Reliable Intestinal Parasite Prevention?

[Guest Celestrina]

Many ( if not most) of us have had a pup with some kind intestinal parasite. Is there a reliable preventative?

[Hubcitypam]

Dontral Plus hands down. Pricey but worth it.

Edited November 29, 2013 by Hubcitypam

[Guest Celestrina]

Isn't that to treat an existing infestation and not a preventative?

[KF_in_Georgia]

Drs Foster & Smith have a chart on their website that compares the various heartworm preventatives, listing the ingredients and the additional parasites they control.

 

In some cases, the manufacturer may guarantee their product as long as you use meds you obtained from your vet. Meds ordered by mail are at risk of not having been stored properly, and those usually aren't covered. But if you go read the guarantee, it may be something that's virtually impossible to meet the requirements on--there often are disclaimers about you have to have used the product for x months since your last negative heartworm exam, stuff like that.

 

But use caution if you order online from overseas companies. There have been reports of counterfeit or out-of-date drugs shipped from some companies.

[Guest dockellogg]

The usual heartworm preventatives are also good intestinal parasite preventatives, in general. I won't go thru the list as there are more than I can name.

 

I often see 'larval leak', or 'leak back', of hookworms in retired racing Greyhounds. Unfortunately, there is no preventative which will prevent this. Your vet has to treat this directly. Here's what we know about this syndrome - when the dog is infected (often as a puppy) the majority of the hookworms don't go to the intestines to actively infect the dogs. They 'hide' in body tissues, and lie there 'dormant'. I'm using 'quotes' around words to stress that we don't completely understand the mechanisms. At some time in the future, these 'dormant' parasites can reemerge and actively infect the dog, resulting in clinical signs and a positive fecal. There is NO known preventative that will stop this from occurring. So, the result is that you have a dog who is on appropriate monthly intestinal/heartworm preventative who suddenly gets a hookworm infection.

 

This confuses many people, as this syndrome is poorly understood, and is not well known in the animal care world. Personally, I see this commonly during the first year off the race track. We think that this 'leak back' syndrome is triggered by stress - we do know that pregnancy can trigger this (which is how puppies often are infected). Occasionally, I also see this in the senior GH, e.g. the 11 year old who suddenly has a fecal that tests positive for hookworms, even tho he/she is on excellent monthly heartworm/intestinal parasite preventatives. My thoughts in this case are that it's due to changes in the dog's immune system status; I have no scientific data to back up this claim.

 

In any case, this 'new' hookworm infection is typically treated successfully by your vet.

 

I hope this helps explain why some GHs get worms even tho they're on good heartworm/intestinal parasite preventatives. It's no one's fault, and there's no known way to prevent this, at this time.

 

Christine Kellogg, MS, DVM

Edited December 1, 2013 by dockellogg

[Remolacha]

Thank you for the explanation, that is very helpful!

[carronstar]

The usual heartworm preventatives are also good intestinal parasite preventatives, in general. I won't go thru the list as there are more than I can name.

 

I often see 'larval leak', or 'leak back', of hookworms in retired racing Greyhounds. Unfortunately, there is no preventative which will prevent this. Your vet has to treat this directly. Here's what we know about this syndrome - when the dog is infected (often as a puppy) the majority of the hookworms don't go to the intestines to actively infect the dogs. They 'hide' in body tissues, and lie there 'dormant'. I'm using 'quotes' around words to stress that we don't completely understand the mechanisms. At some time in the future, these 'dormant' parasites can reemerge and actively infect the dog, resulting in clinical signs and a positive fecal. There is NO known preventative that will stop this from occurring. So, the result is that you have a dog who is on appropriate monthly intestinal/heartworm preventative who suddenly gets a hookworm infection.

 

This confuses many people, as this syndrome is poorly understood, and is not well known in the animal care world. Personally, I see this commonly during the first year off the race track. We think that this 'leak back' syndrome is triggered by stress - we do know that pregnancy can trigger this (which is how puppies often are infected). Occasionally, I also see this in the senior GH, e.g. the 11 year old who suddenly has a fecal that tests positive for hookworms, even tho he/she is on excellent monthly heartworm/intestinal parasite preventatives. My thoughts in this case are that it's due to changes in the dog's immune system status; I have no scientific data to back up this claim.

 

In any case, this 'new' hookworm infection is typically treated successfully by your vet.

 

I hope this helps explain why some GHs get worms even tho they're on good heartworm/intestinal parasite preventatives. It's no one's fault, and there's no known way to prevent this, at this time.

 

Christine Kellogg, MS, DVM

Thank you so much for this explanation.

 

My girl will be 11 in March. She got worms three months ago, seemingly out of the blue. Her fecal test was negative but I have seen the little stinkers so I know they are there. We are about to go into month 4 of a three day treatment and I really hope I can get them out of her. There seem to be very few but I want there to be none!

 

She in a CRF/PLN patient and I really don't want her having to deal with anything else.

[Batmom]

What exactly did you see? Visible worms would most likely be tapeworms in an adult dog. You want Drontal for that (praziquantel). You need just one dose -- no several-days' course, no repeat treatment -- unless the dog keeps getting reinfested, in which case you might want to beef up flea control.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Batmom

[carronstar]

The vet says that they are whipworms. Teensy tiny white things that peek out of her poop then go right back in.I shudder to think what people think when they see me holding it under streetlights and examinging it. I tell myself it is NYC and no one actually wonders about anyone. So, when the fecal was done, no eggs but I have seen live ones. If this last course of Panacur doesn't work, I will ask about the Drontal.

[Batmom]

If you're seeing live worms, those are almost certainly tapes. You generally don't see whipworms in stool. She could have whipworms too, but what you'd see there is eggs in the fecal analysis test.

[Guest dockellogg]

It's not uncommon to see live worms in a fecal sample, but by the time the test is run, they've crawled away/died/crumpled. I agree that seeing live worms is most likely a sign of roundworms or tapeworms. Hookworms are too tiny to see on the stool. Fenbendazole (Panacur) is generally effective at treating whipworm infections; however it is not so effective against tapeworm infections (praziquantel/epsiprantel are better choices). Some monthly HW/Intestinal parasite preventatives (eg Interceptor) prevent whipworm infections. ANYTIME we diagnose tapeworms we know that fleas in the dog's environment, as the dogs are ingesting the fleas. Generally I'll recommend all household animals be treated with monthly topical flea medication (e.g. Frontline, Revolution, etc).

 

Another thing about fecals - this is not a perfect test. Shedding of eggs can be sporadic. If we're in doubt, we run 3 fecals on 3 separate days. Alternatively, we may choose to forego further testing and treat for a broad spectrum of parasites.

 

Talk to your vet about what you're seeing/experiencing. I'm sure this worm problem can be beat. For top notch information about intestinal parasites, you can go to capcvet.org.

 

Christine Kellogg, MS, DVM

 

[carronstar]

Thanks, Dr. Kellog. I will forward your note to my vet. We know there are no fleas which is part of why this is so puzzling to me. Being an overachiever, I actually left him a choice of 3 samples and an ice pack. We do speak frequently, text, email, etc. so I will continue to do so.