Mar
12
My shih-tzu has worms after testing negitive and being treated any ways three weeks ago. How can this be?
ByI have a 5 month ols shih-tzu that was last at the vet 3 weeks ago and tested for no worms but my vet wormed her anyways! Today I notices she had live white worms in her poop? What kind of worm is this? and Is it contagious to my 2 year old son?
8 Comments
March 13th, 2010 at 12:16 am
If they were flat and about the size of a grain of rice, they were tape worms. They are not contagious, you have to swallow a flea to get them. Also, they require a different type of medication than round or whip or hook worms, so what your vet gave her may not have been what she needs now.
March 13th, 2010 at 1:12 am
She probably got them from the environment since the vet tested her or was not shedding any eggs the day s/he did. If she has fleas it could be tape worms, but impossible to say from your description what kind they are as they’re all pretty much wiggly white things. If the poop wasn’t fresh, they could have been some kind of maggots too. Many vets routinely deworm puppies.
March 13th, 2010 at 1:48 am
If they look like grains of rice then they are tapeworm segments. The wormers used for tapeworm are different then the wormers used for other intestinal worms, so if the vet wormed for another kind of parasite, it wouldn’t have killed the tapes.
It’s also possible that she was reinfected since tapeworms are carried by fleas. If she grooms herself and ingests a flea, she can get the worms. Your son would have to eat one of the segments ( or a flea!) in order to be infected.
March 13th, 2010 at 2:45 am
They were probably tape worms and it is not contagious to your son as long as he stays way from the dogs poop. The medicine for tape worms is different than the medication for other types of worms. I would call your vet and they may just give you the medication to give your puppy or they may want to see her. I just went thru this with my puppies and my vet just gave my the pills after I described the worms that I saw.
March 13th, 2010 at 2:55 am
Probably nothing showed up in the stool at that time.
Worm meds don’t treat for all worms. Example: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=1086
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/6-1-2006-97997.asp
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/ascaris/prevention.pdf
March 13th, 2010 at 3:37 am
Your dog probably has tapeworms. Those are most likely tapeworm segments in the poop. Tapeworms are common in dogs and don’t often show up in fecal exams. Your dog was probably treated for roundworms,another very common parasite of dogs, earlier but roundworm medication does not kill tapeworms. Your child is in no danger unless he eats the tapeworm segments, and I doubt if you would let THAT happen! You can buy tapeworm pills at feed and pet stores without a prescription. You will need to know your dog’s weight, be able to effectively administer the pills, and clean up the mess later, or you can pay more and have your vet do it.
March 13th, 2010 at 3:49 am
If the worms are little like rice they are roundworm. But the only way to get worms from the dog it if come into contact and digest the stool to get the eggs into ur system.
March 13th, 2010 at 4:05 am
Only contagious if the child puts them in his mouth.
The type of worm you have described is called a tape worm. They don’t reproduce in the same way that other intestional worms do. They don’t release eggs into the stool. When the vet checks for worms he or she checks the stool for the eggs. Since tapeworms don’t reproduce through eggs they aren’t detected in stool checks. The white segments of the worm that you are seeing in the feces are the reproductive segments of the adult worms. This type of worm comes from birth or a flea. He will need to be given a different type of de-wormer. You should be able to call your vet and tell them how much the puppy weighes and they shoudl get the medicine for you. You shouldn’t even have to bring the puppy in to see the vet.