Tapeworm Question

[BaileysMom]

My friend brought his dog hiking all day with me and Bailey on Saturday and then we later went back to my apartment and I noticed an icky tapeworm near his dogs butt. I vacuummed the house immediatley in case any were on the carpet. Bailey and his dog did the butt sniffing and were playing around all day. I know how tapeworms are transmitted (through fleas being ingested), I'm just wondering how likely it is that my dog will get tapeworms now. (They rode in the back of the car together, and Bailey likes to eat everything, so I wonder if he gobbled up a tapeworm segment) Not sure-can get the worms this way also? :eek: And if he does get tapeworms, how long will it take for them to start showing up in the stool? Should I take a sample to get tested right away? His dog is healthy but is mainly outside during the day because they have a lot of property and loves eating all the wild animals poop. UTD on shots and all so I'm not worried about anything else.

Thanks for any replies!

[AK dog doc]

It is possible that your dog might develop tapes from eating the proglottid (the segment that you see clinging to the dog's fur or laying in its bedding). Whether or not this happened is another question. Usually tapes are not diagnosed by fecal floatation - usually you see the proglottids at home and report them to the vet. You can inquire with your vet about treating on a presumptive basis if you're worried about it. If he eats other animals' poops you might just take in a fecal anyway, since this is a means of transmission for other worms. I don't remember the prepatent period for tapeworms off the top of my head (the period between ingestion and shedding worm segments), but I can look it up if you like - let me know or I'll forget (esp. since I'm on call tonight and am likely to forget everything but my name by morning, and maybe that, too.)

[BaileysMom]

Thanks! I did manage to get through to my vet and she said it takes 21 days at least for them to start showing up. Bailey does not eat poops, but he does like to gobble up everything from the carpet. I am just worried that maybe a segment was on the carpet and he ate it. I vacuummed as soon as I noticed and my friend took his dog home immediately.

[juliepoudrier]

BaileysMom,

Not to sound flip or anything, but tapes really aren't life threatening, nor does having them (your dog having them that is) mean that you are a bad owner or somehow "unclean." It's not like having head (or other less mentionable) lice, after all!

 

Anyway, my dogs do eat poop and who knows what else. If I see evidence of tapeworms, I simply deworm. And I can have a dog shedding tape segments and have none of the other dogs showing any evidence of infestation, so I don't think they pick them up from each other terribly easily, at least my dogs don't seem to. You can even buy tapeworm meds OTC now. I keep some on hand because then I'll have it shoudl I need it. What I'm trying to say is you needn't panic. If in a few weeks you see evidence that Bailey did ingest segments and became infected, then you can easily treat the problem.

 

J.

[BaileysMom]

Thanks J.!

 

I just hate the thought of any kind of worms! :eek:

 

But in the grand scheme of things it really isn't such a big deal I guess.

[AK dog doc]

We're pretty spoiled, living in developed nations... there are plenty of places where worms are a lot bigger issue, because inexpensive, effective and safe womers aren't so readily available. Nor are good nutrition, clean water, sanitation, antibiotics, vaccines... all the many things we have which make our quality of life so high. Worms don't bother me unless I think about actually HAVING them, and then - Brrr! And some of the stories that come into the clinic - yikes. :eek:

[INU]

Which OTC medications for tapeworms are recommended?