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Tapeworm?


sandyleew
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I am pretty sure Brew has tapeworm. I am really grossed out by this. One of the dog's poop in the yard is full of what looks like sesame seeds. He is really skinny and his coat looks awful. I called the vet this morning and they are going to give me medicine for both dogs. I didn't think he could have tapes because he has never had fleas, but the vet said he could get them from killing squirrels or from eating something dead. Does anyone know how long it actually takes to get rid of the worms once they have been treated. Also, should I worry about my cats or my grandson getting them.

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I can't say anything about looking like sesame seeds - the fairly fresh tapeworm segments that I have seen shed from dogs or cats have looked more like coconut bits (flat, maybe 1/4" long by 1/8" wide, slightly wider at one end than the other but still pretty "rectangular" over all). However, dried up, they may look more like seeds.

 

Is there any way your dog might have consumed whole sesame seeds (or something similar in size)? If so, materials like that often pass through and come out looking pretty much just like they went in (corn is a good example of this).

 

When a dog or cat is shedding segments, you will often find one or more stuck to the coat near their anal area, or in their bedding area.

 

Tapeworm meds from the vet are pretty effective, not like the feed or pet store brand that may only cause shedding of segments but not actually kill the entire tapeworm. From my recollections, I think they are effective within just a day or two.

 

Yes, people can get tapeworms. One of my children had one once and the medication given was very quickly effective. Make sure you all wash your hands and that your grandson doesn't pick up and put in his mouth anything from the floor, dog's coat, etc.

 

An animal can get very heavily infested with tapeworms, particularly if they are vulnerable and in a weakened state. A healthy animal (or person) will often not show any significant symptoms of a minor case of tapeworm. As they are pretty easy to get rid of by treatment with the proper medication, you should not have much to worry about.

 

Best wishes!

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I've seen the seedy worms shed If you look it up on the internet, a lot of times it will be descibed as "grains of rice."

 

Safeguard, an OTC med, will take care of tapes. You'll probably want to to treat again in a couple weeks, and you can do it with the Safeguard.

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Our vet gave the same meds but if the dog eats rodents it will surely occur again. Unfortunately we have a girl who hunts all the time and we treat when she starts to look really skinny. We also treat for the round worms with PP you get from Walmart (Hearts product). It is pretty cheap stuff and the dogs like it too. N

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I'd take the vet's advice and observe the dog. If he improves (and doesn't eat rodents - I have one that does and my cats are mousers), I wouldn't re-treat unless I saw more signs of worms. If you do have a concern, the treatment isn't too pricey to repeat and you can always have a fecal done to check for worms in general.

 

As both Becca and Narita point out, treatment is easy and inexpensive and it would not be an issue to do it again if that would put your mind at ease.

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  • 4 months later...

Sophia only had tapeworm once (surprising, considering her huntress habits.) She had just pooped and there were these flat rectangular wigglies in it. The vet said pills would work, but he recommended a shot (whatever it was...don't remember.) He said that would kill all the worms in 24 hours. Killed them sure enough. The next evening my dog produced possibly the World's Most Disgusting Smelling Poop. Don't know if it was the medication or the worm carcasses. But the worms were gone.

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