Treating a Puppy for Worms?

Abigail A.

January 28, 20150 found this helpful

Yes, dewormer can and should be administered. They are given to shelter rescue dogs that are sick and not eating all the time.

However, if your dog has heartworms, dewormer won't kill them. Heartworm prevention is inexpensive and easy, but heartworm once contracted can damage the heart and has to be treated, expensively, by a vet. Have your dog checked for heartworm. It's a blood test.

It would have been really valuable to bring in the vomit sample so the vet would know exactly which worms to treat, but that didn't happen.They may have to do blood tests to find out. Does your puppy have all its shots? If it doesn't, set up an appointment to start the vaccinations as well.

DCA
Bronze Answer Medal for All Time! 220 Answers

January 28, 20150 found this helpful

Puppies are very susceptable to worms so veterinarians recommend deworming puppies at 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks, again at 16 & 18 weeks, then every 6 months for adults.

You have not provided your puppy's age and prior deworming history. What has your veterinarian recommended for deworming? Do you know what type of worms your puppy vomited? There are several types, some live in the intestines and another lives in the heart. Accordingly, there are different medications used for the particular worm. For example the hookworm lives in the intestines by "hooking" into the walls of the intestines. This worm may require not only deworming medication but also blood transfusions as the hookworm takes blood from the intestine wall.

If you have not taken your puppy to your vet for deworming, please do so now because your puppy needs the correct medical care for his deworming. If you give your puppy the incorrect medication, it will not solve your puppy's worm problem and the worms will continue to grow and cause much more difficult medical problems.

I recommend this website from WebMD for further information about your puppy and worms:
pets.webmd.com/.../deworming-dogs-puppies