Expert: Jennifer Walker - 11/6/2011

Question
My 15 week boxer puppy has been having diharrea onadn of since week got him 5 wwks ago.  He was on meds when we brought him home from the rescue.  I brought him to the vet and they gave him meds again and put him on a rice and chicken diet.  He did that for 2 weeks.  I was told he tested positive for parasites after being told he hadn't at first.  Now I just found a few small (1") white worms in his feces.  He has had gas and had a heartgard last month and I just gave him an intercepter today.  What can I do to get him healthy.  Do I need to worry about my young kids who play and crawl all over he puppy?  I have never had a dog with worm before.

Answer
Roundworms are pretty common in puppies, and generally take two or three treatments to clear. Interceptor has a roundworm treatment in it, as does Heartgard Plus, and you will see the worms after you give a treatment.

Your kids can't pick up the worms directly from the puppy, but the eggs are shed in the feces and can live in the soil for a long time. You'll want to keep the kids out of the area where the puppy goes potty. Picking up the yard right away helps, but if he has diarrhea you won't be able to get it all picked up, so it's best just to keep them out of that area entirely.

There's some detailed information about roundworms here:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1622&aid=762

Good luck with your puppy!