Why does my dog keep getting hookworms and have persistent itchy skin?

Yes, I can certainly sympathize that with 2 Huskies that you need lots of dog park time! One thing I would suggest would be to discuss with your veterinarian changing from Heartgard to Advantage Multi. The dewormer in Heartgard (and the ones we use most commonly) only work one time to kill the adult worms in the GI tract, but do not continue to work on newly developing larvae. Since it sounds like your dogs are getting repeatedly exposed, Advantage Multi may be a better option to maintain a constant blood level of dewormer. I have attached a handout below about hookworms. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1530 And here is more information on Advantage Multi. https://www.bayerdvm.com/show.aspx/productdetail/advantage-multi-for-dogs Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Submit a stool sample to your veterinarian to diagnose the exact intestinal parasites Juju may have. The appropriate dewormer can be dispensed afterwards and repeated in 2 weeks. You'll need to submit another stool sample to confirm resolution. Keep him away from areas with feces and pick up his stool immediately to prevent reinvention. A monthly preventative, such as HeartGard, will protect against heartworm disease as well as the 3 most common intestinal parasites of dogs (hookworm, roundworm and whipworm). For the itch, use a monthly flea preventative, such as Frontline, K9 Advantix or Revolution, for at least three consecutive months. Do this even if you don't see any fleas. In a sensitive dog, just one flea bite may cause severe itching. Vacuum everywhere and wash all bedding. Use an area treatment, such as Knockout ES or Indorex, to treat fleas that may be living in the environment. You may need to have your veterinarian perform skin scrapes to check for mites which can cause itching and hairless. Discuss allergy testing, hydrolyzed diets, antihistamine use and food elimination trials with your veterinarian in case there is an allergic component to the itching.

I can certainly understand being frustrated with this problem! Drontal, in my experience, is a great deworming treatment, and it often takes at least two treatments to kill all the worms. That's because the first treatment kills the adult worms already present, and the second kills the ones who had not yet hatched at the time of the first treatment. Preventing worms does require treatment with a deworming medication every three months, and each dog in the house should be treated to prevent reinfection. I would recommend giving all the dogs in your home Drontal, and giving them this treatment every three months. You can also give them Panacur instead of Drontal, it's a good deworming treatment that works well in my experience.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are many ways to treat things that are all appropriate. The dose of dewormer is weight dependent so if the same drug was used it is likely the new dog weighs more or they used a different dewormer. A lot of vets use the heart worm prevention as a dewormer because it also takes care of intestinal parasites. It is really Vet preference. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Hookworms are treated with deworming medications. I like panacur. I would treat twice for 3 days, 4 weeks apart and retest Maximiliano's stool 4 weeks after the 2 round. I would also put him on a monthly heart worm preventative as the medication also deworms the dog monthly. To prevent reinfection and ground contamination you should walk him on a leash and immediately pick up all stools and discard them. Do not let children play in contaminated areas. They should always where shoes outdoors. Strict hygiene and hand washing. People, especially children, can get hookworm. https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13555 https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=35037 I hope this helps and I wish you and Maximiliano the best!

I would recommend taking Sugar to a veterinarian. There are a few different things that can cause skin like this. It could be allergies and she could just be so itchy that she is creating the infection. It could be fleas and you may just not see them. Even one flea can create bad reactions if the dog is allergic to them. There are different mites that can also make dogs very itchy which in turn leads to issues like this. It could also be an endocrine disorder if everything else is ruled out and then blood work is required to see what is going on with her. Your veterinarian can evaluate her skin, provide medication to help her feel so much better and pin point exactly what is causing this in Sugar. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Just in case, make sure your veterinarian is confirming the presence of roundworms (tapeworms can sometimes be confused for roundworms). If tapeworms are present, Koda will need a special medication. The two most common reasons for persistent infection with roundworms are not yet clearing the infection he was born with (yes, they can be infected in uterus) or your yard is contaminated with roundworm eggs (one study showed roundworm eggs remained infective for 20 years). Continue with the routine dewormings and start him on a heartworm prevention like Interceptor. You should also alert your vet who may change the deworming schedule. Remember that these worms can also spread to humans so make sure to practice good hygiene. Here is a link with more helpful information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/roundworms-toxascaris-leonina-toxocara-canis/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.