These parasites live in a dog’s intestinal tract, causing nutritional problems and physical irritation affecting the condition and attitude of the host. Parasites such as roundworms, whipworms, coccidia, tapeworms, and heartworms may seriously affect the general health and vitality of puppies.

Tapeworms:
These endoparasites require secondary hosts. Tapeworms aren’t transmitted from dog to dog. Various tapeworms use deer, ground birds, rodents, or fleas as their secondary hosts. To become infected, the dog must eat part of one of these hosts. Fleas are probably the most common secondary host of tapeworms, and eating an infested flea can transmit the tapeworm to dogs.

This parasite differs from others in that it usually can’t be diagnosed by microscopic examination of stool sample. The tapeworm head (scolex) remains attached to the lining of the dog’s intestine. The tapeworm body is made up of segments and the worm grows to enormous lengths. As it grows, the segments break off and pass out in the stool. Diagnosis is made by finding small white segments of the tapeworm that look like tiny grains of rice stuck to the hair around the dog’s anus.

Tapeworms compete with their host for food. A heavily infested dog will appear unthrifty and thin, and often exhibit a dry coat.

Treatment is usually only half the problem, since controlling the dog’s consumption of host material is as important as killing the parasite within the dog.This often means controlling the flea population, or preventing the dog from eating road-kill deer, rabbits, or other rodents.

Heartworms:
Mosquitoes transmit Dirofilaria, the larvae of heartworms. These microscopic immature worms develop in the mosquito for a couple of weeks, and are then injected into another dog by the mosquito. The larvae mature into adult heartworms, sometimes reaching 1 foot (30cm) in length with the diameter of a matchstick. These adults live in the dog’s heart. No immediate outward signs of disease are seen if only a few adult worms are present, but with heavy infestation, the dog may suffer heart failure. An infected dog acts as a reservoir of infection for other dogs.

Formerly a threat only in high-moisture areas, in recent years, heartworm disease has spread to nearly every part of the United States, including Alaska. Before a preventive program can be initiated, a blood test must show that there are no larvae circulating in the dog’s bloodstream. Heartworm prevention is accomplished by means of regular oral medication.

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