Worms (excluding tapeworm) are rarely seen, so it is difficult to know if your dog does have worms. Therefore, prevention is much safer for your dog. Tapeworms can appear as rice-like grains around the anus or in faeces. It is essential that you give regular treatments, especially if you have children. Puppies are also at a higher risk of worms. Worms are zoonotic meaning they can pass from animals to people.
Symptoms usually occur in high levels of infestation – these symptoms include:
diarrhoea
vomiting
swollen abdomen
lethargy
nutritional deficiencies
dehydration
cough (in roundworm and hookworm infections).
pneumonia (in serious cases of roundworm).