Dogs are the most precious things on earth. Everyone loves them, and there is always a perfect dog for every owner. In most cases, they will do anything to take care of them by providing the best food, taking them to a dog spa, or buying them tons of clothes. However, there will come a time when your dog will have health complications, specifically worms.
There is nothing worse than dogs having worms because it deteriorates their health faster than usual. You may not even realize that they have worms unless it becomes too severe that you need to drive them to the vet. Before buying a dog wormer, you need to learn how to tell if your dog has worms by looking for symptoms.
- Constant Coughing
It is rare for people to hear dogs cough. But when you start hearing them cough most of the time, that could be a sign that they have worms in their body already. Usually, they would have heartworms that could cause heart failure, severe lung disease, and other organ damage.
The symptom will start as a dry and consistent cough. The coughing usually happens after exercising because the worms have already invaded the lungs, causing oxygenated blood to get blocked. Do not wait for the coughing to last for more than months if you do not want your dog to die.
- Excessive Vomiting
Another symptom of worms inside dogs is when they begin to vomit frequently. You may have seen your dog vomit after a few minutes of eating because of spoiled food or indigestion. But if the vomiting happens a lot of times, you should not wait and give them a dog wormer right away.
Usually, the worms will show up on the vomit, so it should not be difficult to tell if they have worms in their body. The frequent vomiting might also be caused by other things aside from worms, so it would be best to take your dog to the vet at a moment’s notice.
- Bloody Diarrhea
Canine diarrhea and soft stools can be the cause of worms. Prolonging diarrhea can lead to dehydration, which will make the dog weak and prone to other diseases. Worms could also cause bloody diarrhea, which is the most severe health issue that should be treated as quickly as possible.
Bloody diarrhea will keep getting worse until your dog loses a lot of blood unless you have it treated quickly. Note that too much blood loss for a dog could result in lethargy, possible heart failure, and extremely high blood pressure.
- Weakness
If you notice that your dog is not that active before, that could be a sign of worms inside them. While being weak is a sign that your dog is aging, seeing them weak while still young and fit is a different case. The reason for dogs being weak is that worms take the nutrients that the dog eats, so it does not get distributed around the body.
The hookworm is the most common parasite that consumes those nutrients. Puppies can also get hookworms, and they would usually die faster because of severe blood loss and their bodies are not yet fully grown.
It would be ideal to have a dog wormer around your home at all times because you will never know when they will have worms.