All That Glitters Isn’t Gold

Sometimes what you see in your dog’s poop isn’t the beautiful glittery poop “throws” that Mardi Paws hands out on their parade route.

If your dog has intestinal worms, you might be lucky enough to see worms moving in your dog’s poop. So, if you notice your pup with diarrhea, vomiting or coughing, lethargy, or a bloated belly, the cause might be worms.

Without getting descriptive or giving you a lesson on how to tell whipworms, roundworms, and tapeworms apart, your takeaway should be that a vet can look at a stool sample, diagnose your dog, and prescribe the best dewormer. Or you can take matters into your own hands and buy an Over-The-Counter (OTC) dewormer and carefully follow directions.

The great news is that most heartworm prevention medications contain dewormers, so check your box or the internet to confirm. However, if your dog is on ProHeart injectable heartworm prevention, this brand does not include a dewormer. Also, intestinal dewormers won’t prevent or treat heartworms because heartworms are not intestinal worms. And, if your dog has a telltale circular area of hair loss or a suspicious area of inflamed skin, your dog may have Ringworm, which is not a worm but, instead, a fungus. We recommend you consult a vet to learn the ins and outs of proper ringworm treatment. The medicine is OTC, but the regimen is specific and requires you to be careful. Also, Ringworm is one of the conditions you can get from your pup, so you need to understand how to prevent that transmission.