I Don't Worm My Dogs!

I bet that headline caught your attention – WHAT – a canine professional who doesn’t worm her dogs - outrageous! READ ON….

During my time working as a nurse in Veterinary practice I found one thing that horrified clients the most was a good dose of worms! I’ve had samples brought to me in jam jars for identification – often presented at arms length with a wrinkled nose, pictures of a pile of poo with ‘things’ in it and one of the most stomach turning things I ever saw, a 12 week old puppy who was so infested with roundworms they had formed a blockage in his intestines and had to be removed with a surgical operation, it takes A LOT to turn my stomach but suffice to say it took me a long time to eat spaghetti after that!

There is no doubt that worms can cause serious health conditions and it is imperative, for the health of your dog and your family that you manage the worm burden your dog is likely to have.

So, let me qualify my previous statement – I choose not to use pharmaceutical preparations to eradicate worms in my three dogs. Instead, I use natural products and regularly carry out a faecal worm counts to ensure that the methods I adopt are effective.

My approach to keeping my dogs healthy and worm free

Everything we put into or onto our dog’s bodies and what we use around them has an effect on their health, from the food we feed them to the products we use to clean our floors.

My approach is to keep my dogs as fit and healthy as I possibly can. I use natural products for cleaning my house, bathing my dogs, I don’t use commercially produced air fresheners or diffusers. The laundry detergent I use to wash my dog’s bedding is natural and I manage any stress in our household (dog’s or people’s) before it escalates, dogs work with the energy around them and any long term dis-harmony has an effect on their (and our) immune system.

Natural feeding

I feed a natural diet with the addition of hairy chews. I support their gut microbiome and immune system in general, filter their drinking water, use natural products for health conditions (where appropriate).

Natural worming

I take a sample of my dog's faeces every 3 months and send off to a private laboratory for analysis. This tells me if my regime is working efficiently. I regularly check out their poo for any signs of worms.
I keep the testing kits in my shop: Click here for more details

I have tried many holistic protocols for worming over the years but the one I find currently suits our family the best is - Vince The Vet Natural Work Control: Click here for more details – part of the holistic range by Vince McNally Holistic Vet - and ground pumpkin seed.

What I do if I receive a positive result

Luckily I have had only had one dog test positive for Lungworm. I carried out intensive research and couldn’t find compelling evidence, at that time, that a holistic approach was going to rid my dog of lungworm. Due to the damage and ongoing health conditions lungworm can leave, I contacted my Vet (who is lovely and fully supports me in my holistic approach) and we chose a suitable pharmaceutical product. I retested and the little blighters (!) were still there so a follow up pharmaceutical was needed and a further test proved negative.

Keeping an open mind

I try to keep a balanced approach, I understand, that sometimes in the best interest of my dog, a pharmaceutical approach is required. I liken it to when I injured my leg, had someone (kindly) offered me arnica I probably, at that point, would have suggested firmly where they could shove their bottle! In my hour of need I required heavy weight painkillers which could only be delivered, there and then, by a swift dose of codeine!

Living the holistic life with my dogs is always under review, I keep up to date with the latest approaches and adapt and change when I need to so that I can pass on my findings. I always keep in mind that my choices are not a substitute for Veterinary attention, I am very fortunate to have a fabulous Vet team locally who support my holistic choices but are always there if I need them.

THE NERDY BIT

What are the different types of worms?

There are three groups of worms. Lungworm, Heart worm and Intestinal worms which include tapeworm, whipworm, roundworm and hookworm. Thankfully heartworm is rare in the UK but dogs who travel abroad are at risk.

Mypetnutritionist.com expertly gives a description of each below.

ROUNDWORMS

Roundworms also know as Toxocara Canis are the most commonly found worms in our dogs. They have the appearance of spaghetti and can reach several inches long! They live in the intestinal tract of the dog and feed off undigested food. Roundworms are very common in puppies.

Transmission

Roundworms can be transmitted in several different ways. They can be passed from mother to puppy whilst in the womb and through the mothers milk when nursing. Roundworms can also be spread by sniffing or eating infected faeces or eating infected animals like rodents, birds and earthworms, that are of course infected.

Symptoms

Roundworms are the most serious for puppies and young dogs as they can suffer from malnutrition, weight loss and have pot dog pot bellied appearance, as well as vomiting and diarrhoea. You may also notice worms in your dogs poop or vomit.

Diagnosis

Faecal screen or visually identifying

WHIPWORMS

Whipworms also known as Trichuris vulpis, live in the caecum of a dog, this is a blind ended pocket located near the large intestine. They grow to around 30-50 mm in length and get their name from their whip like appearance with a thick anterior and a very long thin posterior. Whipworms attach themselves to the mucosal lining of the caecum and feed on blood and tissue fluids.

Transmission

Dogs become infected by consuming soil or faeces that are contaminated with whipworm eggs.

Symptoms

Whipworms cause serious irritation and inflammation of the lining of the caecum, causing watery, bloody diarrhoea, weigh loss, anaemia and lethargy. If infestation is large it can be fatal.

Diagnosis

Faecal screen

HOOKWORMS

Hookworms also known as Ancylostoma Caninum, get there name from their hook like mouth piece, they are around 3mm in size and very difficult to see with the naked eye. They hook themselves to the wall of intestines and ingest blood from the tiny vessels.

Transmission

Hookworms can be transmitted in several different ways, in utero, through mother’s milk, oral ingestion and the larva can burrow through the skin!

Symptoms

Hookworms can cause lots of symptoms including pale gums, bloody stools, poor growth, weakness and severe anaemia, that can lead to death. Hookworms can also cause dermatitis and itchy skin especially on the paws where the larva has buried into the skin.

Diagnosis

Faecal screen

TAPEWORMS

There are a lots of different species of tape worms, a common tapeworm is Taenia Echinococcus but the most commonly found species in U.K. dogs is Dipylidium Caninum, also known as the flea tapeworm. Tapeworms belong to the cestode family of parasitic worms, they are flat in shape. Tapeworms hook/suck onto the intestinal wall of the dog and absorb nutrients directly through their skin. Tapeworms are made up of segments, these are called proglottids that detach from the worm and are essentially a bag full of eggs, ready to infect the environment and their next host.

Transmission

Tapeworms are carried by live stock and your dog would need to ingest a cyst to be infected, the larva in that cyst would then grow into an adult tapeworm, if it is a flea tapeworm they must first ingest a flea that has been infected with tapeworm larva, that will develop into an adult tapeworm.

Symptoms

Tapeworms can cause a whole host of symptoms from dull coat, weight loss and vomiting. Dogs will often scoot and bite at their back end, and in some cases you will see a proglottide segment crawling around the anus.

Diagnosis

Faecal screen or seen proglottides in faeces.

LUNGWORM

Lungworm also known as French heartworm, Angiostrongylus Vasorum, live in the right ventricle of the heart and pulmonary arteries of our dogs.

Transmission

Lungworm is transmitted to our dog by either eating a slug or snail that is infected with lungworm larvae, the larvae can also be transmitted to our dogs through the slug/snails slime that is on dogs toys, water bowls or infected puddles. It be noted that not all snails and slugs are infected with lungworm. (There is now also evidence which suggests that frogs and toads may carry lungworm larvae - Canine Senses).

Symptoms

Lungworms can cause serious damage if left untreated. There is lots of symptoms from vomiting, weight and appetite loss, pale gums, bruising and poor blood clotting. Coughing or coughing up blood, as well as other breathing problems such as emphysema and pneumonia. Lungworm can also cause heart problems and in extreme cases heart failure, as well as seizures.

Diagnosis

Faecal screen

HEARTWORM

Heartworm or Dirofilaria Immittis is a parasitic roundworm that is a species of filarial worm, that live in the pulmonary arterial systems and heart. They can grow up to several inches long.

Transmission

Heartworm is transmitted by a mosquito that is infected with microfilariae, an early stage heartworm larvae. The mosquito bites the dog releasing the microfilariae into the blood stream which then make their way to the pulmonary arteries and heart to develop into adult heartworm.

Symptoms

Symptoms can be anything from, fatigue, poor appetite, weight loss and coughing to chronic cardiovascular and respiratory disease. In serious cases dog can collapse due to caval syndrome, this is when blood is blocked getting back to the heart due to a high worm burden.

Diagnosis

Blood test for macrofilariae, these will not be present in blood till after 6 month of initial infection.

Antigen test, this tests for a specific protein released by female heartworms, The earliest you can test for this protein is 5 months after initial infection.

It is advised to have an annual testing for heartworm.

Some methods of naturally preventing and eradicating worms include:

Organic ground, raw pumpkin seed added to the food. Pumpkin contains the amino acid cucurbitin which paralyses and eliminates parasites from the dog’s digestive tract.
Natural treats and chews with fur attached – not everyone’s cup of tea but the fur helps to cleanse and rid the intestines of worms.
Specially formulated herbal preparations such as Vince The Vet Natural Worm Control: Click here for more details

TOP TIP TO REMEMBER

Pharmaceutical worming preparations do not prevent your dog from getting worms they just eradicate what is present at the time of worming. This means your dog could go out the following day, pick them up again and the whole cycle re-starts which is why, any protocol needs to be visited regularly.

Reference sources:
My Pet Nutritionist
NCBI Pumpkin Seed

Right off to prepare food, which today is not going to be spaghetti or rice!!