Gastrointestinal helminths in dogs from a humane shelter in Indiana

Between January 1975 and August 1976, the alimentary tracts of 104 euthanatized dogs from a humane shelter in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, were examined to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths. The survey was restricted to dogs greater than 1 year old. Their average age was estimated at approximately 2 years. Parasitism was detected in 86.5% of the dogs examined. Ancylostoma caninum was found most often (58.7%), followed by Trichuris vulpis (51.9%), Taenia sp (31.7%), Toxocara canis (18.3%), Dipylidium caninum (16.3%), Toxascaris leonina (8.7%), and Physaloptera rara (3.8%). Monospecific infections were found in 22.1% of the dogs, whereas concurrent infections with 2 or more species were found in 64.4% of the dogs. Most commonly encountered were dogs infected with 2 species of parasites (39.4%), of which hookworms plus whipworms were found most often (32.7%). Male dogs had a higher percentage of multiple infections than did female dogs.