Deworming

dogslife

 Is prescription dewormers better than over the counter medication?

Yes, and often not any more expensive.  I've gotten de-wormers from my vet for like $2. 

 I brought in two stool samples this am to vet. My male has been acting nervous and has had weight loss. He doesn't feel good obviously.

 About a week and a half ago he had vomitting, weakness. Then a couple days later he was ok.  In the past couple days had start of nervousness and not wanting to go out at all,  I noticed in his stool a couple days ago little white larvae, but thought it was from flies laying eggs in the stool.  Looked like white rice, wriggly?  I gave the heart worm pill Tue.  And this am he will go into the vet in an hour.

His fur has been blowing like mad. The whole room is filled with it, vacuuming daily. And his weight loss is marked.

We will be buying the med from the vet.  Does it look like tape worms to you health savvy dog folks?   

They have to send out the stool sample, wish they could get results right away and I hope giving the heart worm pill two days ago wont' mask the problem by killing off the worm that may be in his gut.

Ideas really appreciated. I am worried.

Sounds like it could very well be a tapeworm.  Here's a link for you:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1622&articleid=769

 Harry had one about a month or so ago.  A rather large segment of it was in his poop one day, I noticed it moving (oh, just so very gross).  Called the vet, they gave me 2 doses of Droncit, 3 pills each dose, to be given 3 weeks apart.  Apparently it's pretty good stuff; kills more worms than just tapes.  Harry had no side effects to the meds, either.

ETA - When I gave the first dose of Droncit, it was also only a couple days after his monthly Interceptor dosage.  I don't think any of the heartworm meds have any effect on tapes.

aerial is right - heartworm preventives (not even the good ones like Interceptor which kills hooks, whips, etc.) don't do a thing for tapes.

How OLD is the dog?  That's the big question.  If it's a puppy this could be roundworm -- and it may not have cleared totally with early puppy worming.  those can definitely make a dog feel yuck, and I've seen them throw up roundworms in some cases.  You can see them in fecal matter (looks like little chunks of cooked spaghetti). 

Tapes  -- sometimes you will see them in the dog's bedding or stuck to the anal area (looks like dried pieces of brown rice when you see them that way).  When you see them in fresh *** they can look like a long segmented white thing and they may still move.  They look more like fettucini than spaghetti (flat and wider).

 Nothing kills tapes but tapeworm med from the vet -- and sometimes it can take repeated doses to get it all.  Tapeworm is typically ONE parasite -- the head attaches in the inside of the intestine -- sometimes the meds just kill off 'segments' and leave the head still alive so it can regrow and cause problems later.

Typically with tapeworm the dog doesn't feel 'bad'.  If left the tapeworm can eventually kill but it takes a long time because essentially it robs nutrition from the dog.

On your way in to the vet try to bag a sample rather than having them use a rod.  With a rod it is difficult to catch tapeworm.  If you DO get a sample refrigerate it until you go.

 Doc did blood test, neg for heartworm.  So, we'll see what the values are for the rest of it tomorrow. Brought in two stools, one I know is his the other may be his sisters.  Have to check the bill but it looks like a more encompassing fecal test than the usual.

The dogs are 2 !/2 years old.  Doc  isn't real convinced it is tapes. He said that flies will lay eggs and in hot weather larvae will hatch and look like the ones I saw if the stool has set for an hour or two!  So, we shall see.  

Just hate seeing my boy unhappy. He actually pooed and peed in the house!  He doesn't want to go out, have had to carry him out to the dogyard to get him out.

Thanks for the info that you all have. I appreciate it. It is always such a mystery when a dog gets sick. He can't tell you just how he feels we have to observe and figure it out.  Our vet is a good one.  I think the dog knows we are trying to get him fixed up to feel good again- He is just a sweet thing!

I started to give my 2 companion dogs this natural de-wormer -

ever since Miss Penny our beloved boxer got really really bad side effects from the dorontal (she had an allergic reaction to it BIGTIME she was throwing up profusely from the dorontal) I now use this stuff in their food everyday, why, cause its safe and holistic/natural. 

last month all 3 dogs had tape worms, I gave the dorontal tablets to all 3 dogs the 1st dose, then your suppose to re-treat with dorontal a 2nd time around 3 weeks later to make sure the worms are really gone.......well because penny got so sick from the dorontal med, and with all the reserach I did about side effects, etc., I didnt feel comfortable at all giving it to any of my kids after that episode,

so I found this stuff........so I started 2-3 weeks later on this daily regmine with diatomaceious earth and it works wonders, I give them it everyday in their food and they dont mind it at all cause I mix it up with yougurt or eggs, or water.......and very very affordable.  hope this helps everyone out there looking for a way to treat for parasites the holistic way.

God Bless all of you and your furr kids...if anything, I have to thank Miss Penny everyday for being in my life and for the lesson she showed me..... how harmful that dorontal can be for our pets, and yes, they can be allergic to it and you wont know until its too late, so be careful, very careful, even though Miss Penny might of been 1 in a million who was allergic to it, just remember the lesson Miss Penny taught me......there is another way to treat worms and parasites the holistic all natural way, use this stuff instead..........may you rest in peace my love and companion forever Miss Penny oh how I miss you so......
 

http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html  

 Thanks for all the input!  Good news is that he is feeling better and all the tests turned out negative. No parasites not a blood problem and systems all ok. Most likely it was fly larvae in that stool earlier in week. We have had no fleas or ticks here.  Doc was pretty thorough. Said to weigh him in in a week to see if there is gain and just be sure we are back on track.

I am thinking he may have had like a heat stroke thing. And am feeding him more carbs and protein. Doc also said a multivit would be good since we home cook most the food, except for one cup canidae in am.  

He is better by the minute now.  It has been quite hot and the air is heavy with humidty as well and it was even a warning on the news to watch for this stuff in pets. 

Anyways he is more playful again and getting back to himself, thank goodness.   Also his sister is relieved, she was so cute trying to get him to play, nuzzling his neck and just was concerned...

Normalcy, something to be thankful for!