Lungworm screen

Our kit tests for the following types of lungworm:

1. Canine Lungworm
2. Fox Lungworm
3. Hedgehog Lungworm
4. French heartworm

Do the lungworm egg test if:

1. Your dog licks or eats grass, slugs or snails
2. Or eats dead animals and birds
3. You don’t worm your pet at all
4. You want to check that your regular worming schedule is providing cover
5. You would like to worm your dog less often but remain protected
6. You raw feed your animals
7. You live in a lungworm hotspot

Symptoms of lungworm include:

1. Coughing
2. Fast, heavy, noisy breathing
3. Weight loss
4. Unexplained bruising and bleeding
5. Seizures.


Each box contains:

1 x Lungworm kit

Includes:

1. Full instructions
2. Screw top pots x 4
3. Lungworm - screw top pots x 3 - three samples required
4. Leakproof bag with an absorbent sheet
5. FREEPOST tracked envelope
6. Brown box x 1
   

Instructions for taking samples

1. Place one sample in each pot.
2. Put the pots into the clear bag, ensuring the absorbent sheet is included and sealed.
3. Place this into the brown box.
4. Complete the form that comes with the kit.
5. Place the form into the brown box with the samples.
6. Put the brown box into the postage-paid tracked envelope.
7. Make a note of the tracking number.
8. Pop in a standard letter box - The label is prepaid, so stamps are unnecessary.
   

Collecting and storing your lungworm samples

It is essential that lungworm screen samples are stored above refrigeration temperature, i.e. above 5 degrees Celsius. Please don't store your samples in a fridge or freezer for days 1 and 2. Somewhere cool is fine, under a plant pot, for example, or in the shed, as long as the temperature is over 5 degrees C.

If you worm your dog


Worm egg counts and lungworm tests can be done any time from 14 days after worming.

We don’t recommend doing a test before 14 days have elapsed.

If you don't worm your dog


Do a test any time, especially if you are concerned worms or lungworm may be present.

If you live in, or have visited, do a lungworm hotspot do a lungworm test regardless.

Lungworm tests can never be 100% reliable due to the lifecycle of the lungworm meaning larvae may only be detected intermittently.

If you suspect lungworm or you're aware there is lungworm where you are, or have visited speak to your vet who may recommend a blood test.

Puppies and Kittens


Always worm puppies and kittens by following a veterinary flea and worming schedule, as they will have inherited a parasite burden from their mother, and not doing so can pose a serious health risk to very young animals. If you have any questions do not hesitate to get in touch.

It is recommended you test for worms four times a year.

Please note:

A faecal egg count is a snapshot of a specific moment in time. The test detects eggs of mature parasites that live inside the body and pass their eggs to the outside by shedding them into the dogs' stools. At the time of testing, the parasites may be too young to produce eggs. If no eggs are being shed, the infection cannot be detected. There is also a possibility the eggs are in such small numbers at the time of testing that they will be undetectable, thus showing a negative result.

The above is extremely rare, but we want to highlight the possibilities.

Important note:
This test is not intended as a replacement for worming your pet in the first place. It is merely a way of monitoring the worm egg burden of your dog or cat and treating it accordingly.

Many owners choose to worm their pets while others never do, and that is, of course, entirely your decision. However, we strongly recommend that puppies and kittens follow a veterinary flea and worming schedule as they will have inherited a parasite burden from their mother. Not doing so can pose a severe health risk to very young animals. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or your vet.

The laboratory, Feclab, employs industry-standard screening methods. Faecal worm egg screens, larvae counts, and giardia antigen screening are not, and can never be, a definitive reporting method. The laboratory makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and uniformity of screening methods. The result must be read as a snapshot of the content of the sample at the time it arrives in the laboratory and is only an indication of the worm burden of the animal.
Whether you worm conventionally, naturally, or not at all, it’s a good idea to regularly test your dog's worm burden to ensure they get the protection they need and stay as healthy as possible.

Worm eggs and larvae aren't visible to the naked eye. They're found in water bowls, on toys, clinging to blades of grass, on snails and their trails, in dog poo, and on dead animals. If they get close enough, it’s possible to ingest worms from sniffing another dog’s bottom.

Worms


Your dog swallows the worm eggs, they hatch in the intestine, and the worms attach themselves to the lining of your dog’s gut. They then release millions of eggs which your dog passes out in their poo, and the cycle continues. So if your dog tests positive for eggs, they’ve got worms.

Lungworm


Your dog swallows lungworm larvae, and they enter the gut. The larvae then burrow out of the gut into the bloodstream and make their way to the heart and sit alongside it. On the way, they become adult lungworms. Once there, they release millions of eggs, which break into the lungs and make their way up until your dog coughs and swallows them. They go back through the gut and pass out in the stool.

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The benefits of Subscribe & Save:

Convenience

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Flexible

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*For instance, you can do one Subscribe & Save order and choose a worm count kit for delivery every three months, a lungworm kit every two months, and a giardia kit every twelve months. You can do that and leave the rest to us. Your kits will arrive in the sequence you ordered them.

You'll find more information on our Subscribe & Save page.

Postage and packing the kits to you is £3.99, and postage from you to the lab is FREE