Dogs catch heartworms from mosquito bites.
Dogs are prone to many different kinds of worms that can attack internal organs. Severe worm infestations can kill dogs and puppies, but most kinds of canine worms can be easily prevented. Since many types of dog worms are transmitted through flea bites or mosquito bites, a regular external pest prevention program can do double duty as a dog worm prevention plan.
Roundworms
Also known as ascarids, these are the most common type of worms in dogs, according to "Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook." The two most common dog roundworms are Toxicara canis and Toxicara leonis. Dogs get roundworm infections by eating other animals already infected with them or eating dirt infested with roundworm eggs. Puppies catch roundworms from their mother's milk and through the placenta. Adult roundworms can grow to be 7 inches long and are found in vomit or in feces.
Hookworms
Dogs and puppies catch hookworms in the same way they catch roundworms, but they can also burrow into a dog's foot pads and travel to the stomach. They only grow to be a half inch long but still can do a lot of damage. They fasten onto the intestinal wall in a similar manner to tapeworms and cause bloody diarrhea, anemia and weight loss. Veterinarian Dr. Dawn Ruben notes that hookworm eggs die from cold, so hookworm is more of a problem in hot and humid areas or seasons.
Tapeworms
Fleas eat tapeworm eggs and become infected. Dogs then eat the fleas and then become infected. The small worms travel to the intestine and latch their hook-like mouths to the tissue and absorb nutrients meant for the dog. They can grow to be over 6 inches long. They release mobile egg-filled sacs that look like tiny grains of rice found in a dog's stool, under the tail or down the hind legs.
Whipworms
Whipworms resemble tiny pale bullwhips, hence the name. Adults only grow to be 2 to 3 inches long. Whipworm eggs pass out of an animal host, like a dog, and can survive in dirt for five years. Dogs get infected whenever they swallow the microscopic eggs. The worms then lodge in the intestines and breed. "Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook" notes that eggs are very difficult to find in stool samples. But whipworms tend to give dogs mucus-covered diarrhea which is how they can be diagnosed.
Heartworm
Heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) are transmitted through mosquito bites. The microscopic juveniles (known as microfilaria) live in the dog's bloodstream but then migrate to the heart. There they grow into thick spaghetti-like bodies and can eventually block the dog's heart and kill it. Different medications must be used to kill microfilaria than adult heartworms.
Lungworms
These worms resemble pale hairs that grow up to a half-inch long. They live in other creatures such as rodents or frogs. When the dog places the infected animals in its mouth, lungworms travel to the nose and then eventually to the lungs. Eggs pass out in the dog's feces.
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