Yes, you can get worms from puppies. Several types of intestinal parasites that commonly infect puppies are zoonotic, meaning they can spread to humans. The three main culprits are roundworms, hookworms, and tapeworms, and each one reaches you through a different route. The good news is that transmission is preventable with basic hygiene and a proper deworming schedule for your puppy.
Which Worms Spread From Puppies to Humans
Puppies carry three categories of worms that can infect people:
- Roundworms are the most common and most concerning. Puppies frequently carry them because the larvae can pass from mother to pup before birth or through nursing. In humans, roundworm larvae migrate through the body and can settle in organs or even the eyes.
- Hookworms are smaller parasites that live in a puppy’s intestines. Their larvae can penetrate human skin directly, causing an itchy, winding rash.
- Tapeworms spread through an indirect route involving fleas. You won’t get tapeworms from touching your puppy’s stool, but you can get them by accidentally swallowing an infected flea.
Of these, roundworms pose the greatest public health risk. The CDC estimates that at least 14 percent of the U.S. population has been exposed to the roundworm parasite, and at least 70 people per year, most of them children, are blinded by the resulting eye disease.
How Roundworms Get From Puppies to People
Roundworm transmission is primarily a soil problem, not a direct contact problem. When a puppy poops outdoors, the eggs in the stool aren’t immediately infectious. They need days to weeks in soil to mature into an infective stage. Once they do, those eggs can survive in the dirt for years.
You get infected by accidentally swallowing these matured eggs. This happens through contaminated soil on your hands, dirt under your fingernails, or unwashed vegetables grown in a garden where a puppy has defecated. Children face the highest risk because they play in dirt and are more likely to put their hands in their mouths. Kids living in homes with puppies that haven’t been dewormed are especially vulnerable.
Fresh puppy stool on your hands won’t directly give you roundworms, since the eggs haven’t matured yet. But if that stool sits in your yard and you garden there weeks later, those eggs are now ready to cause an infection.
How Hookworms Enter Through Your Skin
Hookworms take a completely different path. Their larvae hatch in soil contaminated with puppy feces and actively burrow into bare skin. According to the CDC, this typically happens when people walk barefoot or sit on contaminated soil or sand.
In humans, hookworm larvae can’t complete their life cycle the way they would in a dog. Instead, they get trapped in the upper layers of skin and tunnel around, creating red, raised, intensely itchy tracks called cutaneous larva migrans. The rash usually appears on feet, legs, or buttocks, wherever skin made contact with the ground. It’s uncomfortable and can last weeks, but it typically resolves on its own or with treatment.
How Tapeworms Spread Through Fleas
Tapeworm transmission from puppies requires a middleman: the flea. A flea larva eats tapeworm eggs from the environment, and the tapeworm develops inside the flea as it matures. Your puppy gets tapeworms by swallowing an infected flea while grooming. You can get them the same way, by accidentally swallowing a flea that carries the parasite.
This sounds unlikely, but it happens more often with children. A child cuddling a flea-infested puppy might inadvertently ingest a flea. Keeping your puppy on flea prevention is the most effective way to break this cycle entirely.
What Happens When Humans Get Infected
Many people who are exposed to roundworm larvae never develop symptoms. When they do, it depends on where the larvae travel in the body. If they migrate to organs like the liver or lungs, symptoms can include fever, coughing, wheezing, and abdominal pain. This is called visceral toxocariasis.
If a larva reaches the eye, it can cause redness, seeing spots or flashes, and in serious cases, vision loss. This form typically affects only one eye. It’s rare but disproportionately affects young children.
Hookworm infections in humans stay in the skin and cause local irritation rather than internal disease. Tapeworm infections from the flea-borne species are generally mild, sometimes causing abdominal discomfort or visible segments in stool, but rarely anything serious.
How Deworming Your Puppy Protects You
The Companion Animal Parasite Council recommends starting deworming treatment at just 2 weeks of age. Puppies should be dewormed every 2 weeks until they’re 2 months old, then monthly until 6 months, and quarterly after that. This aggressive early schedule exists because nearly all puppies are born with roundworms or acquire them through their mother’s milk in the first days of life.
Deworming doesn’t just protect your puppy. It dramatically reduces the number of worm eggs shed into your environment. Fewer eggs in the soil means far less risk for everyone in your household.
Practical Steps to Prevent Transmission
Picking up your puppy’s stool promptly is the single most important thing you can do. Because roundworm eggs need time in soil to become infectious, removing feces within a day or two prevents the eggs from ever reaching the dangerous stage. A survey of dog owners found that 14 percent never disposed of their dog’s feces at all, and in rural areas that number jumped to 33 percent. That habit leaves behind a long-lasting reservoir of parasites, since embryonated eggs can persist in soil for years in areas like gardens, parks, and playgrounds.
Beyond stool cleanup, a few habits make a real difference. Wash your hands after playing with your puppy, after gardening, and before eating. Only 20 percent of dog owners in one survey reported always washing their hands after touching their dog. Don’t let children play in areas where your puppy regularly defecates. Wash homegrown vegetables thoroughly, especially if your puppy has access to the garden. Keep your puppy on flea prevention to eliminate the tapeworm pathway. And wear shoes in the yard, particularly in warm, moist climates where hookworm larvae thrive in soil.
None of this means you should avoid cuddling your puppy. Direct contact like licking and snuggling poses minimal risk compared to the soil-based routes. The combination of timely deworming, consistent stool removal, and basic hand hygiene makes transmission very unlikely.