I recently reminded caregivers that pet parasites are alive and well…. Now it is time to get serious… REALLY serious. Often the small things in life create the biggest problems, and parasites may be small, but they can cause big problems for your dog. Humans have death and taxes…most dogs are afflicted with parasites at some point in their lives. Almost all puppies are born with roundworm infection, and roundworm is the most common internal parasite in any age dog simply because it is spread from the mother, or can be picked up in contaminated soil. Sometimes roundworms can be spotted in a dog’s stools, looking like wiggling pieces of spaghetti, but who looks at a dog’s bathroom deposits?

Yuk! Checking your dog’s feces is certainly not glamorous, but you can get valuable information about his health from the color, odor, consistency, contents, and amount of his poop. Usually a healthy poop is well-formed, firm but not hard, moist, and doesn’t fall apart when picked up. Various medical conditions can affect the stool, so if your dog’s poop strays from the norm for a day or two, it may not be serious, and even mucus or blood doesn’t mean that your dog is dying, but it definitely warrants a visit to the vet, and whether or not you see worms doesn’t mean that parasites are not infecting your dogs:

• Hookworms can cause significant illness as they have sharp teeth that tear into the lining of the intestine, and they actually feed on the animal’s blood, which can cause anemia.
• Whipworms are tough to diagnose because even a fecal exam may miss them since they do not come out in every stool, but intermittently.
• Tapeworms can sometimes be seen by checking your pet’s bottom. Look for rice-shaped tapeworm segments squirming on the hair near the dog’s anus. Most pets that have tapeworms got them originally from infected fleas.
• Heartworm is one of the most damaging of all parasites and heartworm larvae enters an animal through a mosquito bite, and the mosquitoes are already numerous, meaning that it’s likely to be a huge parasite infection this year!
• Other parasites that are sometimes found in a fecal exam are protozoan parasites, coccidia, and giardia, a very insidious parasite that is found mostly in stagnant water, but it can pop up in lakes and ponds.

It’s time to get serious. Do not wait until you see a flea or find a tick. And yes, the ticks are already active! We removed ticks from a new rescue dog just this last week, and even if you see no evidence of worm infestation, regular fecal samples should be checked regularly to determine what, if any, parasite is present. Protecting your pet from internal parasites is a vital part of responsible pet care because, although they may be puny, they can wreak havoc on your dog’s health. We do not recommend buying over- the- counter wormers or flea and tick preventatives because many of the generic products are either too harsh or may be ineffective, and some are downright dangerous! Trust your vet to help you choose the products that will be most effective in eliminating any problems. Fleas, ticks and worms can all be defeated with preparation, vigilance, and treatment but you must be serious, really serious!