The Causes of Roundworms in Dogs

If there's one thing a dog owner needs to be aware of, it's roundworms. Roundworms are tiny worms that have a round body and usually grow from 3 to 5 inches in length. These worms live in your dog's intestine and feed off of food that is partially undigested.

They do not attach themselves to the intestinal wall; rather they swim around in the partially digested food and their eggs end up in your dog's stool. Although a few of those eggs will hatch before the dog expels them, and this will cause the roundworm population inside your dog to thrive.

There are a few ways that dogs can get roundworms. One way is from puppies that have mothers who had roundworms while they were pregnant or shortly after birth while they are still nursing. This can happen even if the mother hasn't had an outbreak of roundworms in the recent past as some of the eggs may not have made it all the way out of your dog's system. If your dog ingests anything that has roundworm eggs in it, or an actual roundworm, it will more than likely become infected itself, or if your dog comes into contact with another animal that has roundworms.

The good thing about roundworms is that it's fairly easy, if not a bit time consuming, to get rid of them. You can find dewormer medicine in both pill and liquid form that you can give to your dog. It will usually take more than one treatment to rid your dog of the worms and the directions usually have you retreating again after around 10 days to two weeks. Take note that these wormers usually will not kill eggs or larvae, but will, instead, cripple the roundworm causing it to pass safely and quickly through your dog.

You should make sure that your dewormer medication is able to be handled by puppies if you find them infected. Some wormers aren't supposed to be used on puppies or nursing mothers as they will have an adverse effect. If you're in doubt, you should contact your local vet as they will have information on wormers that will be the most beneficial for you and your dog. Keeping the dogs excrement picked up out of your yard will help in keeping your dog worm free as well. They can get re-infested just by relieving themselves next to excrement that is infected.