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About a year ago, my family noticed that my dog had picked up a worm. I looked dead, so we didn't go to the vet. I wanted to, but my family wouldn't. Recently, we found another one, the last one being on her neck, this one on her side area. My dog is about 3-4 years old, and we haven't been to the vet, because my parents didn't have time for that. What should I do without the vet? Also if any more information is needed, ask me in the comments, and I will add it.

Animal Lover
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    if your dog has never been at the vet in four years the best thing you can do is to give it up for adoption(a dog need several vaccines during the first years of it`s life and the types differs depending where you live),you can get a number of different dewormers at your local pharmacy. – trond hansen Dec 24 '22 at 06:05
  • @trondhansen for my curiosity, will dewormers help for "outside" worms too? – Allerleirauh Dec 24 '22 at 10:06
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    @Allerleirauh yes i think some of the spot-on products will kill external parasites as well as internal parsites,if a pet gets larvae(larvae is often mistaken for worms) in the fur you will need to consult a vet for diagnose and treatment.it is fairly common to find worms in the bed and fur of a pet if it has internal parasites. – trond hansen Dec 24 '22 at 10:23
  • @trondhansen Thank you :) – Allerleirauh Dec 24 '22 at 11:10
  • I would be careful about administering OTC dewormer without a check for heartworms first. If your dog has a heartworm infestation, the dewormer could cause an unmanaged die-off that would cause additional life-threatening complications. – vir Dec 27 '22 at 22:25

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Any treatment should start with a diagnosis - if you say “worms”, have you identified what kind of worm you are looking at, whether it’s an internal parasite, a larva of something in or on the skin or fur, or (also an option) just something non-parasitic like a caterpillar he picked up while he was out and about.

Once you know what you are dealing with, you can research1 the appropriate medicine (different chemicals will treat different parasites), and depending on your locale buy it either at a pharmacy, pet store, online or at your vet. I would very much recommend the latter, because a vet can also help your dog get his required shots and do a general health checkup, especially as your question implies that the dog hasn’t been seen by a vet in quite some time. Of course a vet could also identify the worm in question. As others have mentioned, the responsibility of a pet owner includes healthcare.

A word of warning: There are a few „natural methods“ circulating on the Internet. Be very careful, they can be useless at best and fatal at worst, like feeding your dog a generous dose of garlic.

1 Of course you can also ask here. But giving you a blank “use X” when we know so little about the context, like where in the world are you (-> what are typically parasites) or at least vaguely what worm it may be, would be unwise.

Stephie
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