Worming and vaccination are part of responsible ownership. Heartworms, tapeworms, intestinal worms, and fleas can all harm a dog. Untreated heartworm disease can be fatal. Roundworms and hookworms can pass to people and cause serious illness, especially in children. A monthly preventive, kept current, is the practical protection.

While a dog is at Shaw PBR it is treated monthly with ivermectin for heartworm prevention, with Cestex as needed for tapeworms, and with Panacur and pyrantel as needed for intestinal worms. It is also kept on flea-and-tick preventive. Those preventives do not continue by themselves after adoption. Your veterinarian should prescribe a monthly heartworm and flea-and-tick product, and you should give it every month.

Parasites can cause diarrhea, a bloated belly, or vomiting. Tapeworm segments look like grains of rice in the stool or around the anus, and usually come from swallowing a flea. Roundworms can look like spaghetti in vomit or stool. Hookworms are smaller and usually need a microscope to identify. Mange is an infestation of mites that causes intense scratching, reddened skin, and hair loss. The sarcoptic form can, rarely, affect people. If you suspect parasites, schedule a fecal test. Once identified, most are straightforward to treat.

What our dogs have already received

You will get the vaccination and worming record at adoption. Dogs at Shaw PBR are vaccinated with DHLPPv — distemper, hepatitis (adenovirus), leptospirosis, parainfluenza, and parvovirus — and for bordetella. Rabies is given to dogs over four months of age. A puppy may still need boosters to finish the series. An adult leaves current, and your veterinarian will set the schedule from there.

Core vaccines are not all yearly for life. After the puppy series and a booster at about one year, distemper and parvovirus are often given every three years. Rabies follows state law, usually one or three years. Leptospirosis and bordetella are commonly boosted every year, sometimes more often for bordetella if the dog is often around other dogs. Your veterinarian should match the schedule to the dog and to local risk.

Puppies are the exception on timing. Maternal antibodies can block a vaccine given too early, which is why the series is repeated. A rescue puppy may start as early as five weeks if it is no longer with its mother. The usual course is a DHLPPv dose every three to four weeks until the puppy is about 16 to 20 weeks old, often four doses in all. Do not take an unfinished puppy to dog parks, pet stores, or other places where unknown dogs have been.

Distemper

Distemper is an extremely contagious viral disease, and it is often fatal, especially in puppies. It spreads through the air and through saliva, urine, and feces, with or without direct contact. Signs can include squinting, eye inflammation and discharge, nasal discharge, coughing, weight loss, vomiting, and diarrhea. Dogs adopted from Shaw PBR have received distemper vaccination as part of DHLPPv.

Parvovirus

Parvo attacks the intestinal tract and the white blood cells, and in very young puppies it can affect the heart muscle. Signs are depression, loss of appetite, vomiting, severe and often bloody diarrhea, and fever. It is caught from the feces of an infected dog, and the virus survives for months in the environment. All puppies and adults at Shaw PBR are vaccinated against it as part of DHLPPv. A puppy may still need boosters. Until that series is complete, keep it off public ground used by other dogs.

See also Common Illnesses and General Veterinary Care.