Has your dog been acting differently lately? You may be concerned because your pet is vomiting, losing its appetite and possibly even suffering from diarrhea. These symptoms are all causes to be concerned, so it is important to get help for your pet and find out exactly what is going on. There is a possibility that your dog is suffering from intestinal worms. The best thing to do is bring your dog into the veterinarian's office for an evaluation to find out what is wrong.

Intestinal Worms: How Does a Dog Catch Them?

Based on the symptoms your dog is experiencing, there is a fairly good chance it may have some sort of intestinal worms. You may be wondering how your pet could possibly catch intestinal worms, such as tapeworms, roundworms or even hookworms. In most cases, the animal may have swallowed these worms by accident if they had fleas or were spending time around another animal that had fleas at that moment. Hookworms may even be passed via skin contact.

The Testing Process: How to Find Out For Sure

Before providing any type of treatment to your pet, it is important to find out if intestinal worms are the cause of the different symptoms your dog has been experiencing. It may be necessary for you to bring in a sample of your dog's stool to the veterinarian's office. While it may be unpleasant for you to have to carry around a bag of stool with you to the office, it is important because the veterinarian will examine the stool to check for any evidence of these different types of worms.

Treating the Problem: What Helps to Remove These Worms?

After testing the stool sample, the veterinarian should be able to tell you if your dog has intestinal worms. There are a few different treatment options. The veterinarian may provide prescription medication that you would need to give to your dog by mouth. If you are concerned that your pet will not take the medication, there is an injection version of the medication available, too. You may have the option of getting the medication for your dog in the form of granules that could easily be mixed in with food. These medications are often extremely effective and begin working right away.

 If your dog has been experiencing different symptoms, such as vomiting and diarrhea, you may want to schedule an appointment with the veterinarian. The cause of these symptoms could be something serious, such as intestinal worms. The good news is that different treatment options are available to help solve this problem, which is why it is crucial to bring your pet into the veterinarian's office as soon as possible.