Article: Infected fleas may give your dog tapeworms, so it is crucial to take steps to prevent your dog from getting fleas. You can purchase flea medicine online or in pet stores, but you may want to discuss flea medicine options with your veterinarian as well. Your veterinarian may be able to make recommendations based on your pet’s health history. Whether you have a new puppy or an adult dog, you should ask your veterinarian about heartworm testing and prevention medications. Heartworms cause serious health complications for your dog such as bleeding, trouble breathing, and heart failure. That is why it is so important to prevent heartworms and get immediate treatment if you suspect that your dog may have heartworms.  Popular de-worming medications include Panacur, Drontal, and Milbemax. Ask your veterinarian about these and other de-worming medications to treat and protect your dog. Remember that different dewormers kill different worms, and not all products kill all worm types. If your home is infested with fleas, then you will need to use some sort of spray or powder to get rid of them. Check with your veterinarian for recommendations or look for products that that labeled as pet safe. Do not use anything that may harm your dog if she comes in contact with it. Some worms, such as hookworms and ringworms, may be passed on from the mother dog to her babies in the womb or through her milk. Therefore, it is important to treat pregnant or nursing mother dogs for worms. Talk to your veterinarian to find the safest option for de-worming a pregnant or nursing dog. As you work with your veterinarian to protect your dog from worms, it may also help you to learn about some of the different types of worms that may infect your dog. The most common types of worms in dogs include:  Roundworms: Roundworms are long round worms which look a bit like string, noodles, or spaghetti. Roundworms are quite common and they pose a health risk to people, so it is important to control them. Most dogs are born with roundworms because the eggs cross the placenta when the puppy is in the womb. Puppies can also get roundworms from their mother’s milk. Roundworm eggs can even lay dormant in a dog for years before hatching. Roundworm eggs can also survive in the soil for months or even years. The eggs get into the soil from infected feces.   Tapeworms:  Dogs most often get tapeworms by eating a flea that is infected with tapeworms (such as when the dog grooms and swallows a flea) or from eating vermin contaminated with tapeworms.  Heartworm: Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes. A bite from an infected mosquito is the only way that dogs can get heartworm.  Hookworms: Dogs may become infected with hookworms from eating contaminated soil, or from larvae that go through the skin in the dog's paws. Hookworm infections are more common in warm, humid places. Hookworms may also be passed to puppies across the placenta or in a mother dog’s milk.  Lungworm: Lungworm is a fox parasite that sometimes infects dogs. Dogs may become infected with lungworm after contact with infected fox feces, eating infected slugs or snails, or by coming into contact with the slime trail left behind by infected slugs and snails. Part of preventing worm infections is to clear the existing infestation with anthelmintics (drugs that kill worms). This ensures your dog is worm free and also reduces the shedding of eggs and larvae into the environment, which may infect your dog in the future. Make sure that you discuss treatment options with your veterinarian before giving anything to your dog. Giving your dog too much medicine may cause severe side effects.  Roundworms: Many products are effective at killing adult roundworms. The product most widely used for puppies is Panacur (fenbendazole) which can also be given to pregnant and nursing dogs. Other products suitable for older pups and adult dogs include selamectin (Revolution spot on) and praziquantel/ pyrantel (Drontal Plus) and milbemycin/pyrantel (Milbemax). Tapeworms:  Tapeworms are a bit harder to treat because they do not respond to some chemicals. An effective de-wormer for tapeworm must contain pyrantel and praziquantel, so Drontal Plus or Milbemax (or equivalent) are ideal. Heartworm: Treatment of heartworm must be administered under the supervision of your veterinarian because complications may be severe or even fatal. The drug used to kill off heartworms is called Immiticide and is from the arsenic family. Prevention is a much better option. Your veterinarian may recommend either a 6-monthly preventative injection or monthly at-home preventatives such as HeartGard, Iverhart, Revolution or Trifexis.  Hookworms: Panacur, Nemex, Drontal Plus, Telmintic, and Vercom Paste are all effective treatments against hookworms.  Lungworm: Lungworm can be treated with products from the ivermectin family of drugs such as Advocate (imidacloprid) spot on, milbemycin containing products (milbemax), and they are also sensitive to long courses of fenbendazole (Panacur). Check with your vet before starting treatment if you think your dog has a lungworm infection. Lungworms may cause fluid build-up in the lungs and pneumonia, which may further complicate your dog’s situation.

What is a summary?
Give your dog a monthly flea prevention medicine. Talk to your veterinarian about a de-worming plan for your dog. Use a veterinarian-approved insecticide spray or powder to help control fleas in your home. Ask your veterinarian for help treating a pregnant dog for worms. Become familiar with worms that may infect your dog. Learn about treatment options.