As your pet goes about its daily routine, it can come into contact with parasites.  The parasites that most commonly affect our pets are roundworms, flatworms, and hookworms.  Transmission happens through contact in an environment that is contaminated with parasite eggs.  In other words, your animal may become infected simply by ingesting grass or dirt or even just by sniffing around.  Some pets can become infected by ingesting contaminated prey when hunting and others are infected by the immature form of the parasite through flea or insect bites.

When it comes to puppies and kittens, the number of animals suffering from parasites becomes much more prevalent.  The eggs of parasites are transmitted directly from mother to babies through breast milk or sometimes directly from the mother’s belly through the placenta. Because the immune system of young animals is still developing, they are more susceptible to suffer more severely from these problems. It is therefore essential to diagnose and treat cases of parasitism in dogs before, during and after pregnancy.

Parasite eggs mature within your animal and the maturation period varies depending on the type of parasite from which your animal is suffering. This means that an animal in perfect health (not showing any clinical signs of parasitism) can still be suffering from intestinal parasites.