Internal Parasites
The most common worms are the round type. These, like many other worms, are carried and spread by the flea and go through a cycle within the dog host. They are excreted in egg or larval form and passed on to other dogs in this manner.
Worm medicine should be prescribed by a veterinarian. Dogs should be checked for worms at least twice a year, or every three months if there is an epidemic known in your area, and during the summer months when fleas are plentiful.
Major types of worms are hookworms, whipworms, tapeworms (the only non-round worms in this list), ascarids (the "typical" round worms), heartworms, kidney and lung worms. Each can be peculiar to a part of the country or may be carried by a dog from one area to another. Kidney and lung worms are fortunately quite rare. The others are not. Some symptoms for worms are vomiting intermittently, eating grass, lack of pep, bloated stomach, rubbing the tail along the ground, loss of weight, dull coat, anemia and pale gums, eye discharge, or unexplained nervousness and irritability. A dog with worms will usually eat twice as much as he normally would.
Never worm a sick dog, or a pregnant bitch after the first two weeks she has been bred, and never worm a constipated dog . . . It will retain the strong medicine within the body for too long a time.
The best and safest way to determine the presence of worms is to test for them before they do excessive damage. Worms alone can kill your dog if the infestation is severe enough. Even light infestations of worms can debilitate to the point where a dog becomes more susceptible to serious diseases which can kill.
Today's medication for worming is relatively safe and mild, and worming is no longer the traumatic experience for either dog or owner that it used to be. Great care must be given, however, to the proper administration of the drugs. Correct dosage is a "must" and it is essential to maintain clean quarters to rid your kennel of these parasites. It is almost impossible to find an animal that is completely free of parasites; so we must consider worming as a necessary evil.
However mild today's medicines may be, it is inadvisable to worm a dog unnecessarily. There are simple tests to determine the presence of worms and this chapter is designed to help you learn how to make these tests yourself. Veterinarians charge a nominal fee for this service, if it is not part of their regular office examination. It is a simple matter to prepare fecal slides that you can check yourself on a periodic basis. Over the years it will save you much time and money, especially if you have more than one dog or a large kennel.
All that is needed by way of equipment is a microscope with 10x or 12x power. These can be purchased in the toy department in a department or regular toy store for a few dollars, depending on what else you want to get with it; but the basic, least expensive sets come with the necessary glass slides and attachments. Good results may also be achieved with a quality hand-glass of 10x or 12x power.
After the dog has defecated, take an applicator stick, a toothpick with a flat end and or even a wooden matchstick, and gouge off a piece of the stool about the size of a small pea. Have one of the glass slides ready with a large drop of water on it. Mix the two together until you have a cloudy film over a large area of the slide. This smear should be covered with another slide or a cover slip-though it is possible to obtain readings with just the open slide. Place your slide under the microscope and prepare to focus in on it. To read the slide you will find that your eye should follow a certain pattern. Start at the top and read from left to right, then right back to the left side and then left over to the right side once again until you have looked at every portion of the slide from the top left to the bottom right side.
The Book Of The Pekingese
By Anna Katherine Nicholas
And Joan McDonald Brearley
