Instruct children to routinely wash their hands after playing outside. They are a particular problem in areas with warm, moist, sandy soil. The cycle begins when hookworm eggs are passed in stools to the soil. Your pet can swallow the young hookworms or they can penetrate its skin, usually through the paw pad. Like roundworms, hookworms are also passed from female dogs or cats to their puppies or kittens.
Hookworms present a slight risk to humans if larvae in the soil contact skin.
Painful skin sores can result. Signs of Hookworm Infection Hookworms feed on blood and tissue by piercing your pet's intestinal lining with tooth-like hooks, often resulting in severe blood loss. As few as 100 hookworms can kill a puppy. Dogs with heavy infections often have bloody diarrhea. Other signs include anemia, dehydration and apparent weakness.