus, will keep the other intestinal parasites to a minimum in the adult besides preventing heartworms.


Coccidia:

This is a unicellualr paraite, not a worm, and it is most common to find in puppies with diarrhea, although it is frequently diagnosed during routine puppy stool exams before diarrhea has developed.

If seen, a brief 7 to 10 day course of Albon usually knocks coccidia right out.
However, there is risk for coccidia to infect man, and other pets, so the infected animal must be kept separate from the others and out of public places until the stool samples test negative.

Many feel coccidia is a husbandry problem more than anything else.
Pups, and their pens, food and water dishes, and toys must be kept clean at all times.
Good husbandry greatly reduces the chances for coccidia to occur.
Also, be sure the food and water sources are not shared with livestock or poultry.


Heartworms:

Heartworms are a serious and deadly canine parasite problem in various area of the USA, especially the coastal areas, and warm moist areas where mosquitos exist in large numbers, such as the West and East coastal states, and especiallythe South and South Eastern states.

The heartworm life cycle involves mosquitos, as the infective larval stages develop over several weeks in the mosquito, and are transmitted to the dog, as well as man, cat, raccoon,coyote, fox, wolf, and bear species to name a few.
It takes about 6 months for transmitted larval stages of the heartworm to develop in the heart and pulmonary vessels of the dog, and cause cough, weight loss, and eventually death.

We recommend pups be placed on either topical Revolution,, which prevents heartworms, fleas, ticks, and other intestinal parasite infection, or a once monthly oral heartworm preventitive such as Heartguard Plus or Iverheart Plus, and that they be blood tested for heartworms once yearly, at the same time they have their stool screens checked, and their physical examination performed.


The bottom line is we need to be proactive in screening, treating, and preventing parasite problems in our dogs...starting as pup, and then throughout their entire life.

With the help of your veterinarian parasite control and prevention is easy!!