what is my dog leaving in my bed???

    • Bronze

    what is my dog leaving in my bed???

    this is my 1st post to your forum.  i have a question regarding the items my dog has been leaving in any bed he spends the night in.  if he sneaks into my daughters room he'll climb into bed with her and in the morning if you check her sheets you'll find these lil things we have started to call "butt chunkies".  they look like little pieces of ear was almost but i am 95% sure they are coming from his butt. 

     what are they?  how do i make it stop?

    thanks

    steve

    ps...he is a 6 year old jack russell terrier

    • Bronze

    that last post of mine should of read "little pieces of ear wax", like 10-20 pieces about the size of a piece of chewed off fingernail or smaller

    thanks again

     

    steve

    • Gold Top Dog

    Why do you think they are coming from his butt?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Almost sounds like segments of tapeworm.  Perhaps a vet visit is in order.

    • Gold Top Dog

    The same thing just occurred to me. I kept asking myself, what would make it seem like they were coming from the butt? Some were probably observed in the area... Sounds like worms. Vet check. And I would talk to the vet about him sleeping with your daughter, just to see if that's a problem. I don't know because we've never had worms, but I'd ask to make sure...

    • Gold Top Dog

    Just to be more clear -- tapeworm isn't 'contagious' unless segments of the tapeworm are ingested (eaten). 

    Tapeworm segments "later" look like little dried pieces of rice.  It was what I first thot of as well simply because they're often found where the dog was lying and sometimes you will see one clinging to the fur around the anus.

     However, when they first leave the body they are little 'segments' and you can even see them wriggle sometimes if they are still clinging to fresh fecal matter or the anus.

    Tapes come from fleas -- fleas carry tapeworm eggs, the dog bites at and ingests a flea and the tapeworm takes 'root' in the intestinal tract.

    It takes a vet to get rid of tapes.  Over the counter meds DO NOT WORK.  Tapeworms are completely different than roundworms or other parasites -- and it literally takes a specific med to kill them.

    Now as far as it being 'ear wax' -- which I would think of as dark brown and goey or waxy -- that wouldn't be a solid.  However, if the ears look like there are coffee grounds in them, THAT is ear mites -- and again, a vet visit is in order.

    In total honesty, your best bet is to scoop up these morning 'leftovers' and put them in a plastic bag and take them TO the vet, along with the dog.  It honestly could be a variety of things, but honestly none of them are without risk so a vet visit is definitely in order.

    • Bronze

    you know...your description of "dried pieces of rice" is much more accurate, brown dried up rice to be exact.  what makes even more since is a tape worm feeds off the animal eating nutrients from it...my jack russell never really used to eat that much over the years but it seems over the past several months  which is when we started noticing the pieces on the bed, his appetite has increased more.  he is finishing off his food more often now.  does that sound like it might correlate with him not getting all his nutrients because the worm is taking some from him? 

     guess i'll have to make an appt for the vet...I HATE SPENDING MONEY AT THE VET...they so over-charge for everything but i guess they gotta make a buck too.

    steve

    • Gold Top Dog

    In the meantime, don't let the dog sleep in human beds, particularly not in children's beds and ESPECIALLY not in small children's beds.  Get a good parasite prevention routine in place first, be strict with yourself and stick to it.  Then let the dog sleep in the bed as your reward  Smile

    As per previous posts, make sure you deflea and THEN worm, as the tape worms come from the fleas.  If you worm first and then de-flea a short time later, the dog could well have worms again!

    • Bronze

    would i notice the fleas if we had them?  i have never really seen a flea before....all of our animals have always been relatively clean animals that like to stay indoors.  i hope this vet appt isnt too expensive and either is the medicine or else i am gonna sell him to the corner butcher, have him make some doggie steaks!!!  Stick out tongue

    • Gold Top Dog

    steve all it takes is ONE flea.  And unless you live in a bubble most dogs are gonna pick up that occasional flea.

    Now ... do me a favor?  Tomorrow call your local hospital and find out how much it costs for a woman to have a hysterectomy.  Then, call 2-3 vets in your area and find out how much a spay is?  Hmmm -- maybe the spay sounds more reasonable?

    next .. call Dr. ABC on the corner and find out how much his office visit is if you have to PAY cash for it and don't have insurance.  And at the same time inquire how much it is for a kid to have all their pre-school vaccines?   While you're on the phone find out how much an x-ray costs -- just ONE x-ray for a .. oh, say your left foot. 

    Compare that to the vet -- who is not, btw, underwritten by any hospital, etc.  That x-ray machine your vet has?  That's HIS.  Not a hospital's and not leased -- it's his and he has to pay for it.

    Then as a small business man, figure out what his costs are for insurance and the benefits he has to offer his staff?  or ... would you rather he didn't HAVE staff?  That he charged enough for HIM, as the professional to do everything?

    steve, my point is -- your vet is a small business owner.  SOME OF THEM overcharge, some of them over-vaccinate, some of them are after every income-opportunity there is. 

    Some aren't.  If your vet is bilking you to do extra vaccines, wants to sell you new collars and toys and is pushing food you don't want to buy (and won't let you say no without a guilt trip) -- then you likely have a bona fide gripe -- SO GO ELSEWHERE.

    If you compare what a vet does to what a regular doctor does (and subtract even the varying costs of their E&O insurance) you'll find a vet isn't making as much as you think he is.  And he's pretty reasonable.  Or ..honestly, he *should* be.

    If you walk in and your vet's office looks like a tv layout and it looks more like a spa than a working vet clinic -- then, you may have a valid gripe.  But don't do the vet down if they simply have a spouse who is a decent decorator and who makes sure the bathroom is clean.

    Most vets aren't making huge money.  And not taking the dog to the vet regularly (and while you're there get a fecal done as well) doesn't save money - it often means that when you DO go the vet doesn't know you, doesn't know the animal and your animal may be deathly ill (and those bills get BIG) so you aren't saving anything.

    Make sense?

    And yes -- if the dog is eating more than normal that would definitely make sense (ever hear someone ask another person who is eating a lot "gee, do you have a hollow leg or do you just have a tapeworm?";)

    And parasites of ANY kind shorten the life of the pet, and can impact your family. 

    Now how bad do you rag your family for spending money?  If you said that to ME about 'doggie steaks' ... frankly you'd be eating supper in the back yard with the squirrels (sharing their nuts ... and I don't think I'll go further with that analogy!).

    Me?  I home cook for 3 dogs because ... frankly, it saves ME money at the vet because it keeps them healthier.  And I just went to the grocery store to buy the stuff to make dog food for the week which included 3 pounds of sliced beef heart and 2 pounds of whitefish. 

    At MY house sliced beef heart sauted IS "doggie steaks" -- they eat better than we do.  But they give more than we do, too!

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    ^^ what she said  Yes

    • Gold Top Dog

     here,Here Callie Yes

     

    Steve have a heart.Dogs can be expensive lil critters to keep,but while they are in our home they are are our responsibility,and we owe it to them to do the very best we can,which include regular health checks at the vet.

    I presume you would faint if you knew how much i spend on my dogs per month...Just on quality food,and the amount of time i spend in the kitchen preparing their meals is ridiculous!But they are so worth it Big Smile

    • Bronze

    i guess i never really took to my dog like most of you.  no way in heck i would ever cater to my dog like that, i prefer to give the majority of my life and love to my wife and 3 kids.  i do see where you guys are coming from though, dont get me wrong, i am guessing for alot of you, your pet is all you have so he means that much more to you.  for our family though with the economy being as it is and money being so tight, a vet visit is a want, not a need.  you can rest assured that i will definitely get him into the vet just for the simple reason i do not want to have lil dried pieces of rice(possible tapeworm segments) left in any of our beds....he is such a sneaky dog and trying to ensure the doors are always closed and kept closed in the bedrooms with a 6, 3, and almost 2 year old is tough enough.  the wife has already gotten a sample of these little pieces of rice and once i make the appointment for the vet i'll get a stool sample and away we will go.  thanks for the help.

     

    steve

    • Gold Top Dog

    BTW, dogs up here get tapeworms from eating rabbit turds, eating squirrels and voles, too. Most JRTs are quite the mousers, so that could be your source of tapeworm, not just from fleas. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    Fishheadjunkie
    i do see where you guys are coming from though, dont get me wrong, i am guessing for alot of you, your pet is all you have so he means that much more to you.

     

    I have family, friends and many other humans in my life that mean the world to me and i dont have all the money in the world or the time, BUT! when i decided to get a dog its like deciding to have a child(in a sense they are like having a two year old) and if you where sick or something you would want to go to the doctor aswell as if one of your kids had a tapeworm(gross hope your kid doesnt i dont mean that he or she does just an example) you would take him or her to a doctor

    its not how much you care about the pet its when you choose to have one there life is in your hands and thats a big thing. so dont make it out to be that you careless about your pet or that we care more its simplely that we understand and dont want are pets to suffer anymore then we do. hope that makes sense so dont look at going to the vet as a bad thing yes it cost money but what doesnt in this world? a pet is not a mindless animel it knows hurt just as much as you do.

    hope your dog gets better or you find the cause of its problem. GOOD LUCK!