20/11/2025
Recently we’ve seen a few dogs come in quite unwell only to determine they are just full of worms. Some of these dogs have been getting worm treatments regularly. If you’re a sheep producer in this area you’d be very familiar with worm drenches that don’t work. Along the same theme we think some dog wormers are not working as well as they should. This is purely anecdotal evidence and there’s more to worm control than just giving dogs regular worm tablets. Clinical signs vary from just some minor diarrhoea to anaemia and collapse with watery faeces. Worming adult dogs was always traditionally done every 3 months. It’s more frequent for puppies. With the introduction of monthly flea and worm combinations often worming is done more regularly now for pets that also get flea treatments. The picture shows what we see under the microscope for a very wormy dog. The oval shaped objects are in this case mostly whipworm eggs. The round shapes are just air bubbles.
Take home message is - worm your dogs regularly, especially if you have many dogs. Every 3 months should still be ok but different households may need more regular treatments. Treat the environment by cleaning up faeces. Not all wormers are equal.
