If you have a dog, he’s certainly a valued member of your home. You care about his comfort and happiness, just like you would about any other family member. This is why it’s a good idea to stay vigilant about his health, including being aware of the best dog dewormer options.
There are all sorts of worms that can cause health problems for your dog. In some cases, a worm infestation can truly be dangerous for your furry friend. This is why you should be aware and proactive when it comes to treating these problems.
Not all dog dewormers are the same, so it’s good to know about all the different options. The best dog dewormer for most dogs may not be the best choice for your dog.
What You Should Know About Worms in Dogs
It’s vital to be proactive about worms in your dog. While you want to protect the health of your furry friend. – you should also be aware that some worms can infect humans once they’re in your home. For example, roundworm infections in children can cause all sorts of problems, including liver disease, lung disease, and blindness.
This means you should be aware of any risk factors that might be present from the beginning, as well as how symptoms would look if they were to show up. Knowing about the best dog dewormer options is a great idea, but you should also know how to tell if your dog has a high risk of getting worms or already has them.
The good news is that worms in dogs are very treatable. If you find the best dog dewormer out there for your dog and make sure to treat him in time, he’ll likely be fine.
Risk factors
Certain risk factors make it more likely that your dog will need the best dog dewormer.
Being a puppy
Puppies are generally more at risk of roundworm infection than adult dogs. Roundworm eggs sometimes form cysts within the systems of adult dogs; no medication can remove these eggs.
When a female dog is pregnant, these dormant eggs can become active and infect the puppies. Puppies can also acquire roundworms when drinking their mother’s milk.
Contact with nature
The larvae of hookworms and eggs of roundworms often reside in the soil. If your dog spends a lot of time outside, he may come into contact with contaminated dirt where he may become infected.
Wild animals often also carry worms, including tapeworms that can reside within the fleas on wild animals. Dogs who hunt or tend to eat wildlife are more likely to contract worms.
Fleas
Young tapeworms can live within fleas. If your dog has fleas, he might swallow them while grooming or licking himself. If this happens, he’ll probably ingest tapeworms and acquire an infection.
Symptoms
There are telltale signs and symptoms that your dog may have worms and need the best dog dewormer for the situation. However, you should keep in mind that some dogs can have worms with no symptoms at all. In these situations, the only way you’ll be able to tell that your dog has worms is at your vet with an exam of your dog’s fecal matter.
Visible worms in feces
The most common way to confirm that your dog has a worm infestation and needs a dewormer is to look at his poop. If you see worms in his poop, there’s probably a problem. However, keep in mind that not all kinds of worms will be visible to the naked eye.
Bloating
If your dog has a bloated belly or stomach, this is also a common system of worm infection. Often, puppies who contract worms from their mothers will have this symptom.
Vomiting
If a dog is vomiting, this is often a sign of some gastrointestinal problem. It’s particularly true if you see worms in your dog’s vomit.
Appetite changes
Dogs who have worms are often weak, always hungry, and losing weight, even though they’re not eating any less. If your dog has worms, they’re siphoning away his nutrition, which is what causes these symptoms.
However, you should keep in mind that these symptoms could indicate some other health issue. This is why it’s vital that you go to your vet before self-prescribing medications for your dog.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is another common symptom in dogs when they have worm infections. This is particularly true when the stool has blood in it.
However, diarrhea is another symptom that can be indicative of other serious conditions as well. So if your dog has diarrhea, particularly if there’s also blood, please call your vet.
Itching of the rear
This is probably the main behavioral symptom that people have noticed in dogs you have worms. If your dog shows some kind of sign that he’s itching around the rear area, this might be because this area is irritated by worms.
However, there’s also a chance that this area is itching because of problems with the anal glands. In this case, the problem might have nothing to do with worms. This is another symptom that you should have your vet analyze.
Types of Worms
Many different types of worms can cause health problems in dogs. The best dog dewormer for you and your dog could take care of one or all of these.
Roundworms
Roundworms typically spread within the feces, or from mother dogs to their puppies during pregnancy and nursing. The roundworm eats the dog’s food from the inside. This worm can cause symptoms in dogs, such as diarrhea.
Roundworms can be fatal in puppies. Additionally, roundworms can affect people and cause symptoms that are even more serious than the ones that you’d see in dogs.
Tapeworms
Tapeworm infections occur when dogs lick themselves and end up swallowing fleas. The fleas carry tapeworms. Once the tapeworm gets to your dog’s intestine, it starts absorbing your dog’s nutrition.
Tapeworms are made up of small segments, each a fraction of an inch long. Your dog passes them within feces, and you can sometimes see them around your dog’s anus. Some injections and tablets are effective at killing tapeworms.
Hookworms
Hookworms usually live in the small intestine and feed on the blood of the host animal. Adult dogs can be infected when they eat infected animals, and they can also become infected through their skin or while they’re cleaning themselves. Puppies can acquire infections from their mothers.
When a dog has a hookworm infection, weakness and malnutrition are typical results. It can be fatal in puppies in particular. For adult dogs, two rounds of deworming medication will usually do the trick, but puppies may need additional treatment as well.
Heartworms
Dogs can acquire heartworms through mosquito bites. Heartworms can grow to be up to 14 inches long. They live in the heart and the arteries that transport blood between the heart and the lungs.
Heartworm is likely to kill a dog who is left untreated. They interfere with the functioning of the heart and clotting of the blood. If your dog has a heartworm infection, he might cough and struggle to breathe, along with other symptoms.
Monthly heartworm preventive medication is typically effective. If your dog has an infection already, treatment can consist of two or three injections of arsenic-based drugs and a minimum of one month of rest.
Whipworms
Whipworms live in the junction between the small and large intestines. They feed on their host animals’ blood. Dogs typically pick them up when grooming themselves or when making contact with contaminated soil.
These infections can be severe and cause bloody diarrhea in your dog when there are a lot of them in the intestine. Oral dewormers can be effective at eliminating this parasite. Some heartworm preventives can be effective as well.
Prevention and Treatment
No medication can stop your dog from picking up worms. Even the best dog dewormer will only work by killing existing worms in your dog’s system.
The best prevention tactic would be to avoid exposing him to contaminated agents, such as fleas, infected soil, or infected wildlife that he might otherwise eat.
Giving your dog deworming medication regularly won’t stop him from picking them up, but it’ll likely prevent them from being able to do any damage.
Many deworming medications kill all major types of worms. This makes it convenient and simple to administer treatment.
How much and how often?
You need to make sure that you’re giving your dog the correct dosage, based on his weight. If you have any doubts at all about how much medication you should be giving your dog, ask your vet.
Most veterinarians recommend that you give your dog a dose of deworming medication every three months. In cases where the dog is at increased risk of infection, such as the case of a dog who does a lot of hunting, you can treat him monthly.
It’s a good idea to treat all puppies with a broad-spectrum dewormer at two, four, six, and eight weeks old.
These treatments can come in a variety of forms. These include tablets, liquids, edible powders, chewable pills, and topical preparations.
How We Came Up with the Best Dog Dewormer List
We’re aware that no two dogs are the same. Some dogs are big, some are small, some are old, and some are young. It makes sense, then, that there wouldn’t be a product that is universally considered the best dog dewormer for every dog.
However, many dog dewormers outperform the majority of the competition. We included dog dewormers that consistently appeared at the top of the list on review sites. There are dewormers on this list that work particularly well for all types and sizes of dogs.
The 7 Best Dog Dewormer Products
If you’re curious about the best dog dewormer options, there are several. The following are seven of the best dog dewormer options that you’ll be able to find out there.
1. Wholistic Pet Organics Wormer
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Wholistic Pet Organics Wormer is a safe treatment with whole food ingredients and no chemicals. It’s an excellent choice for older dogs or young puppies with weak immune systems.
The active ingredient is Diatomaceous Earth, which is good for your dog’s health. Its effectiveness in killing intestinal parasites is not well-known, but it is known to kill fleas and ticks by drying out their exoskeletons. Because of this, many people see it as a good prevention method against worms that can often come from these external parasites.
2. Safe-Guard 4 Canine Dewormer
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Safe-Guard Canine Dewormer has the active ingredient of fenbendazole. According to veterinarians, this is one of the most effective anthelmintics. It’s also very safe.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t kill Diplylidium caninum, which is one of the most common tapeworms that infect dogs. However, it does kill two species of hookworm, two species of roundworm, one species of tapeworm, and one species of whipworm.
You can give Safe-Guard 4 dewormer to puppies that are as young as six weeks in age. You can also give it to pregnant dogs and dogs that currently have heartworm infections. It comes in a granule formulation that’s easy to mix into food.
3. Bayer Quad Dog Dewormer
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Bayer Quad Dog Dewormer is an over-the-counter dog dewormer that’s very effective. It treats dogs with tapeworms, roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms.
One great thing about this option is that it kills seven species of intestinal worms, including Diplylidium caninum. Anthelminthics that contain fenbendazole typically don’t kill this species. The mix of ingredients in this dewormer has been demonstrated to cause worms to pass in as little as eight hours.
The Bayer Quad Dog Dewormer comes in a chewable tablet form. It’s easy to administer because you can either directly feed it to a dog who’s willing to take it or hide it in his food.
4. Pfizer Nemex 2 Liquid Dewormer for Dogs
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Pfizer’s Nemex 2 is a great option for anyone who wants a liquid dewormer. It’s easy to administer and has a very safe and effective active ingredient, pyrantel pamoate. It’s safe even for puppies as young as two weeks old.
You give your dog one teaspoon for every 10 pounds of body weight. You can either add it to your dog’s food or feed it to him directly. It’s FDA-approved and safe for use in puppies and pregnant dogs; the main drawback is that it only treats hookworms and roundworms.
5. Panacur C Canine Dewormer
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Panacur C Dog Dewormer contains fenbendazole. This makes it an effective treatment for roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms, and hookworms. It comes in powder form, and you can get it in packets of one gram, two grams, or four grams.
You need to give the treatment to your dog for three consecutive days. However, you should keep in mind that it might be hard to give to your dog. It doesn’t mix well with dry food, and your dog could very well dislike the flavor and refuse to take it.
6. Sentry HC WormX Plus Dog Dewormer
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It can be kind of a challenge to make sure that you’re getting the dosage right when you’re giving a medication to a small dog. That’s what puts the Sentry formula on our list. After all, if a product is designed for dogs of all sizes, it can be hard to split it into the correct dose for a very small dog, especially if it comes in tablet form.
However, this is a safe and effective option for small dogs. It’s meant specifically for dogs that are between 6 and 25 pounds in size. It’s fast-acting and typically shows results within 24 hours; each tablet of this medication contains 30 milligrams each of the two active ingredients, which are praziquantel and pyrantel pamoate.
7. Durvet Triple Wormer for Medium and Large Dogs
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Durvet Triple Wormer is a great option for anyone who has a very large dog. Bigger dogs often require different sorts of medicines, and it applies to dog dewormers. If you buy a general dewormer, you might have to buy many boxes to get the right dosage for a very large dog.
This dewormer has a broad-spectrum formula that contains two potent active ingredients: praziquantel and pyrantel pamoate. This medication can kill two species of tapeworm, three species of hookworm, and two species of roundworm.
Most dogs find the chewable tablets quite palatable. They’re fast and effective. However, you should note that it doesn’t protect dogs against whipworms, and you can’t use it for puppies under 12 weeks old.
You Love Your Dog, So He Doesn’t Need to Go Eat Worms…
There are a whole bunch of worm species out there that can cause damage to your dog. This is why it’s a good idea to know about all of the best dog dewormer options out there. It’s just one thing that you need to do to prevent unnecessary problems.
Humans can get worms too, of course. However, people can talk and communicate with one another when something doesn’t feel right within their systems, which dogs really can’t do. Dogs do exhibit specific symptoms when they’re infected, and it helps to be familiar with these beforehand.
Whether it’s a tapeworm, whipworm, or heartworm, you don’t want it infecting your dog. The best dog dewormer for your dog in any of these situations can get rid of these parasites and keep your dog healthy. And this is the most important thing for man’s best friend.
What do you think of the best dog dewormer options that we’ve presented? Let us know in the comments section!