Today we get to celebrate double time — we have the Wildflowers and today is the seventh birthday of the iPups! How is it possible they are seven?!
iPup photos later — worms this mornings. And puppies — they are related.
The standard advice is to worm puppies multiple times before they are about 12 weeks old — some recommend starting at 2 - 3 weeks.
“All puppies have worms” — that is what you will hear.
I walk through life a wee bit skeptical.
How do they know all puppies have worms — have they tested every single puppy? Have large studies been done and found 100% of the puppies had worms?
Answer: No.
Paintbrush
The parasite we most care about at this point is roundworms (Toxocara canis), which can and do pass nicely from mothers to puppies through the placenta and milk.
But they cannot pass if they are not there — so are we to assume 100% of mother dogs have roundworms?
Apparently so, given the recommendation to deworm all puppies multiple times.
Interesting — because that does not seem compatible with the professional literature.
Mariposa doing some interior design
In a study that included results from over a million fecal flotation tests (dogs) from private veterinary clinics in the USA, the incidence of roundworms was 5% (Mohamed, Moore, & Glickman, 2009). Another study (Drake & Carey, 2019) included over 39 million samples over seven years — the prevalence of roundworms was less than 2%.
Nijsse, Ploeger, Wagenaar, & Mughini-Gras (2015) studied dogs in Holland, and reported their “…observed prevalence of 4.6 % of dogs shedding Toxocara eggs is in agreement with previous studies on household dogs” (p. 568). A study of parasites in dogs and pigs in a village in Cambodia found roundworms in 8% of the dogs (Inpankaew et. al, 2015).
Crinkle toys remain a hit
I am absolutely in favor of medical interventions that are necessary and smart!
I am not in favor of medical interventions that are not needed because they represent burden and potential risk on a dog or puppy (or human).
Therefore, I had a conversation with my veterinarian. We LOVE our veterinarian precisely because of that: Conversations.
Clarkia
What she suggested is that we run a fecal sample on Daisy when the puppies were four weeks; that test was done yesterday and it was negative. No evidence of roundworms in Daisy.
She further suggested that if Daisy’s test was negative, we test puppies at eight weeks — and so that is the plan.
This is a new chew — it is EcoKind Pet Treats Gold Yak Dog Chews
This is more expensive, of course, than just giving them dewormer they probably do not need — but it represents, in my mind, a Middle Road approach. I am not pretending roundworms are not a potential concern but neither am I treating for imaginary roundworms in the Wildflowers.
Rather, we have taken a data-informed, veterinarian-approved approach that make sense when one considers the actual incidence of roundworms in household dogs is, in fact, quite low in the United States.
EVENING: PHOTOS FROM THE DAY
The Puppy Socializing Team has arrived!
The iPups are seven — that is a Big Deal in the Life of a Berner. The iPups are such a special litter with a wonderful human community around them. Thank you to every single person who loves an iPup.
Happy Birthday to Tristan…
…and Tag…
…and Kidd…
…and Nikko…
…and Sparkle…
…and Ava (photo soon).
We remember — always and with love — George and Scarlett.
The Wildflowers are related to the iPups. The mother of the iPups — Zoey — is the littermate to Zed, who is the great-grandfather of the Wildflowers. I am not sure what that kind of cousin that makes them all — so we will just say they are related.
THIS is a super quick video of how the Wildflowers reacted to the Boise Socializing Team showing up and jumping right to work.
Good Night, Friends!
Work Cited/Used
Corda, A., Tamponi, C., Meloni, R., Varcasia, A., Parpaglia, M., Gomez-Ochoa, L., & Scala, P. (2019). Ultrasonography for early diagnosis of Toxocara canis infection in puppies. Parasitology Research, 118(3), 873-880.
Drake, J., & Carey, T. (2019). Seasonality and changing prevalence of common canine gastrointestinal nematodes in the USA. Parasites & Vectors, 12(1), 430.
Inpankaew, T., Murrell, K., Pinyopanuwat, D., Chhoun, N., Khov, C., Sem, K., . . . Dalsgaard, S. (2015). A survey for potentially zoonotic gastrointestinal parasites of dogs and pigs in Cambodia. Acta Parasitologica, 60(4), 601-604.
Mohamed AS, Moore GE, Glickman LT (2009) Prevalence of intestinal nematode parasitism among pet dogs in the United States (2003– 2006). J Am Vet Med Assoc 234:631–637.
Nijsse, R., Ploeger, H., Wagenaar, W., & Mughini-Gras, J. (2015). Toxocara canis in household dogs: Prevalence, risk factors and owners’ attitude towards deworming. Parasitology Research, 114(2), 561-569.