worms in dogs seem to be one of those dog health care problems that return. This is because of the way their lifecycle works. Given that worms in dogs can cause health problems in both dogs and humans, owners have a responsibility to interrupt the cycle and try to keep it broken.

In the UK, the roundworm is the most common worm infestation seen in dogs, because most puppies are born with an infestation. It often causes puppies’ bellies to swell and may delay their growth, whilst in humans the worm larvae can cause blindness, although this is rare.

Like all types of worms in dogs, the life cycle of the dog roundworm (the Toxocara Canis) is not complex and can be controlled with care and patience. At the beginning of the cycle, a female puppy is infected by her mother, either before birth via the placenta or afterwards via her milk. In the infected puppy, some of the worm larvae will move out of the intestine and into the blood before forming indestructible cysts in the muscles. In the event of pregnancy in later life, the larvae will be reactivated and will move through the blood to infect the puppies.

In young puppies, some of the larvae will not form the above mentioned cysts. Instead, some will remain in the intestine and grow into adults. Once mature, after feeding on the partly digested food in the intestine, the adult worm releases eggs which are passed from the dog with the faeces. Once in the environment, the eggs become a risk to other dogs and people. Touching contaminated soil or sand rather than touching puppies is what poses the infection risk to people.

There you have the cycle: to break it adult dogs muct be treted every three months. As they are so prone to worm infection, puppies should be treated every two weeks from the ages of two to twelve weeks and once a month thereafter until they reach six months. Dog owners must take responsibility for picking up after their dog and making sure their family practices good hand hygiene in order to reduce the risk of worms in dogs for other dogs and other people.

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