Intestinal worms are one gruesome reality of a dog’s life. They never cease to trouble our petty little canines with their vicious objectives of sucking all the nutrition from the pet just to multiply their own population. Moreover, it’s not just one worm that comes around as a trouble maker; there are rather 4 types of them that throng the intestines and 1 that cling to the lung and heart of these poor dogs. You must have heard your vet calling out names like roundworm infection, tapeworm infection or so when you got your dog checked after he took up to not eating even a morsel from his bowl.
Well, these are the kind of worm infections which dogs can get when any of these 5 worms – roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm, whipworm or heartworms infest your dog. Heartworms can be life-threatening if not prevented in advance because they can coagulate and cause a heart attack in dogs. However, the others, 4 intestinal worms are more frequent trouble makers than heartworms. They can be easily infested through contaminated soil or feces of the other animal.
Types of worms in Dogs
Roundworms
Roundworms have white or brown spaghetti like body with tapered ends and are 3-6 inch long. They live in the intestines instead of attaching themselves to the intestinal walls of the dog and feed on digested food that travels through the intestines. Toxascaris leonina and Toxocara canis are the two species of roundworms that infest pets.
Hookworms
Hookworms (Ancylostoma caninum, Ancylostoma braziliense) are thread-like structures, ½ inch long and have a hooked head with which it attaches itself to the intestinal walls. Since these worms puncture the blood vessels to derive nutrition from blood, dogs that have hookworm infection often end up having anemia.
[Read] All That You Need To Know About Hookworms in Pets
Tapeworms
Tapeworms have a flat, segmented, ribbon-like body which can end up measuring 8-24 inches long. Each segment called proglottid has a nucleus and is capable of forming a new tapeworm of its own. These segments are often passed into the dog’s feces and can be easily noticed as they hold a rice grain kind of appearance. Some of them can also linger around the anal area causing itching of the hind region in pets.
Whipworms
Whipworms are normally 2-3 inches in length and are found in Cecum, which is inside your dog’s body where the small intestine and large intestine meet. These parasites look like tiny pieces of thread, with one end enlarged. Dogs become infected with whipworms by swallowing infective whipworm eggs in soil or other substances that may contain dog feces.
[Read] Intestinal Worms In Dogs
Heartworms
These worms also have a thread-like body and can prove to be fatal as they attach themselves to the walls of lungs and heart and cause respiratory issues and heart attack if they block the heart vessels.
[Read] Heartworms Disease In Pets
Now that you know about so many worm species, you must be thinking you would have to give multiple worming products to your dog if two or more worms infect him simultaneously. Well, no.
There is this amazing product known as Sentinel spectrum that easily eliminates any kind of worm infection without you having to stop your dog from playing outdoors.
What is Sentinel Spectrum?
Sentinel Spectrum for dogs is a broad spectrum wormer manufactured by Novartis. It is one of the most effective products in the market that treats and controls tapeworms, whipworms, roundworms, and hookworms. Other than that, the product is also beneficial in the prevention of heartworm disease as its powerful ingredients kill all the microfilaria in blood. Moreover, just a single dose of Sentinel spectrum is enough to eliminate all kinds of worm infections, be it hookworm infection, roundworm infection or any other.
What makes Sentinel spectrum such a big hit is its combination of three powerful ingredients Milbemycin Oxime, Lufenuron and Praziquantel. These active ingredients work synergistically to kill all adult and immature stages of worms thus preventing further infections.
This monthly oral treatment can be administered directly into the mouth or you can simply mix it in your pet’s food.
Benefits of Using Sentinel Spectrum For Dogs
- Has a palatable beef flavor which dogs love.
- Kills the existing flea eggs and larvae and hence prevents further infestation.
- Eliminates all types of intestinal worms.
- Easy to administer and a mess-free solution.
- Provides protection against heartworms.
- Can be used in puppies that are 4 or more weeks old.
Does Sentinel kill adult fleas? Well, the answer is – No, but it kills the juvenile forms thereby preventing future infestation.
How does Sentinel Spectrum work?
- Milbemycin oxime in Sentinel spectrum acts on the nervous system of the parasite thus killing the immature as well as the adult stages of heartworms, and other parasites.
- Lufenuron, the second ingredient, disrupts the life cycle of fleas. It prevents flea eggs from maturing into larvae thereby halting the maturation process.
- Praziquantel kills all juvenile and adult forms of Dipylidium Caninum which are frequently found in dogs and cats.
Sentinel Spectrum Side Effects
Though it is the rarest possibility that Sentinel Spectrum would cause any adverse effects, there could be some dogs that are sensitive to the ingredients or have a medical history. Such dogs may show some side effects which may include –
- Depression
- Drooling
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Lethargy
- Diarrhea
Customer Reviews