Prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in dogs of Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

A total of 246 faecal/scat samples of the dogs were screened by direct and floatation concentration technique to study the gastrointestinal (GI) tract parasitism in dogs of Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India. Detailed coprological examination targeting different seasons, age groups and living styles of the dogs revealed an overall 28.04 % of GI parasitism with highest prevalence in summer season (37.87 %). Stray dogs harbored 47.29 % GI parasites in comparison to 19.19 % of pet dogs. Highest prevalence of GI parasitism was observed in the pups, below 3 months of age (39.13 %), followed by the dogs with the age ranging from 3 months to 1 year (26.38 %) and lowest in dogs of the age ranging from 1 to 3 years (6.77 %). Amongst all the parasites, Toxocara canis (44.93 %) infection was highest, followed by Dipylidium caninum (17.39 %) and hookworms (15.94 %).