Is it a good idea to worm my dog, and if so, how often should I do it?

First of all it should be appreciated that most of the worms which affect dogs are not treated for unless they are believed to be present. Routine worming (or, more accurately, de-worming) is carried out primarily to control infection with the ascarid worms (roundworms) especially since they can be transmitted to man. The drug most commonly used is piperazine, which is relatively safe, cheap and reasonably effective. It is most definitely advisable to give this worming treatment routinely. However, this drug has no appreciable action against other types of worms, such as tapeworms. Recently even more effective drugs against ascarids have become available, some of which are also effective against tapeworms; they are, however, considerably more expensive.

It is generally recommended that puppies should be routinely wormed to remove ascarids at intervals of two or three weeks, beginning at three weeks of age until weaning, and then again at three months old and six months old. Subsequent worming at six-month intervals (or, though not so good, twelve-month intervals, e.g. at the time of the annual booster vaccination) probably provides adequate control. This routine worming is advisable because dogs can become re-infected at any age, particularly if they hunt rodents, and it is estimated that at anyone time between 2 % and 60 % of adult dogs are infected (in Britain 12 % on average, but a higher percentage in city dogs).

Newly acquired dogs should always be wormed, and pregnant bitches should be wormed about a month before giving birth. This will not remove any worms dormant in the bitch’s tissues but it will reduce the contamination of the puppy’s environment.

In addition to this routine worming for roundworms, some veterinary surgeons also advise worming dogs every six to twelve months to eliminate tapeworms. Since tapeworms are less of a problem in puppies than in adults, any routine treatment is not usually started until six months of age. A number of effective drugs are available; currently bunamidine (e.g. Scola ban) is the most commonly used, but this drug is bitter and tablets should not be broken or crushed. Treatment to remove the tapeworm Dipylidium caninum, however, is usually a waste of time unless infestations of fleas (or lice) are removed simultaneously. To ensure control of hydatidosis in problem areas (e.g. mid-Wales) continual dosing of dogs with the drug praziquantel at eight- to twelve-week intervals is advisable.

When there is definite evidence of a worm infection, worming with the appropriate drug should be carried out as soon as possible and then repeated a month or so later to remove any remaining worms.

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