Puppy Worms – Protecting Your New Puppy From Parasites

It is important to protect your puppy from worm infection as early as possible.

Did you bring your new puppy home with puppy worms without knowing it?

Life with a new puppy is anything but dull. There’s so much to think about, from what to name and feed your puppy, to housebreaking and vaccination. And then, there’s the subject no one wants to think about but can’t afford to ignore… there’s a good chance your new puppy has worms on their body.

ALL puppies have intestinal worms – or at least, canine intestinal worms are so common in puppies that it’s probably safer to assume your puppy has worms, and that you should act accordingly – safely deworm the puppy right at the start.

Worms in puppies – how do puppies get infected with worms?

Young puppies are often born with intestinal worms transmitted to them…

before birth: hormonal changes in pregnancy can activate worm larvae that had been dormant in the mother’s tissue for a long period of time. These larvae subsequently migrate through the placenta to infect the unborn puppies. They can also migrate to the mammary glands and infect nursing puppies;
through their mother’s milk; from the environment, after they are born.

Young puppies are often not taken to the veterinarian before they are 6 to 8 weeks of age, and because there’s such a high rate of worms infection in puppies, they may already be actively contaminating the environment.

FACT: In 1996, a survey was conducted using stool samples from puppies, collected across the U.S. Results suggested that more than 30% of dogs under 6 months of age were shedding Toxocara canis (canine roundworm) eggs. Other studies have shown that virtually all puppies are born infected with Toxocara canis. (As reported by the Companion Animal Parasite Council.)

This is an important concern – especially since some canine intestinal worms can also infect humans easily through what is known as "zoonotic disease".