How Do Dogs Get Hookworms?
📝 Summary
Dogs pick up hookworms by mouth (contaminated soil or feces), through the skin, or from mother to pup via placenta and milk. Signs include pale gums, weakness, weight loss, bloody diarrhea, and dull coat - a fecal exam and prompt deworming are key.
1 How Infection Happens
Hookworm eggs pass in the stool and survive in soil for weeks to months; a dog that swallows them (or larvae) is infected, and most travel to the gut. Larvae in contaminated ground can burrow through the skin, migrate to the lungs, and are coughed down to the intestine. A pregnant or nursing mother can pass them to pups through the placenta or her milk.
Avoid letting your dog contact other dogs’ feces or dirty areas, keep the environment clean, and deworm regularly – ideally deworm and health-check before breeding.
2 Signs and Treatment
Hookworms feed on tissue fluid and blood, causing ongoing bleeding and anemia; look for pale gums, weakness, weight loss, bloody diarrhea, and a dull, dry coat, or stunted growth. Diagnose with a microscopic fecal exam (the eggs are distinctive). Treat with benzimidazole or pyrantel-type dewormers, and for anemia add iron supplements or a transfusion by severity.
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