Worming advice needed?

I really feel stupid, but I don't want to be an irresponsible pet owner. Odie is going to be 1 year old in March, and he had been wormed 3 times last year. The vet told me he needed to be wormed several times each year.

I have owned dogs all my life (most recently, Golden Retrievers for the past 20 years), and we hadn't wormed them other than when the vet would just worm them without asking us about it first... I guess I just assumed that worming was mainly for dogs that were left outside, or farm dogs who get into things... not my house dogs. Is this incorrect thinking???

Should I be worming Odie still? And if so, how often, and what type of worming medication? Should I just get it at the vets office, or will they sell it at the local pet store? Please help? Thank you!!!

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on February 16, 2011 at 6:24pm

It does depend.We live in the country and I use the heartworm pill with an extra dewormer about every 3-4 months but that is incase they get rabbits. I hate to worm too often. I feel that sometimes the vet wants to push the wormer just like all these new shots but I don't want to give anything that I don't need. That's just my opinion:) I would have his stool checked once a year and then decide... plus it's probably cheaper than worming all the time which is adding unneeded chemicals into your dog:(

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on February 16, 2011 at 6:32pm

You should be giving a monthly heart worm medication, and that will give some protection against intestinal worms (what types depends on which brand you use). Otherwise, no I would not give an extra wormer regularly. They should have a yearly fecal exam, and any other worming only based on symptoms and resulting examination.

Grazing animals absolutely need to be wormed monthly, because they graze where they defecate and worm eggs are constantly being ingested. But dogs and cats should not need to be. Puppies are different, as they are wormed regularly when they get their shots.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Beth on February 16, 2011 at 6:36pm

By the way, this is assuming the dog is healthy. If the dog has an underlying medical condition that puts him at risk, then I would follow the vet's advice.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jane on February 16, 2011 at 6:56pm

I don't worm my dogs aside from their monthly Heartgard unless I start seeing signs that they might have an infestation. Henry had some icky tape worm last summer that he had to be wormed for twice, ewww ick is all I can say!