Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jul 21

Canine Hookworm Incubation

Hookworms in dogs are short, stout worms, with hooked heads.  There are 2 types of these worms and they both live happily in dogs. 

Hookworm And Dogs: 
They are very common in the US, but are not usually found in domestic pets in the UK - and it is more likely to find them in larger dog polulations such as greyhound and ‘hunt’ kennels.

Both types of hookworm live in the small intestines of your dog and attach theselves to the intestinal mucosa with their mouthparts - as with most other worm types.  However these worms use their teeth or plates to actually damage the wall lining - eating the damaged tissues rather than the food that the dog has eaten.

A small burden of hookworms in dogs may not be noticable in their appearance, but with a heavy burden or an already sick dog, you will notice weight loss and possibly anaemia.

Lifecycle:
The adult female worms lay eggs which travel through the intestines and pass out in the dogs stools. These egg cases are very well protected outside of the host, and can survive in the environment until another host is found - or walks by…..

However, the eggs of the hook worm do not necessarily need to be ingested to continue the cycle, although this is the most common way.

As with roundworms, infected female dogs (bitches) can infect their litter of puppies with Ancylostoma species in their milk during lactation, so treatment before breeding is advised if you don’t have a regular treatment schedule anyway.

The infective larvae of both types of hookworm are also able burrow into the skin of an animal! If in the right environment, the larvae hatch out outside of an animal and use their mouth parts to burrow into their flesh causing dermatitis where they burrow onto the skin.  Some though, are more than capable of burrowing all the way through the dogs flesh and into the intestines to complete their lifecycle!

Whichever way the hookworms get in to your dog however, this type of worm can easily be treated with medication from your vet, and repeated treatment is the best method of control in endemic areas or kennels.

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