Dog Community

bugs in dog poop...

Posted : 5/28/2006 5:41:21 PM

SO GROSSED OUT -- went to pick up a bit of poop that I forgot about a few days ago ... it crumbled when I tried to pick it up with the plastic bag, and inside ... lots of little white worms. Sometimes, it's not worms, but little black beatle type looking bugs ... Even if it's only been a couple of hours! Anyone else experienced this? What happens with the people that really leave the poop out for days and days before picking it up? gross ...

marynh

Posted : 5/28/2006 7:28:41 PM

and that's why I don't do poop patrol. I scoop litterboxes so figure DH can do the outside poop patrol.
Molly's such a good girl though...she poops in the woods instead of the lawn. We have to have the extended leash for her bathroomt trips outside cause she insists on going in the woods.

bichinpanda

Posted : 5/28/2006 7:36:13 PM

so lucky...

Patt

Posted : 5/28/2006 9:35:32 PM

I would take a fecal sample to your vet to have it tested. Your dog may need worm medication.

I can't imagine leaving poop out for any length of time, it will draw lots of flys and then maggots.

Minty_Pups

Posted : 5/28/2006 10:27:02 PM

It's probably just maggots, still gross though. I always try to scoop up their poop the same day it's pooped, but once in a while I still miss some. But so far I'm lucky enough not to have seen any bugs, which is good, because i'll probably freak out if I do.

bichinpanda

Posted : 5/28/2006 11:42:50 PM

yeah i'm pretty sure they were maggots. but ew. Would make sense, though, as it's getting to be summer (in Northern VA) -- always seeing flies all over it, even after a couple of minutes. And this one was there for a few days. I've only ever seen any bugs in the poop i leave out for a good amount of time. The ones that I get right away -- gross, but normal.

Would dogs have any worms besides heart? She was last tested about two months ago ... I don't imagine that I'd be able to see heartworm that easily ... it was like ... invasion style gross.

pumaward

Posted : 5/29/2006 6:21:02 AM

Heartworm actually lives in the heart, so you wouldn't see it in the feces. Dogs can get all kinds of parasitic (intesinal) worms: tapeworms, flatworms, roundworms, hookworms, and the list goes one I'm sure.

At a few days old, I do not believe you will be seeing live intestinal worms. They will have died well before then because they need to be inside the intestine to absorb nutrients from the host. It certainly wouldn't hurt to bring a fecal sample to the vet, though, to be sure that your dog doesn't have anything.

While not pleasant, I don't necessarily think beetles and worms in poo is gross. Decomposition is a natural process; thinks would be a heck of a lot more gross if it didn't happen at all [

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