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Although they do not usually pose serious problems, worms in dogs always seem to be an issue, especially for puppies. This is because of the way their lifecycle works. The threat of worms in dogs to canine and human health means that owners have a responsibility to intervene in the worm cycle and try to stop infestation.

The roundworm is the most common type of dog worm we see in the UK because most puppies are born infected. In puppies this infestation causes swollen bellies and may delay growth whilst in humans it may rarely cause blindness.

Like all types of worms in dogs, the life cycle of the dog roundworm (the Toxocara Canis) is not complex and can be controlled with care and patience. At the beginning of the cycle, a female puppy is infected by her mother, either before birth via the placenta or afterwards via her milk. In the infected puppy, some of the worm larvae will move out of the intestine and into the blood before forming indestructible cysts in the muscles. In the event of pregnancy in later life, the larvae will be reactivated and will move through the blood to infect the puppies.

In young puppies, not all the worm larvae will form the cysts mentioned above. Rather, some will stay in the intestine and become adults. Once mature, after feeding on the partly digested food in the intestine, the adult worm releases eggs which are passed from the dog with the faeces. In the open air, the eggs are infectious to other dogs and even people. For people it is the touching of contaminated soil rather than the handling of puppies which poses an infection risk.

That is the cycle and in order to interrupt it, dog owners should give worming treatment to adult dogs every three months. Puppies, being much more likely to be infested should be wormed every fortnight from the age of two weeks to twelve months, then monthly until the age of six months. Worms in dogs do pose a danger to public health, so even though the risk is relatively small, picking up after dogs and promoting hand hygiene in the whole family is vital to break the cycle and reduce risk.