Flea treatment
Fleas are a common problem for dogs, especially puppies and older dogs. Fleas are most common in warm weather (spring and summer), though they can occur all year around. They can transmit parasitic or infectious diseases to your dog, including tapeworms.

Though some dogs become irritable, scratch and have scabby lesions on the skin, others have no visible signs of discomfort. Check your dog by looking under the fur at the skin on the back close to the tail for fleas or flea ‘dirt’ (dark pepper-like specks, which is flea faeces). A flea comb is also a good way of detecting fleas.

Use a flea treatment that is safe for dogs, especially young puppies – ask your vet.

If your dog does have fleas, remember that a large part of the flea life cycle is off your pet, so your house and outdoor area may harbour flea eggs and larvae. These may be treated with flea bombs or other appropriate household products.

Worm treatment
All puppies are born with intestinal (gut) worms, and it is important to treat them regularly to prevent poor health and even fatal intestinal blockage. A puppy with a lot of worms may have a fat round belly, thin coat and be less playful. Dogs that socialise can pick up fleas from the environment.

Worm treatments should be given at two, four, six, eight, 10 and 12 weeks of age. Roundworms are the most important worm in puppies, although a broad-spectrum treatment (that also treats hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms) is often given. Older puppies and adult dogs should be given broad-spectrum worm treatment every three months, or monthly, depending on the product. Speak to your vet about ongoing treatment for the prevention of parasites.

There is a lot of misconception about pet worms and children. It is important to treat worms in dogs and cats because as well as causing ill-health for our pets, cat and dog worms do pose a small risk to children. If a child accidentally eats a microscopic roundworm larva (immature form of a worm, present in pets’ faeces) there is a small chance that this will burrow into the gut and organs, or get into the bloodstream and enter the eye.

This is not common, and usually results from situations where children eat dirt or there is poor hygiene (pets not treated for worms and children playing around pet faeces outside). Direct contact with pets is not a factor in infection because of the incubation period required before the eggs are infective.

The worms that children commonly get are from other children, and cannot be passed from pets. So, worm treatments for children and pets are quite different things – but both should be done to keep your pets and children happy and healthy! Good hygiene – such as washing hands after handling pets and always before preparing or eating food – is essential with pets in the home.