INTERNAL PARASITE CONTROL

It may not be possible for you to achieve 100% control or elimination of internal parasites. The best you can hope for is to minimize or reduce the dog's chances of infection. This you do by trying to prevent your dog from coming into contact with infected matter, and by breaking up the life cycle of internal parasites.

Veterinary parasitologists are constantly working on methods to eradicate and break up the life cycles of parasites. Recently, a medicated dog food containing a vermicide for ascarids was developed and placed on the market. This medicated dog food is in the form of a meal and is manufactured by Best Foods Division, Corn Products Company, New York. It is dispensed only through veterinarians.

In the initial tests with this medicated dog food, 7-week-old puppies were put on a diet of the food. A second group of puppies the same age was fed a regular dog food. After six weeks of continuous feeding, the two groups were compared as to eradication of ascarids and general health. The results showed that the pups on the medicated dog food had a marked decrease in ascarid infestations and were in better health than the other group. The medicated dog food definitely proved effective in controlling ascarids. Studies were also done on mature dogs infected with Toxocara canis. At the completion of a three-week trial, those older dogs fed the medicated food were almost free of ascarids.

You will recall that the main problem in eliminating ascarids is that they migrate in the dog's body. The principle of the medicated food is that the daily feeding will eliminate ascarids as they appear in the intestines. The theory is a sound one, since ascarids do migrate. However, the possibility of ascarids developing resistance—or mutations—to the medicated dog meal must be taken into consideration. This has happened in the case of antibiotics and bacteria. Certain bacteria, notably Staphylococcus aureus, developed resistance to most antibiotics. The same is true for certain insects. During World War II and shortly thereafter, DDT was the wonder insecticide. It was used to control all kinds of insects, from gnats to ticks. Eventually, the insects developed mutations that were resistant to DDT. Consequently, other insecticides had to be developed.

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