Puppy Deworming Schedule: A Breeder’s Week-by-Week Guide for American Bully Puppies

Quick Answer: Deworm puppies at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age using fenbendazole (50 mg/kg once daily for 3 days) or pyrantel pamoate (10 mg/kg once daily). Puppies can be born with roundworms, so the first dose at 14 days is critical. If you just brought home an 8-week-old puppy, confirm which doses the breeder gave and continue from there.

We’ve been breeding XL American Bully puppies at ManMade Kennels since 2006, and deworming is the least glamorous, most important thing we do in the whelping room. It costs a few dollars per puppy. Skipping it can cost the puppy its life.

This puppy deworming schedule and guide covers the exact schedule we run on every ManMade litter, the dosages by weight, what the mother needs, and what to do if you just picked up your Bully puppy and aren’t sure where it stands. The protocol applies to American Bullies, pitbulls, and every other breed, because parasites treat them all the same.

When Should I Deworm My Puppy?

Start at 2 weeks (14 days) old, then repeat every 2 weeks until 8 weeks: doses at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. After 8 weeks, most veterinarians move puppies to a monthly parasite preventive through 6 months.

Why start so early? Because puppies don’t have to catch worms. Roundworm larvae cross the placenta before birth, and both roundworms and hookworms pass through the mother’s milk while nursing. A puppy can carry a serious worm load before its eyes open. Severe infections can turn dangerous by 2 to 3 weeks of age, which is why waiting for symptoms is a losing strategy.

How Often Should Puppies Be Dewormed?

Every 2 weeks from age 2 weeks through 8 weeks. We run this puppy deworming schedule on every litter at ManMade Kennels:

Puppy Age	Dewormer	Dosage	Purpose
2 weeks (14 days)	Fenbendazole OR pyrantel pamoate	Fenbendazole: 50 mg/kg once daily for 3 days. Pyrantel: 10 mg/kg once daily	First dose. Kills worms the puppy may have been born with.
4 weeks (28 days)	Repeat the same dewormer	Recalculate by current weight	Kills newly hatched worms the first dose couldn’t touch.
6 weeks (42 days)	Repeat the same dewormer	Recalculate by current weight	Breaks the worm life cycle.
8 weeks (56 days)	Repeat the same dewormer	Recalculate by current weight	Final round before puppies go home.

The 2-week interval exists because dewormers kill adult worms, and the eggs already in the puppy’s system hatch on their own timeline (most parasite life cycles run about 3 weeks). One dose kills the adults and leaves the next generation waiting. Repeating the treatment catches each wave as it matures.

Puppy Dewormer Dosage by Weight

Dosage is calculated per kilogram of body weight, so weigh every puppy before every dose. This matters more with Bullies than most breeds. An XL American Bully puppy can double its weight between the 2-week and 4-week doses, and a dose that was correct two weeks ago is an underdose today.

Fenbendazole (Safe-Guard, Panacur): 50 mg per kg of body weight, once daily for 3 consecutive days. Broad spectrum. Treats roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and most tapeworms.

Pyrantel pamoate (Nemex, Strongid): 10 mg per kg of body weight, once daily as a single dose. Covers roundworms and hookworms, the two most common parasites in very young puppies, and it’s gentle on small bodies. If a litter is heavily loaded, starting with pyrantel tends to produce less diarrhea than hitting them with a broad-spectrum product first.

Example: a 2 kg (4.4 lb) puppy gets 100 mg of fenbendazole daily for 3 days, or 20 mg of pyrantel once.

Pick one product and stay consistent through the full 2-4-6-8 schedule. Always follow the product label, and confirm dosing with your veterinarian if you’re unsure.

I Just Got My Puppy. Does It Need Deworming?

Almost certainly yes, at least once more. Start by working out where your puppy stands.

Ask the breeder for the deworming record: which product, which dates, how many doses. A responsible breeder has this written down. Every ManMade Kennels puppy goes home having completed all four doses, with the record included.

If your puppy came home at 8 weeks with all four doses done, your job is the next phase: a fecal exam at your first vet visit and a monthly preventive going forward.

If the record is incomplete, vague, or missing, deworm now and repeat in 2 weeks. Both products are safe enough that a dose given to an already-clean puppy is harmless, and a worm load left untreated is not.

One more thing new owners should know: worms are zoonotic, meaning several species (roundworms and hookworms especially) can transfer to humans. Kids are at the highest risk. Deworming protects your household, and so does picking up stool promptly and washing hands after handling a young puppy.

What Are the Signs of Worms in a Puppy?

The classic picture is a puppy that looks skinny from above and swollen from the side. Watch for:

• Pot belly. A swollen, bloated stomach on a thin frame is the single most recognizable worm sign.
• Poor growth. Visible ribs and backbone even though the puppy nurses or eats regularly.
• Sunken muzzle and face. Features look drawn.
• Watery or crusty eyes.
• Low energy. Weak, tired, slow to compete for a nipple or a food bowl.
• Poor appetite.
• Diarrhea, sometimes with mucus or blood.
• Rice-grain segments around the anus or in stool, which mean tapeworms, which mean you also have a flea problem.

A Bully puppy should feel dense and solid for its size. One that feels light, ribby, and pot-bellied at the same time is telling you something- two or more signs together in a puppy under 8 weeks: deworm and call your vet.

What Kinds of Worms Do Puppies Get?

Roundworms. The most common parasite in puppies, transmitted in the womb, through milk, and from the environment. Cause bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, and stunted growth.

Hookworms. Attach to the intestinal lining and feed on blood. In a small puppy, this causes anemia fast. Signs include dark or bloody stools, pale gums, and weakness. Also passed through milk.

Tapeworms. Spread by fleas or by eating infected hosts. Look like small grains of rice in stool or around the anus. Cause weight loss and irritation.

Whipworms. Live in the large intestine, picked up from contaminated soil. Cause diarrhea (sometimes with mucus or blood) and gradual weight loss.

No single dewormer covers everything, which is why your vet may run a fecal exam to identify exactly what you’re fighting if a puppy stays symptomatic after treatment.

Can You Deworm a Pregnant or Nursing Dog?

Yes. Both fenbendazole and pyrantel pamoate are labeled safe for pregnant and nursing dogs, and deworming the mother is the foundation of the whole program. Worms pass to puppies in the womb and through her milk, and the whelping box keeps the cycle going after that. Treating the litter while ignoring the female restarts the cycle every time she nurses.

The mama dog protocol we run at ManMade Kennels:

Stage	Frequency
Before breeding	Every 4 weeks
During pregnancy	Every 4 weeks
3 weeks before due date	Every 2 weeks (extra protection to reduce transmission at birth)
After whelping	At 2 weeks post-whelping, timed with the puppies’ first dose
While nursing and beyond	Every 4 weeks

Syncing her post-whelping dose with the puppies’ first dose keeps her from reinfecting the litter through her milk or the whelping box.

What Should I Expect After Deworming My Puppy?

Seeing dead worms in the stool for a day or two afterward is normal and means the product worked. Mild, short-lived diarrhea or a soft stool is also common, especially in puppies that carried a heavy load, because a gut full of dying parasites gets inflamed. This usually settles within a day or so.

Keep fresh water available. If vomiting, ongoing diarrhea, or lethargy lasts more than a couple of days, call your vet.

And if you see worms in the stool weeks after treating, that’s the egg cycle at work, and it’s exactly why the schedule repeats every 2 weeks instead of stopping at one dose.

How Do I Keep Worms From Coming Back?

Dewormer only handles the parasites already inside the dog. After a successful puppy deworming schedule, keeping new ones out comes down to how you manage the environment.

Keep the sleeping and whelping area clean and dry, and remove feces daily. Worm eggs in stool are how reinfection happens. Wash bedding often. Wash your hands after cleaning up or handling other dogs.

Stay on flea control, because fleas carry tapeworms. Deworming a puppy that’s covered in fleas is bailing water out of a boat with a hole in it.

Skip the home remedies. Pumpkin seeds, apple cider vinegar, and garlic don’t kill parasites, and garlic is actually toxic to dogs. Use a product with a proven active ingredient.

Frequently Asked Questions

Every XL American Bully puppy that leaves ManMade Kennels has completed the full four-dose schedule behind a dewormed mother, with the record in hand. After twenty years of litters, it’s the one step we’ve never found a reason to shortcut. If you have questions about the health protocol behind our puppies, call or WhatsApp us at +1 (302) 272-3625.

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