The time it takes for a puppy to expel the worms can vary depending on several factors The parasite species causing the infection is one of the most relevant factors, since it will be what determines the duration of the biological cycle of the parasite and, consequently, the duration of the antiparasitic treatment and elimination of the parasites. However, there are other factors such as parasite load or treatment, which can also influence the time it takes for a puppy to eliminate parasites.
If you want to know how long it takes a puppy to expel worms, don't miss the next article on our site.
Why do puppies get worms?
Worms are internal parasites that can infect dogs throughout their lives, even when they are puppies. In fact, very few parasitic infections are related to the age of the animal; the risk is present throughout their lives, so the control must be continuous and appropriate at all times. However, we must bear in mind that puppies have a more immature immune system than adults and, therefore, may be more vulnerable to this type of parasite. In addition, some parasites can reach transplancental transmission (through the placenta) and lactogenic route(through breast milk), which means that these processes can affect dogs from very early ages and cause serious illnesses.
To prevent your puppy from suffering from parasites, prevention is essential Veterinarians should inform pet sitters about the risks posed by parasitic diseases, as well as the measures that must be taken to reduce such risks. It is important to emphasize that many of these processes can be transmitted from animals to people (that is, they are zoonotic), so proper he alth education of caregivers will be essential to preserve the he alth of both animals and people. On the other hand, keepers must maintain good hygiene and comply with the deworming protocol established by their veterinarian. It should be noted that prevention is especially important when traveling to areas with a different epidemiological situation than usual. We must remember that within our own country there are endemic areas for certain parasites, which will be important to take into account to avoid risks.
How many worms can a puppy have?
First of all, we must remember that there are four types of worms that can parasitize our dog's intestine: roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and flatwormsIts morphological characteristics, biological cycles, transmission routes and pathogenesis depend on the specific species.
The level of parasitization by intestinal worms that a puppy can have depends on various factors. Here we list the most important ones:
- Place and time of year: parasites require certain environmental conditions (mainly temperature and humidity) to complete their biological cycle of effective way. Therefore, dogs that are in endemic areas for certain parasites and at favorable times for the development of parasites, will be exposed to greater environmental contamination and, therefore, will have a higher parasite load.
- Parasitic species causing the infection: The prolificacy will be different depending on the parasite species. Some, such as roundworms, can produce up to 200,000 eggs per day, which means greater contamination of the environment with the infective forms and, consequently, a greater parasitic load in dogs. In addition, we must bear in mind that, in the case of massive infestations, the size of the adult parasites will condition the parasite load. The size of the intestinal tract is limited, so the number of worms that the intestine can harbor will depend on the size of the parasites (the larger the size, the lower the parasite load).
- Individual factors: Under identical conditions, not all animals have the same parasite load, since there are individual factors such as age, immune status or the general condition of the host that determine the level of infection. The lower the capacity of the host to deal with parasitosis, the greater its parasitic load.
How to get rid of worms in puppies?
When a parasitic infection is diagnosed, appropriate preventive measures must be taken and a specific antiparasitic treatmentmust be instituted and appropriate.
When we ask ourselves how long it takes for a puppy to expel worms or worms, we must take into account the treatment, but also the preventive measures. Therefore, preventive measures should be taken before, during and after of any intestinal parasitosis. Before and after they will prevent the infection of our dog, and during they will serve to reduce environmental contamination by the infective stages and will prevent the continuous reinfection of our pet. The preventive measures that we must consider in intestinal parasites are the following:
- Hygiene measures All intestinal worms are transmitted in the form of eggs or larvae through feces (faecal route), by Therefore, applying hygiene measures such as the regular removal of faeces will significantly reduce environmental contamination and the presence of the infective stages of these parasites in the environment. This measure will prevent reinfection of our dog, as well as the infection of other dogs, animals or ourselves, since, as we have mentioned, some of these diseases are zoonotic.
- Avoid raw diets Some of these parasites are transmitted by eating raw meat, so it is important to ensure that animals are fed a commercial diet or a home cooked diet (never raw). In particular, they must be prevented from having access to viscera, such as livers or lungs. In case of following a BARF diet, the meat must be frozen beforehand.
- Guarantee access to drinking water. Dogs must always have fresh, clean and drinkable water. We must prevent them from coming into contact with dirty or stagnant water that can be a source of any of these parasites.
- Avoid hunting habits. Dogs should be prevented from having contact with wild or dead animals, as well as hunting rodents, as these can also be a source of infection.
- Avoid zoonosis If the parasite causing the infection is zoonotic, we must implement stricter hygiene measures. The infective stages (eggs or larvae) can be found in the environment, our dog's fur or her articles. For this reason, it will be important to wash your hands frequently and periodically clean our puppy's items (toys, bed, etc.). In addition, as a general measure, dogs should be prevented from defecating in and around playgrounds, since children are a particularly sensitive population.
- Strict sanitary control Fecal tests (coprology) should be performed routinely. During the first year of our puppy's life, between 2 and 4 coprological analyzes will be carried out, since young animals, in addition to being exposed to oro-faecal transmission, can also be infected via the transplacental or lactogenic route. After the first year of life, it will be enough to do them annually. Carrying out regular checks on our dog's feces will help us detect asymptomatic infections and reduce the amount of antiparasitic used.
- Routine deworming The frequency of internal and external deworming in dogs depends on several factors: age, place of residence, activity, coexistence with other animals, travel, physiological state, etc. In the case of puppies, the first internal deworming will be carried out in the second week of life, and will be repeated every 15 days until they are 8 weeks old. After 8 weeks, an individual protocol will be established based on the factors described above. In animals with a higher risk of infection (endemic areas, hunting dogs, frequent trips, pregnant or lactating females, etc.), they will be dewormed monthly. In animals that live in the city and have less risk, it can be dewormed quarterly (4 times a year). The first external deworming will be carried out at 10 weeks of age and, from then on, it will be carried out routinely depending on the type of drug and the route of administration.
- Comprehensive control of parasites Some of the intestinal parasites are transmitted from external ectoparasites, such as mites or fleas. Therefore, it is essential to carry out a comprehensive control that encompasses both internal and external parasites. Only in this way will we guarantee that our dog is completely protected.
In addition to preventive measures, as we have mentioned, in case of parasitosis it will be necessary to establish a specific antiparasitic treatment to eliminate the causal agent. The main antiparasitic drugs available in Spain for the treatment of these parasites are: macrocycline lactones (ivermectin, moxidectin, milbemycin, selamectin), praziquantel, pyrantel, oxantel, epsiprantel and benzimidazoles (fenbendazole, flubendazole, mebendazole, oxibendazole, febantel). In any case, for the antiparasitic treatment to be effective, it must be based on the prepatent period of the specific parasite species. In the following section we explain what the prepatent period is and what its importance is.
How long does it take for a puppy to expel worms?
To understand how long it takes for a puppy to expel worms, we must first explain the concept of “ prepatent period ”. The prepatent period is the time that elapses from the acquisition of a parasitic agent (infection) to the generation of new parasitic forms. As an example, it would be the time that elapses between the time a dog ingests an infective egg until the adult parasites develop and shed eggs again. As is logical, despite the fact that we establish the appropriate treatment, our puppy will not finish expelling worms until that prepatent period has not been completed. What is sought is that the treatment acts on the new parasitic forms as they are generated, in order to cover the entire biological cycle of the parasite.
The prepatency period is the factor that most determines the time in which a puppy expels the worms. To know it exactly, we must take into account the parasite species causing the infection and the transmission route. However, in addition to the prepatent period, there are other factors that can also condition the elimination time, such as the parasitic load or the treatment established.
What to do if my puppy won't stop expelling worms?
If despite preventive measures and antiparasitic treatment, your puppy continues to expel worms, it is important to review the guidelines set by your veterinarian to detect errors that may be responsible for therapeutic failure.
In the first instance, we must make sure that we are adequately complying with the preventive measures that our veterinarian has prescribed. If proper environmental hygiene is not maintained or if we allow our dog to continue to have access to possible sources of infection (contaminated water, raw meat, rodents, etc.), it will continue to be in contact with the infective forms of the parasite and will be continuously reinfected. To control environmental contamination, we must wash with hot water (over 60 ºC) and then use a disinfectant solution such as benzalkonium chloride, sodium hypochlorite or potassium hydroxide.
If we are rigorously complying with the preventive measures, but our puppy continues to expel worms, the pharmacological treatment may not be adequate In In the treatment of intestinal parasites caused by worms, it is important to ensure that the drug or combination of drugs that are administered have an effect against larvae and adults, that is, they must be larvicides and adulticides. Otherwise, the treatment will only act against one phase of the parasite, but others will survive and be able to continue their biological cycle and keep the infection active. In addition, the spectrum of action of the drug, the dose and the posology should be reviewed, since an error in any of these points can also be responsible for therapeutic failure.
In any case, it is important that if your puppy does not stop expelling worms, go back to your veterinarian to find the cause and fix it as soon as possible.
