How to Get Rid of a Dog's Roundworms

Roundworms are a common parasite found in puppies and dogs. Roundworms look like pieces of spaghetti and are normally between 4 and 7 inches long. Sometimes you see them in the dog's stool or vomit. Roundworm infections can cause diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss and a pot bellied appearance in your dog. If there area large amount of worms present in the dog, the intestines can become blocked.

Instructions

1. Call your vet and tell him that your dog has roundworms if you see large worms in her stool or vomit that look like pieces of spaghetti. Your vet can prescribe a prescription medication to get rid of the roundworms. Pyrantel Pamoate is the medication most commonly used by vets to get rid of roundworms.

2. Bring your dog into the vet, or bring a stool sample to the vet, if you have not seen worms in the stool, but the dog is displaying symptoms of having worms. The vet can test the stool sample for the presence of roundworm eggs. Eggs are passed through the dog's stool, but are usually not visible to the human eye.

3. Follow the dosage directions given by your vet when treating your dog for roundworm. The amount of medication that you need to give the dog is determined based on his body weight.

4. Pick up all stool from the yard while you are treating the dog for roundworms to prevent reinfestation. If your dog, or another dog, eats feces that has roundworm eggs present, the eggs hatch in her body and infestation begins again.

5. Repeat the dosage of the medication on the interval instructed by your vet. Migrating larvae is not killed by the medication. Therefore, it is usually necessary to do a second, and possibly a third treatment, a few weeks later, to allow migrating larvae to arrive in the intestines where they can be anhestisized by the medication. The worms then pass from the dog's body and die.

6. Keep your dog on monthly heartworm treatment to prevent the dog from getting roundworms in the future. Heartguard, Interceptor, and Sentinel also protect your dog from many internal parasites.

Tips & Warnings

• Dogs often get roundworms from eating feces of another dog that has the worms. When visiting a dog park, or other places where other dogs are present, monitor your dog closely to make sure that he does not eat feces.

• Another common way for dogs to get roundworms is by eating rodents, or other small animals, that have roundworms. If your dog is a hunter, you may wish to treat for worms on a regular basis. Discuss the situation with your vet.

• Humans can also be infected with roundworms by ingesting the eggs which are passed in the dog's feces. Be sure to wash your hands well after picking up stool, as well as before eating. Roundworms in humans can have much more serious health effects than they do in dogs.