I know you must have been hearing how hookworm in puppies is very dangerous or maybe your puppy was diagnosed with hookworm and you want to know more about it, you have come to the right place.
My dogs had hookworms when they were puppies and I would be telling you all I know along with the advice I got from puppy parents whose puppies have had hookworms, and vets in the Reddit and Facebook groups I belong to.
What are hookworms in puppies?
Hookworms are intestinal parasites in puppies that get their name from the hook-like mouthparts that they use to anchor themselves to the lining of your puppy’s intestinal walls.
There are different species of hookworms which are Ancylostoma caninum, ancylostoma braziliense, and uncinaria stenocephala.
Hookworms are very small and difficult to see with your naked eye, they are usually about ¼ to ¾ inches long.
Hookworms might be small but they consume a lot of blood from the tiny blood vessels in your puppy’s intestinal walls that they attach themselves to with their hook-like mouths.
Hookworms are among the common parasitic infections in puppies, along with roundworms, whipworms, and tapeworms.
Most puppy parents dread hookworms because asides from dogs, they can infect humans and several other animals.
When hookworms in your puppy become much, they can cause inflammation in your puppy’s intestinal walls and because they feed on blood they can cause anemia which is a life-threatening decrease of red blood cells.
During feeding hookworms inject an anticoagulant substance that prevents the blood from clotting and would cause continued bleeding after the hookworm has detached from the feeding site.
Hookworm larvae are susceptible to cold temperatures and sunlight and can only live in soil for a few months.
Symptoms of hookworm in Puppies
Diarrhea (it could be bloody)
Decreased appetite
Vomiting
Weight loss
Weakness
Lethargy
Pale gums
Skin irritation
Itching
Dull and dry coat
Failure to grow properly
How puppies get hookworms
Your puppy can get hookworms in four different ways’
From fecal matter: your puppy can get hookworm by eating the poop of an infected dog, disgusting right?.
Your puppy could be walking over an area where an infected dog poop weeks ago, though the dog owner might have cleaned it up, there could be little left in the grass and your puppy could be sniffing around, then lick their nose thereby swallowing little amount of the poop.
Feet or skin: hookworms could burrow through your puppy’s feet or skin and migrate through their skin into their body.
Pregnancy: hookworm can be transferred from the mother to your puppy during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding: hookworm can be transferred from a dog’s mammary glands to the puppy through the milk they feed on.
The life cycle of hookworm in puppies
The adult hookworm enters your puppy’s body through the skin or the feet.
They lay eggs in your pup’s small intestine.
The eggs are released in feces approximately 10 to 21 days after infection.
The soil becomes contaminated with feces, puppies could be infected if they eat contaminated poop or feces.
The egg or the larvae would become an adult and the cycle continues.
Immature worms can remain dormant in your puppy’s skeletal muscle.
Diagnosis of hookworm in puppies
Your vet would carry out a fecal examination for your puppy. Your puppy’s poop would be mixed with a sugar solution or chemicals that cause the hookworm eggs to float to the top of the solution and your vet would put a glass slide to which the eggs would stick.
Hookworm infection would be easy to detect because hookworms produce many eggs daily and the eggs have a unique appearance.
However, it takes 2 to 3 weeks for hookworm larvae to mature and begin producing eggs, so a fecal examination could be less reliable sometimes but most times even if your vet does not see eggs in poop, he/she would give your puppy a dewormer because of the symptoms.
Adult hookworms are clung to the intestines of your puppy, so they can’t be seen in your puppy’s poop.
The greater the amount of feces examined, the greater likelihood of detection.
Treatment of hookworm in Puppies
For treatment, your vet would deworm your dog. They are several effective drugs that will eliminate hookworm in your puppy.
Your vet is mostly like to give your puppy fenbendazole, pyrantel, moxidectin, or milbemycin, there are the most common deworming medications.
Since dewormers only kill adult hookworms, your vet would deworm again after 2 to 3 weeks to kill any new adult worms that were eggs or larvae.
These medications are usually inexpensive.
If your puppy has a severe condition of severe hookworm infection and there are suffering from anemia, pneumonia, or any other secondary complication would need other kinds of treatment depending on their condition.
Puppies with complications may need a blood transfusion, IV fluids, feeding tubes, additional medications, mineral or vitamin supplements, and high-quality and high-protein diets.
Natural remedies for hookworm in puppies
Diatomaceous earth (food grade) for hookworm in puppies
Diatomaceous earth is made of single-celled honeycomb-structured algae organisms with silicon exoskeletons called diatoms.
it is basically a type of algae mineral that is rich in silica.
It kills hookworm and some other worms in your puppy.
You should always ensure that the diatomaceous earth you are going to use for your puppy is food grade.
Dosage: ½ a teaspoon for 20lbs of body weight, give it to your pup for 7 days, stop for 7 days, and repeat.
You can mix it in water.
Pumpkin seeds for hookworm in puppies
Studies have shown that pumpkin seed is an effective natural dewormer. Make sure you use unsalted pumpkin seeds.
Dosage: ¼ of a teaspoon or 2 or 3 seeds ground up well for 10 lbs of body weight. Give it to your puppy once a day for 21 days.
Prevention of hookworm in Puppies
Your puppy should be treated for hookworms at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks with a deworming medication, you should consult your vet, so he/she can tell you the dewormer that is best for your puppy and how to use it.
you should follow your puppy’s deworming schedule, it is important because the rate of hookworm infection in puppies is very high.
If your puppy is a monthly heartworm preventative that includes a dewormer, there might be no need for a monthly hookworm preventative because most heartworm preventatives contain drugs that treat and prevent other worm infections.
You should take your puppy for a fecal examination, it should be conducted 2 to 4 times during the early years of life.
If it is your dog that gave birth to your puppy, you should treat her along with the puppy.
Pick up feces in your yard immediately to prevent your puppy from being infected. You should wear gloves while picking up poop to keep yourself safe also.
You can add things like borax to the soil in your yard, it would be effective in killing hookworm eggs and other parasites in your yard.
You should ask your vet for an approved product that you can use to treat your pregnant dog daily during her last trimester and several days into nursing to decrease the transmission from her to her puppies.
Ensure your puppy goes to areas in your yard that may be infected.
FAQs about hookworm in puppies
Can a puppy survive hookworms?
Yes, a puppy can survive a hookworm infection especially when the infection is not severe. Even if the hookworm infection is severe there are chances they would survive.
Can humans contract hookworms from puppies?
Yes, a human can contract hookworms from puppies. It could be by stepping on contaminated feces or soil and they would burrow through your skin, touching your dog when contaminated things like soil are on them.
But most time the worms do not mature into adults and would die in several days but in very rare cases the hookworm larvae can migrate throughout your body, damaging eyes, and internal organs.
This condition is called visceral larvae migraines, there needs to be direct between the skin and moist, hookworm-infested soil but if you are someone who practices good hygiene, you should not be worried.
How long does it take for puppies to get rid of hookworms
If your dog is on an antiparasitic drug which is the primary treatment for hookworms such as fenbendazole, moxidectin, or pyrantel, your puppy should be free from hookworms in 2 to 4 weeks.
Your puppy would be dewormed twice, the first time is to kill the existing adult hookworms and the second time would be to kill the eggs and the larvae that were in your puppy before but have grown into adult hookworms.
What do you feed a puppy with hookworms?
There is no particular diet for a puppy with hookworms but you could give your puppy foods that contain pumpkin seeds, carrots, and turmeric because they can help fight the worms.
Are hookworms painful to puppies?
Yes, puppies with severe hookworm infection could feel pain in their stomach. They may be reluctant to eat and drink because it may cause them more pain in their stomach, and they may also feel uneasy when you touch their abdomen.
What antibiotic is used for hookworm?
Antibiotics are not used to treat hookworm in puppies, they could be used to treat damages caused by the worm but not the worm.
Antiparasitic drugs are the primary treatment for hookworms such as fenbendazole, moxidectin, and pyrantel.
Can I get hookworm from my dog licking me?
Yes, you can if your dog’s mouth has been in contact with contaminated materials.
What do hookworms look like in puppy poop?
First of all, unlike roundworms, hookworms are usually about ¼ to ¾ inches long and can barely be seen with the naked eye.
Secondly, hookworms cling to the intestinal walls of your puppy and do not come out with poop.
How do I know if my puppy has roundworms or hookworms?
The best way to find out if your puppy has roundworms or hookworm is to take him/her to the vet for a check.
However, roundworms can sometimes come out with your puppy’s poop while hookworms do not.
Important information
I am not a vet, any advice shared in this post is from my personal experience, deep research, advice from puppy parents, and vets in the Reddit and Facebook dog groups that I am a member of.
Some puppies die yearly because of hookworms due to the ignorance of their owners, please share this post with groups or people that may need it, you could just save a puppy’s life without knowing.
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