Help... I Never Though This Would Happen

[Marley's Mum]

Hi all, I'm freaking out and would like some guidance if anyone here has unfortunately had to go through the same thing as I am now. Marley (beagle) is 15 weeks old.. Last night when I got home I went outside to do a clean up of her waste... To my horror I found a full grown worm in her feaces. I took it straight to the vet who confirmed it was roundworm.

She has been regularly wormed and the vet gave me a drontal wormer for her to take again last night. We spent the night up and down as she was vomitting a fair bit - I phoned the vet who advised that this is a result of the worms and the medication doing its thing. Today my partner has told me that she has diarrohea.. Has anyone experienced this with their puppies? I want to know how long this will go on for and how I will know when she is worm free. I'll be stopping into the vets on my way home but I'm doing my head in here at work... I'm scared for my poor little girl

Edited October 17, 2008 by Marley's Mum

[Dory the Doted One]

Hey MM. Please don't panic! It will sort itself out. I have seen some really badly infested puppies make complete recoveries.

Have you been worming Marley regularly? If you had, then it's not a complete surprise to find a dead worm in his poop.

I've heard of dogs getting upset tummies with Drontal...or any wormer for that matter.

So long as Marley is looking reasonably bright just moniter him and if you are at all concerned take him to the vet for another check over.

Puppies should be wormed fairly regularly until they are 6 mths old anyways.

[Marley's Mum]

Until I found the dead worm I would have been none the wiser she was infected.. She has always been full of energy and a happy dog - people often ask where the off switch is, lol. She has had a nice, clean, shiny coat and until yesterday I had not spotted any worms in any of her poops. When I bought her I was told that she had been wormed and vaccinated. I had proof of the vacination but not of the wormer. I bought a "generic" wormer from the petstore and gave her the dose as prescribed, then this month I gave her an all in one Interceptor tablet (which I will now continue to use). It appears that the interceptor did its job as the worm was dead. The vet said it would not be a surprise if the wormer provided by the pet store was not a complete wormer. I was advised by the vet to worm her every month, which I will continue to do.

She has been fairly lethargic today, which is what is concerning me.... Thankfully her vet is also a 24 hr animal hospital.

Thanks for your reply, DTDO.

[charli73]

Hi,

Within 3 nights of bringing home our 7 week old puppy she had roundworm.. Its quite common to get from their mothers even though they are/have been wormed..

Its normal for them to be quiet and have the runs a bit, welll our girl did...but yes she had runny greenish poops from the wormer and was a bit down and very sooky.. she recovered quickly though.

The only wormer I use it Paratec, you can get it from your vet..... It killed them all in a few days. My sister is a vet nurse and she thinks the supemarket wormers are useless... and I saw the paratec work within days...You have to worm every month on the day, OH forgot and she got them again, they are very susceptable at this time.

best of luck.

Edited October 17, 2008 by charli73

[Jed]

Until I found the dead worm I would have been none the wiser she was infected.. She has always been full of energy and a happy dog - people often ask where the off switch is, lol. She has had a nice, clean, shiny coat and until yesterday I had not spotted any worms in any of her poops. When I bought her I was told that she had been wormed and vaccinated. I had proof of the vacination but not of the wormer. I bought a "generic" wormer from the petstore and gave her the dose as prescribed, then this month I gave her an all in one Interceptor tablet (which I will now continue to use). It appears that the interceptor did its job as the worm was dead. The vet said it would not be a surprise if the wormer provided by the pet store was not a complete wormer. I was advised by the vet to worm her every month, which I will continue to do.

She has been fairly lethargic today, which is what is concerning me.... Thankfully her vet is also a 24 hr animal hospital.

Thanks for your reply, DTDO.

Pups and dogs do get worms. That's why we worm them regularly. No big deal. The worms breed and multiply, and you need to worm the dogs regularly to keep the population under control. The generic wormer from the pet shop may have worked well, killing all the worms thedog had then - but she has more now. It may NOT have worked well either. Who knows, worms are a fact of doggy, and particularly puppy life.

Don't stress

[Marley's Mum]

Thanks for your replies guys. She seems to be back to her normal self and the "signs" of worms (particularly bloating) have disappeared. I assumed that once the worms are dead, they would pass through in her poops - I have been paying close attention to her poops but have not found anything more. The vet said the worm was full size, therefore she has had a full cycle of worms - surely she should have more than one then - if she is not pooping anymore out does that mean they may not be dead??

She is definetly up to date on her wormer and is due again in 2 weeks - if the worms are dead shouldn't they be passing? I have another dog and she has never had worms - so this is a new experience to me.

Thanks for all your responces - I really appreciate your comments.

Edited October 19, 2008 by Marley's Mum

[jenz0r]

after our first pup's interceptor, i also found a roundworm in his poop the next day. my mother is a vet and said its normal, a good thing even that the interceptor worked cos thats why we do it..to kill the worms just keep up the regular worming!

also make sure you pick up all his poop around the yard so the eggs cant spread... i know i am really slack with this but it is a good idea to keep on top of it!

[Marley's Mum]

after our first pup's interceptor, i also found a roundworm in his poop the next day. my mother is a vet and said its normal, a good thing even that the interceptor worked cos thats why we do it..to kill the worms just keep up the regular worming!

also make sure you pick up all his poop around the yard so the eggs cant spread... i know i am really slack with this but it is a good idea to keep on top of it!

Oh that's good to hear - relief... I'm now very conscience of picking up her business, checking outside several times a day.. Don't want it to happen again..

[sausy.dog]

With most animals internal parasites are basically always there in some form or another. Treat every 3 months and don't get too stressed about it. If you have very small children be especially vigilant with worming - adult people usually have good resistance to worms but there is a roundworm in dogs (Toxocara canis) that can be particularly nasty to toddlers.