Whipworms

what kind of wormer are they on? I would get a fecal done by your vet just in case.

Casey is on interceptor, which is the only heartworm medication that covers whips - as of now.

 They aren't on interceptor. Actually I've never heard of that until recently on here, my vet has never discussed that type of wormer to me before.

Would getting a fecal done now, just a week later show signs of whips this early? 

Whips set in fast -- but ask the vet.  You can't treat fast enough out in the yard however ... I'd tell you to replace the sod in a 3 foot circle around where that dog went if you can ... but if your dog DOES show whips then your yard is just plain 'infected' ... forever.  They're nasty -- you can't really kill them -- you just have to do frequent fecals and keep them on something like Interceptor.

Interceptor is, in basic, a heartworm preventive.  But it's safe enough that it's dosed so it kills ALSO hooks and whips. 

 She KNEW he had whips and didn't tell you, or she just found out? 

Whps are super nasty -- and they can be fatal pretty quickly left untreated.  It completely depends on the health of the affected animal.  A healthy animal will resist them ... and older or very immature animal's immune system may be quickly overwhelmed with them. 

Fecal ... tomorrow, and frankly I'd test ALL of your resident animals (if you have more than one).  You'll definitely need to treat all of them, but if it were me I'd probably want to see if one is 'healthier' than another ... who was the most susceptible.

I had a foster dog with whips.  I gave my dogs Interceptor from the vet. 

yup - you'd see the whips.

I would ask for a general dewormer (drontal is usually what is given, or panacur, something of that type), even if they don't show up +. Once now, and then again two weeks later.

Sentinel covers whipworms too.

http://www.capcvet.org/?p=Guidelines_Whipworm&h=0&s=0

It also looks as though humans can get them.

http://vasatwiki.icrisat.org/index.php/Parasitic_species_of_nematode

BCMixs

Sentinel covers whipworms too.

Sentinel is Interceptor, plus a flea med that stays in the dog's bloodstream all month.  I prefer not to put pesticides in the bloodstream which are not gone within 48 hours.

For info on when to test and treat, please note:

PetEduction.com

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1622&articleid=778

Adult worms lay eggs that are passed in the f*e*c*e*s. The eggs must remain in the soil for about a month to mature and be capable of causing infection.  ...  Immature whipworms in the cecum or intestine are somewhat resistant to the above medications. For that reason, treatments often need to be repeated for several months, until all the larvae have matured into adults.

I worry about the accuracy of testing after hearing and reading about the high probability of false negatives due to the life cycle and shedding of the different types of worms.  That's part of the reason I chose to use a monthly heartworm and intestinal parasite treatment.  I'm working to reduce the overall number and quantities of chemicals and pesticides but that's one I'm still using due to where my dogs go and their risk factors.

After reading a bit on whipworms, it makes me crazy that they are so difficult to eradicate!  Worries me a bit about what might be lurking in my yard and at the dog park! 

I almost bought Triheart yesterday but because it doesn't cover whips I'm sticking with Interceptor despite the cost differential (about $20/3 month supply difference through work).  Maggie is a therapy dog and Z is in training and I work at an animal shelter so I figured that it was better to be safe than sorry.  If it were me, I'd prob just ask my vet for the dewormer since that'll be way cheaper than fecal and meds and dewormers seem to be pretty innocuous as meds go.

I have two labs (a 14 year old and a 7 month old).  Late last week both of them started experiencing diarrhea so I changed them to a bland diet and when no improvement came I took them to the vet.  They both have whipworm :(.  Both of them however have been on Sentinel for several months so I feel good that they are at least on the correct medication going forward, but my concern now is the outdoors.  The puppy loves the dog park and I feel about 99% certain that is where this came from because we just built a townhouse so the soil was fresh when we moved in so it couldn't be something that came with the house.  I do my 'pooper scooping' job every other day but I have a couple of questions.

Are the dogs safe to the exposure of whipworms since they are on Sentinel?

Should I stay away from the dog park even though the puppy loves it?

Thanks for anything you can offer to my situation.  It's making me paranoid.