# Worms



## Alicia Mertz (Mar 28, 2006)

Hmmm...

Noticed some squirmy white things in Dom's poop this morning. Sorta look like pieces of rice. :? I would have taken a picture, but I remember how well that went over when Mike did it... :lol:

Is there a wormer that I can buy that I can be sure will kill them? Or do I need to know what kind they are before I can determine the best dewormer?

He had roundworms as a pup and the vet gave us two doses of Strongid. Is it possible that didn't kill them?

Thanks! 

(I can take pictures if necessary! :lol: )


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## Martin Espericueta (Apr 1, 2006)

Alicia Mertz said:


> Hmmm...
> 
> Noticed some squirmy white things in Dom's poop this morning. :? I would have taken a picture, but I remember how well that went over when Mike did it... :lol:
> 
> ...


Hello Alicia,

My dogs have had roundworms & tapeworms, and from what I've learned 
from that - yes, you do need to know exactly what type of worms.

Meds are different for round vs. tape worms. If you have an off-site photo
place you can post a picture on, maybe the consession for showing a pix
of poop is to only post the link to it, and leave it up to the discression of 
the reader to click and view or now. I can put it up on my site, if you have
no other options. PM me if that's the case :wink:


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

If the worms look like pieces of rice, then I'd say they are tapes. Typically, the're treated with Albon(oral), pick it up at the vet. Here's a quick tip that may save you money: just bring in a very fresh stool sample for them to look at. You'll save yourself the money on the visit/office fee if your vet charges it.


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## Alicia Mertz (Mar 28, 2006)

Martin Espericueta said:


> If you have an off-site photo
> place you can post a picture on, maybe the consession for showing a pix
> of poop is to only post the link to it, and leave it up to the discression of
> the reader to click and view or now. I can put it up on my site, if you have
> no other options. PM me if that's the case


I actually tried to take a picture with my camera this morning, but I guess my 3 megapixels aren't as good as Mike's. :? If I got close enough to see the worms, then it was blurry... Far enough away for a clear picture and everything was too tiny. Thank you for the offer, though. 



Sarah Hall said:


> If the worms look like pieces of rice, then I'd say they are tapes.


See, I just had someone who used to breed Keeshonds tell me that her puppies got "rice worms" all the time and that they were roundworms. Huh. She's probably wrong. :lol: I didn't think tapeworms would affect such a young puppy?


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## Martin Espericueta (Apr 1, 2006)

IMO, the way I've distinguished is:


Roundworms look like long spagetti
Tapeworms are very short & flat


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Martin Espericueta said:


> IMO, the way I've distinguished is:
> 
> 
> Roundworms look like long spagetti
> Tapeworms are very short & flat


Right, for the whole roundworm and for pieces of the flatworm. 

But there are variations on the roundworms, and the chances are that what you see of the tapeworms are small segments of the flat worm. Also, eggs need to be seen under the microscope.

The treatments are *not* the same. I would go with the suggestion to drop off a stool sample for analysis. JMO! 

Here's a very good page for any dog owner to read. Worms are common, unfortunately. 
http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/worms.html


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## Alicia Mertz (Mar 28, 2006)

I will definitely take a stool sample to the vet for analysis, then, because what Martin said (roundworms = long spaghetti, tapeworms = short, flat) is completely opposite of what I would have guessed! #-o 

Would it be common for a 4 month old puppy to have tapeworms? And I've read somewhere that Ivermectin kills the most common intestinal parasites in dogs, but is that not true? If it was, I would think his heartworm medication would have killed whatever these are??

I'm ignorant. I admit it.


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

Tapeworms come from ingesting fleas. I find it very common for pups to at LEAST have tapes. They love to roll in grass, or lick it, and can ingest fleas that way. Also, since you usually can't use any flea treatments on a pup until 12 wks old, it's very common for them to pick up a flea or two from outside.
Most heartworm medications are good against roundworms & hookworms, but not very affective against tapes. I'd suggest a flea & tick preventative, and to treat your yard a few times a year, depending on your climate. I like K-9 Advantix for fleas & ticks, although sometimes Frontline Plus is ok. Down here it doesn't seem to work as well.


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## Alicia Mertz (Mar 28, 2006)

Sarah,

I've never had a problem with tapeworms before, but everyone was right - that's what he has. I use Frontline Plus on him, as I've always gotten very good results with it - but I'll have to check him very carefully from now on to make sure it's working properly. And I'll definitely get the yard treated!

Now, here's the problem... I pick up Drontal for him today, but I have to keep him completely out of his feces for a week. He stays in a kennel/run all day while I'm at work, and, being a boy, always winds up wearing half his poop by the time I get home. Gotta figure that one out. :? 

Does anyone know the best way to kill tapeworm larvae in an area that you suspect is infected? His kennel, for example... I clean it out pretty well every night, but inevitably some traces of poop are left behind. What should I do to disinfect it? Is Clorox effective or do I need something else?

Thanks!

Alicia


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

There is no such thing as tapeworm larvae outside the dog's body. But to ensure all the poop and tapeworms gets cleaned up, I like using bleach or a cleaning solution called Quat (veterinary supply magazines will sell this). Quat can kill parvo, coccidia, just about anything. But if you use straight bleach with a high-power hose nozzle, you can get up. Just make sure you get all the bleach up. I like pouring the bleach on the ground, use an old outdoor broom (not the plasic bristle kind, though) to scrub it, then hose it off really well to get all the bleach up.


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## Alicia Mertz (Mar 28, 2006)

Really? Wow. I'm learning all sorts of stuff about things I never wanted to know about. :lol: Maybe I meant eggs? I dunno.

If bleach will kill them, bleach it is. I just wanted to be sure. And I'll definitely look into that Quat stuff. Sounds powerful!


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## Selena van Leeuwen (Mar 29, 2006)

Martin Espericueta said:


> Meds are different for round vs. tape worms. If you have an off-site photo
> place you can post a picture on, maybe the consession for showing a pix
> of poop is to only post the link to it, and leave it up to the discression of
> the reader to click and view or now.


You have my special thanks If you consider to do it this way...so I don´t have to look :roll:


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

Alicia Mertz said:


> Really? Wow. I'm learning all sorts of stuff about things I never wanted to know about. :lol: Maybe I meant eggs? I dunno.


I'll try to find the Quat for you.
Also, Tapes are always from fleas, the flea turns into a tapeworm in the digestive system. Nasty little things... :evil:


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Alicia Mertz said:


> Really? Wow. I'm learning all sorts of stuff about things I never wanted to know about. :lol: Maybe I meant eggs? I dunno.
> 
> If bleach will kill them, bleach it is. I just wanted to be sure. And I'll definitely look into that Quat stuff. Sounds powerful!


The little bits are segments of the tapeworm.....not larvae and not eggs.

The most common tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum, starts as an egg passed in the dog or cat's feces and eaten by a flea or louse. The dog or cat eats the flea which now contains the infective stage of the egg and becomes infected. The cysticeroid develops into the adult tapeworms and the life cycle continues.

The way the dog gets infected is almost always (in this most common type of tapeworm) from eating a flea.


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

Here's some links to the Quat solution if you would like to buy it:
http://www.bigappleherp.com/Reptile_Supplies/Product/Quat_Plus_300000.html
If you want to invest in a LOT of the cleaner (you'll use it everyday, I guess) here's a link to a 5 gal. solution for it:
http://www.datekcorp.com/webapp/catalog/product/detail.asp?line=C0036&item=BU-LMQUAT-AP
It's even got a lemony scent! :lol:


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Sarah Hall said:


> Alicia Mertz said:
> 
> 
> > Really? Wow. I'm learning all sorts of stuff about things I never wanted to know about. :lol: Maybe I meant eggs? I dunno.
> ...


Sorry........we were posting together! :lol:


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

No problemo... you had more info in yours than I did. I gave the condensed version...


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## Alicia Mertz (Mar 28, 2006)

Selena van Leeuwen said:


> You have my special thanks If you consider to do it this way...so I don´t have to look :roll:


 :lol: :lol: :lol: Don't worry, Selena. No pictures!

Connie and Sarah,

Please don't misinterpret this as me not believing you, because I absolutely do; but, that being said, why then would the vet tell me to keep Dominic away from his feces for the next week? I'm just confused (and asking) because the vet said that if he even steps in his own poop and then licks his paw, he could get tapeworms again. :?

Do I need to find another (sane) vet? :lol: :roll:

Oh! And of course, THANK YOU for the information and the links to Quat!


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

No, your vet is correct. If the dog gets poop on him with a tape in it, and he licks it off and ingests the tapeworm, then they will enter his system again. Like the only other way (I forgot to mention this) a dog can get tapeworms is by ingesting another dog's feces that contain them. It's like if you get rid of fleas around your yard and off your animals, but if someone comes over and has a dog at home that has fleas, inevitably you will get a little flea problem all over again.


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## Connie Sutherland (Mar 27, 2006)

Sarah Hall said:


> No, your vet is correct. If the dog gets poop on him with a tape in it, and he licks it off and ingests the tapeworm, then they will enter his system again. Like the only other way (I forgot to mention this) a dog can get tapeworms is by ingesting another dog's feces that contain them. It's like if you get rid of fleas around your yard and off your animals, but if someone comes over and has a dog at home that has fleas, inevitably you will get a little flea problem all over again.


Well, dogs can also get tapeworms by eating the peritoneal cavity of an infected rabbit.

My understanding is that *almost all* (as I said above) tapeworm infestations in dogs come from eating fleas or ticks. I should've added about killing and eating rabbits and eating poop.


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## Sarah Hall (Apr 12, 2006)

Well, yes rabbits too, but I didn't think her dog was eating rabbits  
Eh, rabbit killing and poop eating always seem to slip my mind in a discussion :lol:


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