Natural Treatment for Dog Worm Infestation

As a dog owner, we should be very responsible to take care of our dog’s health and try to protect them from any sort of diseases maybe mild allergies or severe heart attacks. Dogs are very susceptible to internal parasites, which are often referred to as dog worms. Severe dog worm infestation, if remain untreated, can result in death of the infected dog. So, it is very important for dog owners to identify the signs and symptoms of worm infection and also to know the preventive measures. Specifically, there are five different worms, which dogs fall prey to. These are roundworms (Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina), hookworms (Ancylostoma caninium), whipworms (Trichuris vulpis), tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum) and heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis). All these worms except heartworms live in the intestine of dogs. Heartworms as the name suggests, live within the heart and the blood vessels. Some of the worms are zoonotic, i.e. they can be transmitted to humans and other animals also. Once a dog gets infested with worms, it starts showing different unusual signs.

Signs and Symptoms of Dog Worm Infestation

Below I am listing some of the common symptoms of dog worm infestation. If your dog shows any of these signs and symptoms, I recommend that you should immediately consult your veterinarian.

• Scruffy or dull coat
• Pot-bellied appearance
• Weight loss
• Appetite loss
• Coughing
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Sluggishness
• Restlessness
• Abdominal pain
• Anemia
• Bloody stools
• High blood pressure
• Congestive heart failure

Read to know more about signs and symptoms of dog worm infestation.

Treatment of Dog Worms

There are many ways to get rid of dog worms. Treatment of dog worms actually depends upon the species of the infested worm. If you suspect that your dog has worms, consult with your veterinarian to perform a stool test. Treatment can be done either by following artificial medicines or natural remedies. Artificial treatments are harmful in the long run as continuous deworming makes the dogs resistant to specific medicines. Thus, afterwards there will be no effect of the particular medicine. Also, it weakens the immune system of dogs. In fact, natural methods are always better as they have little or no side effects. Combination of proper natural remedy, healthy diet and regular exercise will treat dog worms faster. Some of the most important natural remedies are listed below.

Garlic - Garlic is mostly used due to its medicinal properties. You can moderately give garlic to your dog. This will help in the internal parasite expulsion, mostly the intestinal worms. Garlic also increases the immunity and reduces the dog’s cholesterol level.

Wormwood - Wormwood has calmative properties and is a digestive tonic. Feeding wormwood to your dog will help in the worm expulsion.

Fennel - Fennel helps in the intestinal worm expulsion. It also helps in improving the immune system.

Clove - Clove is a strong antiparasitic, which helps in detoxifying the dog worms.

Pumpkin Seeds - Tapeworm infestation in dogs is mostly treated by feeding freshly ground white pumpkin seeds.

Oregon Grapes - Oregon grapes tincture is used to treat intestinal worms.

Prevention of Dog Worms

It is always better to follow the rule, "prevention is better than cure". You can take up certain preventive measures like puppies should be dewormed every 15 days until it is six months old. After six months, deworming should be done yearly. In addition, stool analysis should be done once in a year. Educate yourself on how to take care of dogs and also their health related problems. Take advice of your veterinarian before giving your pet any medication.