dogs

[amanda clark]

how often do u worm a dog?

[lankeela]

Puppies should be wormed by the breeder from a few weeks old, then monthly up to six months then twice yearly, unless there is a particular reason to do them more often, such as flea infestation or eating wild animals.

[YvonneM]

good morning Lankeela

I do appreciate all your advice on dogs. We have not wormed our old bitch since she was a pup we just examine her faeces and in 14 yrs she has never got worms I have a [problem with treating my dog for something that is not wrong with them like fleas owners seem obssessed with treating their pets for fleas when they don't have them. I think we have discussed this before we don't have booster injections either

[lankeela]

Personally I agree, I do not worm my adult dogs unless I see signs or know they have been eating dead rabbits etc! However, most of the people who ask questions on here are 'pet' owners and only want basic advice. As they may be unlikely to recognise the signs of worms, I think it is more helpful to tell them to worm regularly (but not as often as some vets/pharmaceutical companies will tell them).

I think the reason they seem obsessed with flea treatments is that they try so many different cheap ones instead of getting a good one to start with, which is false economy.

I also don't booster my dogs, and I know this has been discussed on here before. I feel in a position to take these decisions for my dogs, but you only have to look at some of the questions to know that many people do not have any knowldge of dog health/physiology whatsoever.

[lankeela]

I would just add that I don't think you can tell just by looking at faeces whether a dog has worms, ok you can see roundworm or tapeworm if they are very infested, but a stool sample would have to be tested to know for sure that there were none particularly in the early stages.