Deworming Protocol for Ex-racing Greyhounds

“Our greyhound’s previous lifestyle presents quite the challenge when it comes to deworming. There is no simple solution for all greyhounds, but here are some guidelines for you and your veterinarian to follow.”
Jenifer V Barker DVM
Former State of Wisconsin Gaming Veterinarian-Senior
Dairyland Greyhound Park

Each new greyhound that comes to GO receives a dewormer called Drontal Plus. This takes care of current parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms.

After placement into homes, greyhounds will often develop loose stools or diarrhea. The diarrhea may contain blood and/or mucus. If they develop loose stool or diarrhea, it is imperative to deworm immediately with a five-day course of Panacur. (Consult your adoption rep or your veterinarian.)

Any change to your greyhound’s environment or routine, such as moving to a new home, thunderstorms, boarding, or other illnesses, may cause stress to your hound. This can contribute to hookworm outbreaks.

Giardia infections are commonly seen at the same time as a hookworm outbreak. If the stool doesn’t improve after a 5-day course of Panacur, have the stool checked for giardia. A positive stool sample will require a course of metronidazole.

Some Greyhounds will need more than what is stated above.

For greyhounds that sneeze or reverse sneeze: Deworm for Eucoleus (nasal worm) by using Ivomec. Only one dose is usually necessary. (Consult with your veterinarian for important dosing information.) Follow this link for a video of a greyhound reverse sneezing.

Greyhounds should be considered chronically infected with hookworms. Stool sample results are often negative. Pay attention to the appearance of your greyhound’s stool - not the stool sample results. The larvae lie latent in the greyhound’s muscles, only to migrate out in times of stress. Therefore, if abnormal stool occurs without reason, it would be reasonable to proceed with a five-day course of Panacur.

Protocol for Greyhounds with Diarrhea

1. Withhold solid food for 24 hours. We don’t want to feed the fire.
   “Nothing in = Nothing out”

2. During the first 24 hours, give only chicken broth. (Homemade broth: boil chicken breasts—SKINLESS, WHITE MEAT ONLY—in a pot of water.) You can feed some little shreds of chicken in the broth, but offer mostly broth for the first 24 hours. Feed ¼ to ½ cup broth every 2-3 hours.
   Caution in using canned chicken broth. Many brands have onion powder in them, which is harmful to dogs.

3. For the next two days, feed small amounts of white chicken meat and broth several times throughout the day. Increase the amount of chicken, while decreasing the amount of broth over the next 2 days. Do not feed more than a ½ pound of chicken per day.

Give 2 regular strength Pepto Bismol tablets every 12 hours for 3 days. Crush the tablets into powder and mix in a small amount of yogurt or skim milk. (Pepto will often create black stools which is nothing to worry about.)

Once the diarrhea has been gone for 48 hours, start to slowly reintroduce their normal food over the course of 2-3 days.

Keep in mind that once the diarrhea has resolved, your greyhound may not produce stool for 1 to 2 days.

Greyhounds with chronic diarrhea may require Forti-Flora Probiotic (available on amazon.com.) Follow package directions for 1 month, and then give two packets per week to maintain healthy digestion.

If your greyhound has diarrhea with blood, blowout diarrhea (pure water), or has had persistent loose, mushy poop for months, they may require an aggressive hookworm deworming protocol (see Deworming Protocol for Ex-racing Greyhounds, above).