yesIt'saHemi Posted February 7, 2004 Posted February 7, 2004 Our new puppy Hemi was at the vet Tuesday and they discovered he has Hookworms :cry: . He is being treated now. My question is would it be ok to treat my other dog and cat with an OTC drug just to be safe. Hemi was with us for 9 days before the vet appointment. Also what about my children? I have 2 boys 7 & 10 who love Hemi so much and let Hemi kiss and hold him as much as possible. We have told the children to wash wash wash, but prior to Tuesday we never expected worms and let the kids play away with there new puppy. Any suggestions? I just want to avoid any more sick animals, or children! TIA What a blessing to find this site! P.S Hemi is our new Dane/Rot baby. We love him with our whole heart! What did we do before he came along? Hemi is 8 week 3 days and 22lbs! Quote
kendalyn Posted February 7, 2004 Posted February 7, 2004 yes, your children are at risk for contracting hook worms as well. Usually infection happens through eggs that can be ingested by children. When a human ingests the eggs, the eggs hatch and release larva that migrates throughout the body. It can also happen through direct skin penetration, especially if your kids (or you) are walking around barefoot in soil that your dog may have defecated on before. The larva flourish in soil also. The most common effect of hookworm infection in people is anemia. Diagnosis is usually by detection of eggs in stool, but if you call your pediatrician and tell him/her what happened, he/she might just write you a script over the phone. The most common drug used is Mebendazole. It is a single dose and very easy to take. I worked in a pharmacy and saw many mothers who were totally freaked out by the kids' infections. I would ask your vet about an OTC treatment for your other dogs. You might want to give them all the same treatment. You don't want the dogs reinfecting each other if the OTC doesn't kill them all the way. I don't know much about it in dogs though. Only humans. Quote
kendalyn Posted February 7, 2004 Posted February 7, 2004 I want to add that while children most frequently contract hookworms because they don't always have the most hygeine habits, you are also at risk. Quote
yesIt'saHemi Posted February 9, 2004 Author Posted February 9, 2004 K, It was a rescue situation, the people who had the Great Dane mother, did not want nor take care of the puppies. Due to lack of supervision the neighbors Rot is the father. The puppies needed to go and a friend who knew of the situation contacted me to see if I could take one of them. (We just bought a big new house) I agreed, and now I have no clue what we did without him! As soon as we got him we made the vet appointment, had him wormed and started his shots. Thank you for responding to my questions. Any other words of advise for me? Quote
kendalyn Posted February 10, 2004 Posted February 10, 2004 Just out of curiosity, why didn't they take the mother along with the puppies? Quote
yesIt'saHemi Posted February 11, 2004 Author Posted February 11, 2004 I have no idea what happened to the mother, if she stayed or not? I was just asked if we could take one of the puppies? We also have an 11lb Mini Dauchsund who is 2 named Nine, (my son named him K-9) so Hemi has started to socialize with him and our cat Ozzy. I have already signed him up for Obed. classes, he starts on April 6th. I know with a dog this size he will need to be trained very well. We plan on taking him through puppy school and then on to beginner and advanced classes, my opinion is there is no such thing as being trained to well correct? Quote
yesIt'saHemi Posted February 11, 2004 Author Posted February 11, 2004 I posted pictures under the Pictures portion of the board for you. Thank your for the support. Quote
imported_Cassie Posted February 11, 2004 Posted February 11, 2004 Hemi has started to socialize with him and our cat Ozzy. I have already signed him up for Obed. classes, he starts on April 6th. I know with a dog this size he will need to be trained very well. We plan on taking him through puppy school and then on to beginner and advanced classes, my opinion is there is no such thing as being trained to well correct? What a great home Hemi got into!!! :angel: We have raised Shepherd pup's from 3 days old (due to mom dieing) and they turned out great without mom. We made sure they were well socialized (of course after they got all their vaccines) and we took them many places to meet people and subject them to noises that they will hear when they get older. When your pup is older and has all his vaccines try and take him to busy areas with lots of noise...etc. and practice your obedience on walks. So the best thing you can do for this pup is to go to the puppy school classes as you are doing...this is not just for training...this class will mainly be for socialization. People tend to forget how important it is to socialize your pup. Make sure he meets plenty of wonderful people including children other than your own and make sure every experience is positive. With other dogs make sure you introduce him to "friendly dogs" :lol: I know this sounds stupid...many people will say...of course I would only do that! :lol: but, one bad experience can make a pup fearful or offensive towards other dogs...and with the mixture Remi has...you'll want to make sure he learns to be social with other dogs and pups and learns to play properly. Any thing your pup is doing now that will be unacceptable as an adult...don't let him do it as a pup...it may be cute to have a small pup jumping up on you...but, when he gets big...it will not be so cute...and your children and neighborhood children could be harmed. Teach your pup basic house rules and use the nothing is free in life policy...once your pup is trained to sit of course... :wink: have all members of the family make Remi do some thing before he gets fed, treats, walks (sit then put leash on, sit at the door...wait until you open it then...OK, for when you are ready for him to go through) nothing worse than a large dog pushing you aside while racing out the door. :lol: One more thing...don't allow your pup to mouth on you or your children...or any human for that matter...if he does redirect the mouthing with one of his toys...they will help you with all of this in puppy classes any way...sorry for going on so. :wink: Here is some information on Hookworms... [quote]Hookworm larvae can penetrate the surface of a person's skin (usually through bare feet) and migrate through it, causing a disease called 'cutaneous larva migrans' or 'creeping eruption.' The lesions appear as red lines under the skin and sometimes break open at the skin's surface. These lesions cause severe itching. Usually, the larvae will die in several weeks and the condition will disappear. In severe cases, the larvae may make their way through the skin and enter deeper tissues. This may cause lung disease and painful muscles. There have been some reports of humans having intestinal infections with canine hookworms. Generally, these infected people do not show clinical signs of disease. How is an infestation with hookworms in dogs diagnosed? Diagnosis is made by finding the eggs in the feces. In very young animals, severe disease may be present before the adult worms have started to lay eggs. Diagnosis must then be made by evaluating the signs of disease. The eggs of different parasites of horses and deer can easily be confused with hookworm eggs. Sometimes, it is necessary to confine the dog away from any tempting manure or droppings for 24 hours and then repeat the fecal exam. If the eggs are still there, they are most likely hookworm eggs. The adult worms are small, Quote
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