[Knwilliams]

I just found worms.. or some sortof parasite in my dog's feces.. It was beyond disgusting.. It looked like rice at first.. Its Sunday so I can't take him to the vet today, we will have to wait for tomorrow.. but, my question here is, will I need to have my other dog treated as well? What about my cats? I've never had to deal with an animal that has had worms before.. Oh its so beyond gross.

 

[mashlee08]

All of your pets should be on regular de worming treatment roughly every 3 months. To prevent this kind of thing from happening. Talk to your vet about drontal all wormer. Worming also goes hand in hand with flea treatment as fleas often carry tape worms eggs( which sounds like what your dog has)and carry from pet to pet. So all of your animals will need to be treated for both if your not already doing so. It may be gross but it is the pet Owners responsibility to prevent this from happening in the first place.

 

[oldhounddog]

Sounds like tapeworms. Praziquantel is the ingredient that takes care of tapeworms. You need to make sure your dog is on flea prevention meds.

If you have a local farm/feed store or pet shop close by this will take care of the tapeworms, dose by weight.
http://www.revivalanimal.com/D-Worm-Combo-Tablets.html

oldhounddog

 

[Knwilliams]

Thanks for the replies. They are on flea prevention meds every month, and were de-wormed in June.. Not sure if maybe the wormer ran out? I called the vet and they are giving me pills today for both my dogs. I have never had an animal get worms before, and i've had cats/dogs my whole life. I don't think my other dog has them, but I want to be better safe than sorry. They said my cats should be fine.

 

[mashlee08]

They might have gotten into something really bad? like something dead with worms or caught a mouse or something with worms and you might not have known? they would have needed a booster dose if that's the case.

 

[Knwilliams]

Yes, that could definitely be. They wander around the back yard, and we have ALOT of stray cats that leave dead mice/birds around sometimes.. I will need to do a sweep of the backyard more often, I suppose.

 

[mashlee08]

Ah well, no harm no foul! Dogs just being dogs lol.

 

[Poly]

Your heartworm preventative will usually take care of light infestations of most intestinal worms. So for mostly indoor dogs that are walked on a leash, that's usually sufficient. if you have outdoor dogs or dogs that gets a lot of off-leash time, you should consider a wormer med.

When you bring your dog in, your vet will probably want to do a fecal to positively identify the parasite(s), so bring a sample with you. A yearly fecal is a good idea in any case.

There are different meds that work on different parasites and there is no point in subjecting your dogs to a stronger med or to more meds than is needed. Ask your vet to recommend a wormer that seems to work best in your locale.