Gastrointestinal parasites of pet dogs in Urmia city

To determine gastrointestinal parasites of pet dogs of Urmia this study was carried out in a peroid of 14 months form April 2005 to June 2006. Two hundered and six fecal samples i. e; 169 and 37 samples from male and female dogs respectively، were collected from small animal’s clinics of Urmia city. The dogs were studeied in two age groups of ≤ 6 months and >6 months included number of 60 and 146 respectively. The results indicated that 71 (34. 46%) of the specimens have been infected at least by one parasite. The parasites were identified as follows: Giardia and Cryptosporidium 6 (2. 6%)، Hook worm and Toxacara spp 6 (2. 91%) and Hook worm، Toxacara spp، Isospora spp 27 (13. 1%)، 20 (9. 7%) and 3 (1. 45%)، respectively. In this survey 2 (0. 97%) were infected to cestoda. Majority of the dog owners (82. 2%) were not found to be aware of the potential risk of canine parasites to human health and their knowledge were found unsatisfactory.