Puppies should be wormed every two weeks until twelve weeks of age, then monthly until six months of age. Once they have reached six months of age, a puppy can transfer onto an 'adult' worming schedule. All adult dogs need to be wormed every three months for effective protection.
When infected with worms, it should be dewormed periodically, for adults and children over 2 years old should be dewormed 2 to 3 times a year, ie every 4 to 6 months.
When to deworm puppies. Puppies should be dewormed every 2 weeks until they are 8 weeks-old, then again at 6 months-old. At that point, you can switch to an adult deworming schedule for dogs, which typically consists of a worming treatment every 6 months.
Worms are a very common source of illness for both adults and children, so experts recommend that deworming should be done two times a year, or every six months, beginning at the age of two years. Deworming is the process of eliminating intestinal parasites, such as worms, using medication.
Treating worms in dogs
You will need a worming treatment suitable for your puppy's age and weight. Their first treatment should be at three weeks old and after that, every two weeks until they are 16 weeks old. After 16 weeks, they will need a treatment every one-three months - or as regularly as your vet suggests.
Be aware: You can worm your dog too often
And it has no obvious benefit. In fact, over-worming your dog can actually backfire, and make your dog build up a tolerance – you most certainly don't want that.
You may be surprised to still see live worms in your dog's feces after deworming them, but this is normal. While this can be an unpleasant image, it's actually a good thing — it means the worms are no longer living inside your dog!
These guidelines recommend that if regular deworming is used, animals should be treated at least 4 times a year, with no more than 3 months between each treatment.
Coconut is the most effective home remedy to treat intestinal worms. Consume a tbsp of crushed coconut in your breakfast. After 3 hours, drink about one glass of lukewarm milk mixed with 2 tbsps of castor oil. Drink this for a week to get rid of all types of intestinal worms.
It is recommend to deworm your dogs once monthly. Most dewormers for dogs are very safe and do not have much impact on the system other than to do their job and make sure the dog doesn't have worms.
Treatment to get rid of worms
If you have worms, a GP will prescribe medicine to kill them. You take this for 1 to 3 days. The people you live with may also need to be treated.
After taking deworming medicine, about 8 - 12 hours the medicine will take effect. About 24-72 hours later, the drug will kill the worms. Currently, most of the dewormers available on the market are fast acting with high efficiency.
A doctor or pharmacist may suggest you repeat the dose after 2 weeks to stop you from getting threadworms again. This is because the medicine kills the worms but not their eggs. For other worms such as whipworm, roundworm and hookworm, follow your doctor's instructions on how to take mebendazole.
The initial treatment of threadworms is essential, but leaving it there may be leaving the job unfinished! Threadworm eggs, laid around the anus, are untouched by treatments such as COMBANTRIN® or COMBANTRIN®-1 – and these eggs can hatch after the initial treatment, causing the infection to flare up all over again.
Keeping your dog healthy after worming
Unfortunately, your dog is still at risk of picking up worms. This is because most worming products only kill the worms that are already inside your dog. Dogs can easily pick up new worm infections from the environment, so they need to be wormed regularly.
Once you take the deworming medicine, the medicine starts working immediately, but it might take a few days to kill all the worms. It is advised to take a second dose after two weeks to prevent reinfection.
Worm infestation can also lead to death.
On the surface, deworming looks like a non-threatening affair, but a lack of it can actually be fatal for you. It is mostly our daily, unhygienic habits that lead to worm infestation.
For most people, treatment will involve taking a single dose of a medication called mebendazole to kill the worms. If necessary, another dose can be taken after 2 weeks. During treatment and for a few weeks afterwards, it's also important to follow strict hygiene measures to avoid spreading the threadworm eggs.
If the treatment is working, the worms your puppy deposits in their stool should be dead. Dead worms are less white and more translucent than ones that are alive. Deworming treatments generally begin working about 12 hours after you give them the deworming treatment.
The deworming process after a few days
Some dewormers paralyse and kill the worms, which may be visible in your dog's faeces after the treatment has started to work. While this can be an unpleasant image, it is actually a good thing as it means the worms are no longer living inside your pet!
However, when significantly overdosed, this medication can cause drooling, vomiting, weakness, heart arrhythmia's, and severe neurologic signs such as ataxia, seizures, blindness and potentially death. The most common cause of Ivermectin toxicity is from dogs ingesting horse paste dewormer.
So, try to stay away from carbs like rice, bread, pasta, and sugary fruits like grapes and mango. You may also discuss this with your doctor. Coffee, meat and dairy can create an acidic environment, which is again loved by parasites. Some may find it easy to give up on Meat and dairy, but coffee can be no-go.
Eat more raw garlic, pumpkin seeds, pomegranates, beets, and carrots, all of which have been used traditionally to kill parasites. In one study, researchers found that a mixture of honey and papaya seeds cleared stools of parasites in 23 out of 30 subjects. Drink a lot of water to help flush out your system.
Deworming is not always necessary, but is recommended for children who live in endemic areas once a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted parasitic worms in the community is over 20% and twice a year when the prevalence of soil-transmitted parasitic worms in the community is 50%.