How old does my dog need to be to start parasite prevention?

Great question. We like to start them when they're babies. So most of the preventatives are important around eight weeks in age or older.

Dr. Stacey Huber
Animal Oasis of the Rockies Veterinary Hospital

What are intestinal parasites, and how do I get rid of them in my dog?

So intestinal parasites are usually in pets by ingestion. They can also be transferred by their mother. So a lot of times when you get a new puppy, they've been dewormed by the breeder or by the rescue organization, but internal parasites can be a whole lot of different things. Tapeworms, roundworms, hookworms, coccidia, giardia, all sorts of different types of parasites in the environment, and you treat them by giving them deworming medication and preventatives.

What are external parasites, and what can I do to prevent them?

So with all the other parasites we talked about, those are all inside the body. External parasites are things like fleas, ticks, lice, mites, those kinds of creepy crawlies.

How soon should I bring my dog into the veterinarian if I suspect they may have parasites?

That's a good question. Immediately. Certainly, any time a dog has an upset stomach, diarrhea, you see the worms in the stool, they're scratching and itching, you see maybe the parasites on their skin. You definitely want to get them in as soon as possible because those little critters can jump off and contaminate the environment around and also make more babies.

How will a veterinarian diagnose parasites in my dog?

So there's a couple of ways. We can send a fecal sample out, that will sometimes. You can also see them in the stool when the owner brings the sample in. You can take a flea comb, that kind of thing, go through the skin, look around. You can see them on the body sometimes, so that's kind of the best ways to look for them.

Is ringworm a parasite?

It is. It's an environmental parasite. It's an organism that causes hair loss, crusty spots, itching. It's out in the environment everywhere. So ringworm can be very contagious between the environment, pets, and people.

Why is early detection and diagnosis of parasites so important?

Super important. Because the health of a pet is very important, and parasites make your pet sick. And a lot of the parasites that we just talked about are contagious to people, which is called zoonotic, and they actually can cause sickness in people as well. So we definitely need to test and treat. And testing recommendations for fecals are at least once a year, if not twice a year, and then having them on preventatives is super important.

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