Panacur Blood In stool - 12 Week Old Cocker Spaniel Female

[RudyMiller]

I have 12 week old cocker spaniel female who is updated on all of her shots and has had her first and second puppy boosters/deworming and also prescribed heart guard and nexgaurd. Recently she started to vomit and it made me worry so I took her to the vet where they done a fecal and tested for Giardia which came back negative  however the doctor did inform she did have like 2-3 eggs from hookworms. They went ahead and prescribed me with panacur which today is her 3rd day taking it and she has been pooping with lots of BLOOD in her stool and this recent picture I took you can see the actual Hookworms. :( she is still eating and drinking which is a good sign but this is stressing me a lot and I’m super worried for her. Please let me know if there is something stronger than panacur that I should be seeking from my vet and any other tips or information someone may have. 

[Time4ANap]

Panacur works over multiple treatments and is doing what it should be doing. There will always be blood coming out when dealing with hookworms. They literally attach hooks into the the tummy wall which causes the bleeding.  Your vet should prescribe another course of Panacur to be repeated in 2-3 weeks, and you may need something like metronidazole prescribed as well to help heal the stomach. 

Since this is a smaller dog, I would stick with Panacur unless the vet determines something stronger is needed. If so, then something like Drontal Plus may be needed but you will only know that after a couple more fecal tests at regular intervals.  Remember that these treatment are essentially poison, so you need to be careful about moving to stronger things when they aren't needed. 

Over time, hookworms in Greyhounds have become resistant to some of the treatments used to eradicate them, requiring stronger meds and longer times to get rid of them. Our last 2 new dogs took almost a year to fully eradicate the hookworms with monthly treatments. This is due to the the prevalence of hookworms in the kennel and farm environments that the greyhounds live in.  Hopefully your dog will respond well to the Panacur or Drontal Plus.  Also note that one clean fecal test does not mean you are rid of the hookworms. You need at least 3 clean tests over several months because of the cyclical nature of the eggs and hatching. One clean test only means that there were no eggs at that time. Multiple tests are required for confirmation. 

There are multiple threads on this forum about hookworms.  Don't let those scare you if you happen to read them. The hookworms are fully treatable but it can take some work and time. Good luck.