My 9-week-old puppy has worms. Can my kids play with her safely?

As long as he's been dewormed and you clean up after Peso you should be fine having him in a small area of the house. I would wash your children's hands after touching him also. Children get intestinal parasites when there is poor cleanliness. Continue with his routine deworming also. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Peso.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Unless she has feces on her hair and if she defecates when around other dogs, she will not pass on the worms just by playing with other dogs. However, you cannot say for sure whether or not she has microscopic eggs stuck to her fur or if she will defecate around the other dogs. I would play it safe and finish off the deworming medication and recheck the stool in 7 days (from starting the medication) before socializing her with any other dogs. If she defecates and you pick it up, there is no way to tell if you got every microscopic egg off the ground. If she does defecate outside, it is recommended to remove the top 8 inches of soil from the area to ensure you have removed all eggs. I would also recommend regularly cleaning her bedding so that she does not re-infect herself and that you are using a bleach solution (3 cups bleach to 1 cup water) to spray surfaces down. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am guessing that these worms might be tapeworms. If this is the case the types of tapeworms dogs get are not contagious to people. There are some other types of worms (like roundworms or hookworms) that could potentially be transmitted to people although they do not cause intestinal infections like they do in dogs. I would recommend having her dog examined by a veterinarian to determine the type of worm, and then having your daughter contact her OB. Tapeworms are usually transmitted either through fleas or ingesting animal tissue containing the worm cysts so they would not be directly contagious to your dog. You should make sure all pets are on a good flea preventative. Hookworms or roundworms would be contagious through feces in the yard but your dog would be covered if he is on a good heartworm and parasites preventative.

There are certain worms that can be transmitted from cats to people, but it's not easy. However, there is a particular concern with kids getting Toxocariasis. If the worms were diagnosed by a veterinarian, then she should be able to find out the species of worms that were discovered Below is a link to some good information about the risk of transmission of this particular worm. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxocariasis/gen_info/faqs.html I hope that helps and all is well with everyone.

Hello, they can be transmitted via a fecal to oral route for both. In the case of hookworms, the species (Ancylostoma brazilienze) can burrow into the skin of people. I advised washing your hands after playing with your puppy and washing your feet/taking showers regularly if you think your yard is infested with hookworms. You should also pick up you're puppy's feces promptly to decrease contamination into your environment. Hope this helps.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Your children would have to get Max's stool in their mouths or mucous membranes. As long as you pick up his stool and cleaning up after any accidents that usually prevents any infections in children. Kids can also get it from eating contaminated dirt. They should always wear shoes and sand boxes should be covered to prevent cats from using it as a litter box. I hope this helps! https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/toxocariasis/gen_info/faqs.html

Just make sure that you wear gloves and/or wash your hands if you clean up any of your dogs feces. If your puppy has an accident in the house make sure you thoroughly clean the area. It might be a good idea to confine her to an area that is easy to clean until you know she is negative for parasites. Take a fecal sample to your vet after she is finished treatment to make sure she is negative for parasites