Canine Hookworm Symptoms and Treatments

The hookworm is an endoparasite i.e. it lives and feeds inside its host. The larvae are picked up either by the dog ingesting them though his mouth or through his paws and burrowing through the skin, as the hookworm tends to be found in soil. They can also be passed via the mother's milk, and some veterinary experts believe that a fourth route is via the placenta to the unborn pup.

Once the hookworm larva has been ingested, or has worked its way up the body to the lungs and from there is coughed up and swallowed into the digestive system, it passes down into the stomach and from there into the small intestine where it hooks itself to the walls of the small intestine. It feeds on the host's blood through the walls of the intestine and develops into an adult, and then lays eggs which pass through the rest of the digestive system and are excreted to then develop into larvae. The average number of eggs laid by one hookworm can be anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000.

Ancylostoma caninum is the most common of the hookworms and infestation causes severe anaemia since its food source is host blood. The dog will exhibit signs such as pale mucosa in the eyes and mouth, lack of energy, and black or tarry stools or diarrhoea due to the blood loss when hookworms detach themselves from the intestinal walls Other symptoms include skin allergy or dermatitis, possible pneumonia, and severe intestinal infection leading to dehydration and severe pain.

Although hookworm tends to affect puppies particularly in the first few weeks of life, the signs and symptoms may not be immediately apparent and a puppy can collapse without apparent cause. Anaemia will affect a small puppy very badly and immediate veterinary intervention is required to stabilise the him and treat the anaemia as well as deal with the infestation.

What is not so well appreciated is that hookworms can also infest the human body, although because a human is not its natural host it will tend not to go through its full life cycle and will simply burrow under the skin and die before reaching maturity. The infestation will cause skin eruptions and ulcerations. Infestation is highly unlikely to occur where there is good hygiene, and infected faeces are not picked up on the feet and left there for any length of time.

Treatment of canine hookworm is fairly easy since the larvae will be sensitive to the regular medication for heartworm. Treatment will be need to get rid of the adult hookworms first, since they are still capable of producing eggs while the larvae are being controlled by the heartworm medication. It is also recommended that dog owners ask for a sample of their dog's faeces to be tested every few months to test for the presence of hookworm larvae so that preventive measures can be put in place rather than have to deal with the cure.

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