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Experienced and professional animal trainer provide their insights in answering this question :
A. There are liquid dewormers specifically designed for puppies which can be used from 2 weeks of age; you should weigh the pups to make sure they are dosed accurately. Depending on the product this can be repeated at 2 or 4 week intervals. Because of the worm lifecycle and their ability to increase rapidly in pregnant and nursing bitches and her natural drive to clean up after her pups, it is important to treat the mother at least twice with a wormer suitable for nursing mothers also

How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?

Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced pet care professionals :

In fact, puppies of only 2–3 weeks of age can have many worms. That is because these worms are often passed from a mother to her puppies before the puppies are born. Sometimes they are passed shortly after the puppies are born, through a mother`s milk.
Lactating mothers should follow the same deworming schedule as their puppies. All other dogs should be dewormed once a month.
Your vet can recommend deworming medications to treat different types of intestinal parasites and heartworms, as well as preventative medications. Since puppies are susceptible to receiving worms from their mothers, they must also have their stool tested regularly.
Puppies can be born with roundworms and can pass fertile eggs from adult worms in their stools by the time they are approximately eleven days old. Roundworm larvae may also enter the mother`s mammary glands and be passed to the puppies through the milk.
Puppies are more susceptible to worms than adult dogs because of their young immune systems. Puppies can even be born with worms passed on by their mother or they can pick them up through their mother`s milk during nursing.
Some of the most common ways to contract worms in dogs include: Drinking contaminated milk from the mother during nursing. Rolling in, sniffing, eating, stepping in or licking contaminated soil. Consuming infected prey like rodents, birds, and reptiles.
Most veterinarians will agree that pyrantel (Nemex; Zoetis) is the best medication to use in the earliest phases of puppy or kittenhood. Safe enough for 2-week-old pediatric patients, this drug is used by most breeders and shelters to begin killing parasitic roundworms and hookworms.
Puppy worms can be treat with over the counter medication. Puppy worm medications that you buy over the counter are not one size fits all. The most effective puppy worm drugs are prescription only too. It is a good idea to also give a fecal sample to your veterinarian to test.
NO! People may believe because worms are usually harmless in humans, that they`re probably not too dangerous in dogs either and that they can rid themselves of them, but this is not the case. Dogs cannot get rid of worms themselves. Medical assistance will be required to some extent.
Because puppies can inherit intestinal worms from their mothers, deworming schedule should be started early (between two and eight weeks old). Puppies should be dewormed every two weeks with supervision until they`re twelve weeks old, then monthly until they are six months old.
The common intestinal parasites are transmitted to puppies across the uterus before birth or through the mother`s milk after birth. Puppies can be treated for worms as early as two weeks of age, but it is more common to treat them when they are three and six weeks of age.
Symptoms for intestinal worms are more obvious in puppies: They might vomit or have diarrhea, and may also have a pot-bellied appearance and a dull coat. However, almost all puppies are born with roundworms, so even those that appear healthy will usually have some worms inside them.
Many dogs do not have signs of infection; however, dogs with major roundworm infections, especially puppies, show diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, dull hair, and a potbellied appearance. The dog may cough if the roundworms move into the lungs.
A: Not all puppies, but it is very common for puppies to have roundworms or hookworms, either passed in utero or through a mothers` milk. Because worm infection is so common, we normally deworm puppies just to be safe.
Coughing, diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy are the general signs the dog has worms. Other symptoms depend on the type of worm. For example, if your dog has a tapeworm, clear identifiers can be rapid weight loss or what appears to be grains of rice in their stool.
Symptoms of Myiasis (Maggots) in Dogs

The most visible sign of myiasis is unmistakable. The small, white larva of a fly will be present on the broken skin of the dog, and most often will be wriggling and moving. Sometimes the dog`s fur obscures the wound, particularly with long, matted fur.

Puppies should be dewormed early on in their lives since they can be born with worms and their immune system is still developing. Typically, they should be treated at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks of age. Once your pup reaches 12 weeks, you can continue treating them every three months with an effective all wormer for life.
We use two different deworming medications: Pyrantel and Panacur. Pyrantel is safe to use on puppies under 6 weeks of age and nursing dams.
They`re things like carrots, pumpkin seeds, and bananas that are said to deworm naturally, but they do not. Over-the-counter dewormers are things like Strongid and some drugs that veterinarians use. Monthly preventatives are things that will specifically treat the worms and heartworm, like milbemycin or Strongid.
Deworming Protocol:

All puppies receive pyrantel by mouth at 1ml/10 lbs. of body weight, beginning at 2 weeks of age until 12 weeks of age. Puppies (<6 months) receive ponazuril by mouth (50mg/kg) once for coccidia prophylaxis.

Apple cider vinegar has numerous health benefits and is known to be effective in treating worms in dogs. Unlike other vinegar, apple cider vinegar increases the alkaline levels in the intestines of the dog. As a result, it creates an inhospitable environment for worms and other parasites.
Vegetables and fruits are great for deworming dogs. They contain high levels of fibre which help to bulk up the stools and expel the worms. Pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, and papaya are all excellent choices. Feeding your dog a couple of these a day will help to clean them out and keep them healthy.
A clean living environment and regular bathing can go a long way. Additionally, adding foods like pumpkin seeds, carrots, and coconut oil to your dog`s diet are proven to help eliminate worms naturally. But, it`s important to remember that while natural remedies work for some, they may not be effective for all cases.
Since worm infestations can sometimes show few to no symptoms, keep an eye out for any or all of these changes in your dog`s daily health and appearance: Diarrhea, sometimes containing blood or mucus. Vomiting, which can sometimes contain adult worms. Weight loss, particularly if your dog has a good appetite.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

Q. Whenever I take my dog on walks he always barks at people and others dogs in my neighborhood. What should I do to resolve the problem
ANSWER : A. The very first thing to do is to make sure your dog is getting sufficient physical and mental exercise every day. A tired dog is a good, happy dog and one who is less likely to bark from boredom or frustration. Depending on his breed, age, and health, your dog may require several long walks as well as a good game of chasing the ball and playing with some interactive toys.

Figure out what he gets out of barking and remove it. Don’t give your dog the opportunity to continue the barking behavior.

Ignore your dog’s barking for as long as it takes him to stop. That means don’t give him attention at all while he’s barking. Your attention only rewards him for being noisy. Don’t talk to, don’t touch, or even look at him. When he finally quiets, even to take a breath, reward him with a treat. To be successful with this method, you must wait as long as it takes for him to stop barking. Yelling at him is the equivalent of barking with him.

Get your dog accustomed to whatever causes him to bark. Start with whatever makes him bark at a distance. It must be far enough away that he doesn’t bark when he sees it. Feed him lots of good treats. Move the stimulus a little closer (perhaps as little as a few inches or a few feet to start) and feed treats. If the stimulus moves out of sight, stop giving your dog treats. You want your dog to learn that the appearance of the stimulus leads to good things.

Teach your dog the ‘quiet’ command. Oddly, the first step is to teach your dog to bark on command. Give your dog the command to “speak,” wait for him to bark two or three times, and then stick a tasty treat in front of his nose. When he stops barking to sniff the treat, praise him and give him the treat. Repeat until he starts barking as soon as you say “speak.” Once your dog can reliably bark on command, teach him the “quiet” command. In a calm environment with no distractions, tell him to “speak.” When he starts barking, say “quiet” and stick a treat in front of his nose. Praise him for being quiet and give him the treat.

As in all training, always end training on a good note, even if it is just for obeying something very simple, like the ‘sit’ command. If you dog regresses in training, go back to the last thing he did successfully and reinforce that before moving on again. Keep sessions short, 15-20 minutes max, and do this several times a day.

Q. Husband shamed dog for having an accident inside, and now she won’t poop when he takes her out. Can we fix this? He realizes he erred
ANSWER : A. Good on your husband for realizing that scolding is not the way to potty train! Hopefully these tips can help both him and your pup get back on the right track and make pottying outside successful.

If your dog is still a puppy, that is good news as you may be able to more easily time your potty outings with your dog’s schedule. Even if your dog is older, this schedule may help. Dogs generally have to go potty about 15 minutes after eating, drinking, waking up or playing. Knowing this, get your husband to start taking out your puppy at these key times, so puppy gets used to going out with him, and the urge to potty may be higher than any fear to go. If the potty is successful, have your husband reward the dog with a favorite treat! For bowel movements, dogs may take a little more time, and you may have to stand outside for a while (sometimes even 10 minutes) to give your dog a chance to go. If she doesn’t go, take her back inside and play some, then try again in about 15 minutes. Again, a success equals a treat which most dogs will like right away!

For any indoor potty accidents that occurred, an enzymatic cleaner is great for cleaning up urine and stool. Not only does it remove the stain and smell, but it breaks down the enzymes in the urine and stool your dog can smell, which may deter her from going potty there again.

Q. What can I do to stop my dog from barking at people and front doors?
ANSWER : A. Ignore your dog’s barking for as long as it takes him to stop. This means don’t give him any attention at all while he’s barking. Your attention only rewards him for being noisy. Don’t talk to him, don’t touch him, and don’t even look at him. When he finally quiets down, even to take a breath, reward him with a treat. To be successful with this method, you must wait as long as it takes for him to stop barking. If he barks for an hour and you finally get so frustrated that you yell at him to be quiet, the next time he’ll probably bark for an hour and a half. Dogs learns that if they bark long enough you’ll give them attention.

Teach your dog the ‘quiet’ command. It may sound nonsensical, but the first step is to teach your dog to bark on command. Give your dog the command to “speak,” wait for him to bark two or three times, and then stick a tasty treat in front of his nose. When he stops barking to sniff the treat, praise him and give him the treat. Repeat until he starts barking as soon as you say “speak.” Once your dog can reliably bark on command, teach him the “quiet” command. In a calm environment with no distractions, tell him to “speak.” When he starts barking, say “quiet” and stick a treat in front of his nose. Praise him for being quiet and give him the treat.

When your dog starts barking, ask him to do something that’s incompatible with barking. Teach your dog to react to barking stimuli with something that inhibits him from barking, such as lying down in his bed.

Make sure your dog is getting sufficient physical and mental exercise every day. A tired dog is a good dog and one who is less likely to bark from boredom or frustration. Depending on his breed, age, and health, your dog may require several long walks as well as a good game of fetch and playing with interactive toys.

Q. My dog doesn’t eat, what should I do?
ANSWER : A. If this is a puppy, see a veterinarian immediately. Puppies should want to eat. Common causes for anorexia in puppies include viruses (parvo is a big one), parasitism, and foreign bodies. They need immediate care – go to an emergency vet if yours isn’t open. Puppies can get low blood sugar and dehydration very quickly.

If this is an adult dog and you observe other concerning signs, such as diarrhea or decreased energy, you should see a veterinarian.

If the dog seems otherwise bright and stable, try offering different types of food: wet food, canned tripe, or cooked chicken and rice. Some dogs will go for canned baby food: chicken, turkey, or beef as the main ingredient. Make sure there are no garlic or onions in the ingredients!

Causes of anorexia in adult dogs can range from less serious to severe. Younger dogs are more likely to get into trouble- they tend to eat things they shouldn’t, and can get foreign bodies from eating things like socks, or stomach upset from getting in the trash. Any dog may stop eating due to stress, or just being a picky eater. Middle aged dogs can stop eating when they’re stressed and also have Addison’s disease, which can be fatal. Older dogs tend to stop eating when they develop cancer or renal disease.

There is no one-size-fits-all recipe to know when the right time is to take your dog to the vet. The moral of this story is, if it’s not getting better, your pup feels bad, or you’re worried – go see the vet!

Read Full Q/A … : My Dog Won’t Eat

Q. Cat showing no signs of fleas, some scratching, doing well.Found a worm the other day.Does the cat have fleas again?Can garlic in catfood help?dangers
ANSWER : A. I’m sorry that you are having itching issues! Those can be tough to figure out! Fleas can also be a tough issue. They are hard get rid of and hard control for sure! If your cat is itching and you are finding worms there is a chance that you may have fleas. It depends on the type of worms of your finding. If the worm was a small, flat worm that resembled a grain of rice, I would say for sure that you most likely have fleas. This was most likely a tape worm segment. Tapeworms are the result of flea infestations. If the worm was longer and white, then you could be looking at another type of worm such as a roundworm. The best option would be to take your kitty into the vet where they can run a fecal test and see exactly which kind of worm eggs are in the sample. This way they can treat your cat for worms and solve one of your issues!
Now on the your next questions: the Garlic. Garlic is actually TOXIC to your cat so I would recommend to not use it under any circumstances! There are some great products that your vet can recommend for fleas that won’t harm your kitty. One that works great and actually takes care of fleas and all sorts of worms is called Revolution. It is a monthly topical solution and cats tend to tolerate it really well. I hope this was helpful and I hope your kitty feels better soon!

Q. How do I desensitize my dog to squirrels and stray cats in the neighborhood?
ANSWER : A. It depends on the goal that you have in mind. I am going to assume that you would prefer that your dog not chase squirrels or stray cats in the yard/street. In this case, your options include: (1) training your dog on a “Leave it ” cue using positive reinforcement methods, (2) training your dog not to pull on its leash when it sees a squirrel/stray cat, and (3) training your dog to perform a more desirable behavior when it sees a squirrel/cat.
Training your dog on a cued “leave it” command is useful because it will give you the ability to tell your dog to stay away from any number of undesirable objects on your command. Training your dog to perform a more desireable behavior when it sees a squirrel or cat will substitute a behavior you find acceptable (sitting, laying down, coming to the door, etc.) with a behavior you dislike. Your dog can still react, just in a positive way. If your dog pulls on the leash every time you see a squirrel/cat, training not to pull will make your walk safer and more pleasant.
The ideal training method to use with dogs, or any animal for that matter, is positive reinforcement training, particularly a method called “clicker- training.” The basic concept of positive reinforcement training is to pair a reward (reinforcement) with a behavior you want to increase in frequency. In other words, when your dog performs the behavior you desire, it receives an award, which reinforces the desired behavior so you get more of that behavior. There are many excellent books in stores or on-line that describe positive reinforcement training in detail and many give step-by-step instructions for training common commands like “leave it”. Look for books that specifically mention positive reinforcement training or clicker-training. You can also take dog training classes to learn the techniques, find a mentor who already uses clicker-training, or request a consult from one of the pet experts on this site to guide you.

Q. How do I get my dog to stop chewing on things? I kennel her when I leave for a few hours, but I can’t go to the mailbox without her eating something.
ANSWER : A. If she’s young, then this is just normal puppy behavior. Don’t worry about it. The thing about puppies is, they explore using their mouths. If your puppy grabs a coat hanger, or a slipper, you should roll up a newspaper, and smack yourself on the head with it for leaving those things out.. your puppy is going to explore things, that’s normal! It is 100% up to YOU to keep those things away from your puppy when your puppy is unsupervised… even for just a moment.

Remember to never scold your puppy for grabbing these things. They are just curious little cuties, and they don’t chew things up to bother us.. Dogs do not have intentional thought, so they aren’t ever doing anything ON PURPOSE to us.. The most important thing you can do when your puppy is chewing something you don’t want her to be chewing is TRADE her the inappropriate item with a toy of hers, so she understands “no honey, that isn’t what puppies chew on… THIS is what puppies chew on!” and then begin playing with her using her toy to show her that TOYS ARE FUN.. Way more fun than a boring ol’ coat hanger.

Another helpful thing you can do is have two bags of toys. In each bag is many different kinds of toys. Lots of chew toys, lots of soft squeaky toys, lots of rope-type toys, a bunch of balls.. All kinds of things! For one week you have bag#1’s toys out for your puppy to play with.. At the end of the one week, you collect those toys, and you bring out bag#2! The toys will be more interesting/feel like new to your puppy, which will in-turn, make her chew less inappropriate things. Her toys are too fun to care about that dumb Wii-mote that you left laying around.

Hope this helps!

Q. Rescued a dog almost two weeks ago, and now that her kennel cough is gone her personality shines!! No previous training, how should I start?
ANSWER : A. POST FOUR:

After your dog is familiar with the behavior you lured from scratch, and taught to your dog, you can start to use the “no-reward marker” I talked about. What you do is ask the dog to perform the behavior, and if the dog does not perform the behavior, you simply say your no-reward marker (choose one: eh-eh, hey, uh-oh, oops) show them the treat, put it behind your back, and BRIEFLY ignore your dog. Just turn your back for a second or two, before turning back to your dog and saying, “let’s try that again.” When you’re ready to start over with your dog, make sure you move around. If you are repeating the same cue while in the same position, while your dog is in the same position, you are likely to receive the same results. The more you move around, and start fresh, the better your chances are of having your dog listen to your cue the second time around. BIG rewards when they dog it successfully! Lots of praise and treats.

My no-reward marker is “hey.” When my dog does something wrong I say, “hey” and she immediately understands that she needs to offer a different behavior. This is clear to her. I don’t have to say it in a mean way, I simply say, “hey” in a normal tone of voice and she understands what the word means.

Once you’ve built up that connection and communication with your new dog, you can work on all kinds of fun behaviors! I personally enjoy the more zen-like behaviors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruy9UMcuGh8

I like to teach my dog fun tricks that offer her a “job” to do of sorts like object retrieval: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4iertZSva8

(object retrieval training completed; what it looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx0Dml28FGY)

Scent-games are fun too! Very confidence building. Hide a REALLY smelly treat in a box, and place that box in a line of boxes. Let your dog go in the room while saying something like “search!” or “find it!” and watch them hunt for that smelly treat! Lots of rewards when they find it!