Tapeworm

hollysmom

Has anyone had any experience with their dog getting tapeworm? my puppy just was dx'd with it this morning and i'm kind of freaked out about it. she had fleas when we rescued her 3 weeks ago, so the vet says that's how she got them. she had to take 2 pills today and another 2 in 3 weeks...is there anything else i should be doing???????

Inga

Nope. Tapeworm treatment is relatively easy. Feed a good quality food and make sure she has plenty of water to drink.

lovemygreys

No biggie. Tapes are fairly innocuous and very easy to treat.

hollysmom

really they're no big deal? i got so freaked out, thanks for calming me down

Lightwingcreations

Tapes are no big deal if you go ahead and treat them when they are found. Fleas are the intermediate host for tapes, so when they are swallowed from a dog chewing (as they do when a flea bites them) the dog gets tapeworms. It's inconvenient, but not a big deal, unless the dog/cat is left untreated and the tapeworm is allowed to grow and "steal" nutrition from the host. Another very good reason to use Frontline, Advantage, or some other flea prevention. Depending on how many tapes the pup actually has, you may see them in the stool after the treatment. Also try to prevent the pup from eating feces it may find out and about, ferel or outdoor cats that don't get the same vet care as well cared for pets may have the tapes and shed the eggs in their feces (small white "worms" that wiggle for a while after feces is passed). The white "worms" aren't actually worms, they are called proglottids which are shed from the parent tape worm, but are egg "sacks" containing many eggs just waiting to be ingested to start the whole cycle over again. You may also see these egg sacks dried up in your pups bedding, they look like small grains of rice, so make sure to wash all bedding and vacuum all floors to prevent accidental ingestion and reinfection. All in all, not a big problem unless the animal is left untreated.

Puppy & Dog Forums

 

shell07

UGH! The dreaded tape worm I have 3 dogs and live in the country. As we all know tapes come from fleas, and as we all know dogs drag everything home and then chew on it in the front yard until they get caught and scolded! The worst season around here for us with tapes is fall because of all the hunting--and of course living in the country hides and other parts get dumped wherever..so the hounds are likely to follow the smell and drag it into the yard and munch on their treasure until I can get it to the dumpster, so be that as it may I am well prepared and have meds on hand because it never fails around here....But then all is well in a day or two But they are virtually harmless, but will NOT go away unless treated-they are just grose

Renoman

Yup, just what everyone else said. They are caused by fleas and they can be serious if left untreated. Easily treated.

hollysmom

When we rescued her 3 weeks ago she came to us from her foster home just being treated for fleas. We had her to the vet the day after we got her and she was flea free and the vet gave us Frontline to put on her, which we did. Since going to the vet on Friday I've given her the medicine and washed all her bedding. Once she's being treated can she still reinfect herself?

animalcraker

To reinfect herself she would need to ingest another flea that was infected with the tapeworm larve. The tapeworms require the fleas as an intermediate host to complete thier life cycle. No fleas mean no tapes.

poodleholic

Yes. Use Advantage or Frontline to prevent fleas, and make sure you've treated your home and yard as well. Otherwise, your dog will be reinfected with fleas, and that means more tapeworms.

hollysmom

so what you're all saying is if she stays Flea Free she'll be okay?

Lightwingcreations

Sorry, but that's not true. The segments that you find in the bedding that drop from the anal region of the dog are infective when swallowed, they do not require an intermediate host.

Once you treat her for this outbreak and you wash all bedding and clean carpets and such, you shouldn't have a problem. The small dried segments are infective when swallowed, as are fleas if they are in fact carrying tapes (I believe most do). From here on out just make sure to use preventive for fleas and your dogs chances of showing up with tapes are greatly decreased. If they swallow a flea though, they can contract them again . I know, it's a pain, but it's very easily treated.

TeddieXRuxpin

Not all fleas carry tape worms. It's like with everything else some insects carry things and some don't. If she is kept flea free and away from other dogs with worms she wont get them.

I've had fosters with tapeworms and I've had pets of my own that have had them. The worms die soon after the first pills are taken. The second dose a few weeks later are to make sure they are all gone.

animalcraker

Well acoording to my parasitology teacher and both of our books. The tapeworm needs the flea for the larva to develop into the infective stage. But if you have recources that say otherwise I'd love to see them, I'm always open to learning something new.

lovemygreys

Nope. The common tapeworm requires the flea as an intermediate host. The segments are only "infective" in the sense that they can make any fleas in the environment carriers.

sambolina

One of my dogs was treated for tapeworms when she was a puppy. The diagnose is worse than the treatment. Make sure to keep your puppy on a flea preventative and that should prevent the problem from happening again.

Puppy & Dog Forums