Nearly every puppy in the world is born with roundworms. This is because the roundworms larvae are transmitted from the mother to the puppy while it is still in the womb. A female dog can harbor roundworms in her tissue, often making them immune to dewormings. The roundworms then have the opportunity to emerge during pregnancy through the mothers bloodstream and infect the unborn puppies. Roundworms can also be transmitted to newborn puppies through the mothers milk during nursing.

Roundworms are also easily transmitted to humans. Young children are most susceptible because they are always sticking their fingers in their mouths! Roundworms are transmitted to humans and dogs through eggs that are in a dog or puppys stool. They can either be ingested through direct eating of the stool or by eating something else that has eaten the stool (the dog eats a bird, mouse, etc. that has eaten the dogs stool).

Everyone should wash their hands frequently after handling the puppy or dog and make sure that all feces is removed from the yard and disposed of on a daily basis. Most infections in people are mild and cause no symptoms at all. However there have been cases of worms migrating to the liver, brain, and eyes.

Symptoms of roundworms in humans include:

Anemia
Appetite Loss
Difficulty Breathing
Constipation
Cough
Cramping
Diarrhea
Fever
Hives
Itching
Nausea
Chest Pain
Muscle Pain
Passing of Worms
Rash
Skin Lesions
Swelling
Vision Disturbances
Vomiting
Weight Loss

Infected puppies can become quite ill and heavy infestations may lead to convulsions and even death. Most puppies that die are around the age of two to three weeks old. Puppies should be wormed at ages 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of age. Adult dogs should receive yearly stool samples from their veterinarian to check for worms. Roundworms will look like spaghetti in the puppys feces.

Symptoms of roundworms in dogs include:

Potbelly
Diarrhea
Gas
Vomiting
Lack of Energy
Slow Growth Rate
Dull Coat
Coughing (if immature roundworms have migrated to the puppys lungs)

Some dogs may show some or all of these symptoms while others may show no symptoms at all. When adult roundworms are seen in the dogs stool this is often because of ongoing disease in the bowel or sometimes because the worm burden had become so great that the worms are crowding each other out.

Treatment of roundworms is not dangerous and is highly effective. Buy your wormers from the vet and give them regularly as instructed. The tablets are not difficult to give if you train your dog to take them in tiny bits of cheese or put them into sweets. The best way to protect your family and dogs from roundworms is through a regular program of both medication and prevention (keeping the yard clean of feces).