My 6 month dog has passed lots of bloated maggot-type worms in his stools. What are they?

Question

At first I thought these were bits of plant root, as she has often passed before - thats what they looked like at first glance. However, on closer examination they were like bloated maggots/little caterpillars. Some were orange, some red and some white. They were not moving so I assume they were dead ( I did poke them to make sure). I am wondering if my dog has eaten something with these in it and passed them straight through..... There were a lot of them - about 6 in each of the 4 segments of stool.
Can anyone advise me? I have looked at the common worm infections - the pictures and descriptions of heartworm, hookworm, tapeworm, roundworm and whipworm and they do not fit the description of any of these. My dog is behaving absolutely normally in every other way - fighting fit, running around and healthy appetite.
She is fed on Eukanuba only.
The only thing I can think of is she sometimes eats cowpats on our walks.
Has anyone got any advice or opinions to help me please?

Answer 1

Tapeworm segments. Dogs get this from eating fleas.

This isn't life threatening, but can lead to other problems. Take some of the poo with the worms in it to the vet.

Answer 2

I'm not a vet, but I play one on tv, so I guess I can answer. As long as she's healthy and the worms aren't alive, you're probably ok, but I would still bag up a sample and have the vet look at it. I'm thinking that maybe it's an immature worm of one of the categories you mention. Our dog patrols the front yard looking for cat stools every day. It's very difficult to keep him out of them. Good luck.

Answer 3

De-worming as a procedure has to be done to dogs once in 6 months...if you've missed a period, in about 4-6 weeks time you'll see such things in the stool...

I had a similar problem with my 3 yr old dog...after consultation with the vet; He said it to be intestinal worms...the medication given was 'Praziquantel' based tabs...

After that; it stopped...but through out this phase she's just fit and fine...HTH

Answer 4

keep an eye on her and dont let her eat anything you dont give her((unless your dry dog food sits out of course lol)) take a walk around the house and yards to hourowly inspect everything she could have possibly eaten and it might very well be a immature type of worm take her to the vet have her tested((wich can be very expaensive i warn you)) and vaccinate her((wich can be very expensive i warn you)) Note: most RSPCA's will vaccinate your dog against rabies for free

Answer 5

I WORKED FOR THE CDC in Atlanta , Georgia and YOU have a BIG problem...when you read this PLEASE quarantine your dog in a closet and call... the CDC. I think your 6 month old puppy is carrying a VARIETY of the ebowela virus. THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN TELL IF IT OR NOT IS TO BITE THE HEAD OFF ONE OF THE WORMS. Please have a witness to listen as you bite the worm in half...if he or she hears a faint scream it could be jeff goldblum and he has metamorphisied into the eboli viral perspectus....if it does not scream u just ate a dog turd.,,,,,,,aaaarggghhhhhhh....aaargghhhhh.....

Answer 6

If you are sure that these are really some sort of creature your dog passed, you should take a sample to the vet.

Answer 7

He has parasites. He must get some medication for it, they harm him. I would know what to give a cat, but I cannot tell you about a dog. Ask the vet.

Answer 8

worms are normal for dogs and cats to get, but you need to go to the vet to make sure they are all dead.

Answer 9

Take your dog to the vet. It could be round/hook worms

Answer 10

I would take her and a fresh stool sample to the vet to be checked out