Comments on: Canine Lungworms – Lungworms in Dogs

By: Greg Smith

Greg Smith — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 22:34:42 +0000

Apparently a condition known as pulmonary nodular eosinophilic granulomatosis can occur secondary to a lungworm infection – this causes large nodules/masses throughout the lungs which can look like secondary lung cancer on an x-ray.

By: Greg Smith

Greg Smith — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:11:16 +0000

I believe my beloved border collie had a severe lungworm infection – I used to live in rural South Devon, however I was not aware of the disease and not given suitable advice from the vet there. I moved to Bucks last year when my dog became ill – coughing, less tolerant of exercise and developed an enlarged thyroid. Every vet I went to (4 in all) said her chest x-ray and enlarged thyroid was conclusive that she had secondary cancer from a thyroid carcinoma or mammary mass. She was given a 2 month prognosis in July 2011, however she was still doing well and eating in December so I questioned all 4 vet’s diagnosis and having heard that lungworm can show up like secondary lung cancer on an x-ray I asked my vet to treat her for lung worm. Shortly after starting treatment she went off her food, her breathing became rapid and laboured, she collapsed in the park and developed ascites. I told the vet that I had recently applied Advocate and asked whether it could be due to that or lungworm – The vet said it was due to late stage cancer from the thyroid or mammary lumps – secondary spread to lungs and that the prognosis was poor, she would only deteriorate rapidly over night and strongly advised euthanasia. I made the heart wrenching decision to put her to sleep last week – but then discovered the symptoms she was displaying could have been due to post-treatment complications of lungworm – and that these worms can migrate to the thyroid. I am devastated and angry that Advocate does not have warnings about these post-treatment complications and none of the vets I saw suggested further tests nor seemed to recognise these symptoms.

By: claire thompson

claire thompson — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:15:34 +0000

Maybe you should let vet surgerys know about lungworm. My friend took her dog to Bath Vet Group with all the symtoms, for over a year they failed to diagnose lungworm and he died.

By: dawn

dawn — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:46:09 +0000

foxes come into our garden on a regular basis not that i actually want them there as i have a dog.i will often find fox poo in the garden which worries me.if the fox/foxes are infected and do their business in my garden how could my dog catch this deadly worm??
how can i protect my dog against it using drops or tablets??
than dawn

By: Jane

Jane — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:36:08 +0000

It is possible. I lost my dog to Lungworm 2 years ago…she frequently drank from our pond. I believe she may have got it there although it can be picked up from other sources too. I caught my other dog in time but think he may have permanent lung damage caused by lungworm – he would never have eaten slugs, frogs etc. But he did drink from the pond.
Not all dogs have symptoms but watch for rapid breathing, coughing, diarrhea,getting tired quickly during play or exercise,no appetite,bleeding too much if she/he gets a cut. Speak to your vet about a course of panacur – prevention is way better than cure. Check if your area is a known ‘hotspot’. If so ask your vet about using advocate spot on monthly after an initial dose of panacur. Play it safe – the consequences of this worm are often fatal.

By: Callum Lavelle

Callum Lavelle — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 09:29:04 +0000

My dog is always drinking from puddles and ponds.What are the chances she could be infected by lungworm?