PLEASE HELP! My puppy has worms.?

Question

I have a 8 week old chichaua.I cleaned out his kennel and washed his bed in the washing machine.The bed had a few fleas on it.When I took it out of the dryer there were very small worms on the bed.They were soooooooo... small, and skinny,and really short.They were sort of dark in color.He went to the vet last week and had all his shots and got wormed.HELP!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

What you saw on your puppy's bedding could be flea larvae, which look like small, skinny, dark brown worms.

The larvae break free from their egg shell with a little help from a small egg tooth located on the head of the small worm. Newly hatched flea larvae are usually about 1/4 inch long. This is the first instar or stage of the larval development. Flea larvae go through three such instars between hatching and pupating. Each instar is a little larger than its preceding instar. Depending on availability of food and optimum combination of heat and humidity, flea larvae can take from as little as 6 days and up to 2 weeks or more from egg emergence to the more dormant pupae stage of the life cycle.
As this worm-like stage develops it will molt, leaving behind casings that resemble the larvae. These casings are found in the vicinity of the larvae since the immature stages of the flea are not nearly as mobile as their adult counterparts. Both larvae and their empty casings (castings) are usually found close to areas where flea hosts rest or frequent and are often found in dirty pet bedding materials. They will also crawl under nearby beds, furniture and behind baseboards as they search for debris and food and follow their instinct to avoid light.
Flea larvae have no legs but do have a single row of hair-like bristles around each segment of their body. These bristles aid in maneuvering, as do the anal hairs. There are a total of 13 body segments - 3 thoracic and 10 abdominal sections.
Larvae have no eyes but they can still locate the adult fecal matter (dried blood from the host animal) which flea larvae feed on for survival. Larvae will feed on other types of organic debris but have best survival rate when they feed primarily on dried blood. There are species of fleas whose larvae can feed on certain dead animals for blood meals (instead of droppings of their adult counterpart) but this is a rare occurrence that is not seen with cat fleas. The blood meal of the cat flea larval stage is derived solely from adult flea droppings which are made up entirely of undigested blood.
Coloration of newly hatched larvae is usually a creamy white. This color changes as the larvae feed, changing to darker shades of yellow to brown.
Adult fleas, flea larvae and developed fleas that have not emerged from their pupal casings all respond to vibrations. Vibrations (in combination with movement, carbon dioxide, heat and humidity) will help developed fleas to emerge from their pupal casing and adult fleas jump to find a warm blooded host. The movement of dogs, cats, squirrels (and other hosts) causes flea eggs and adult flea fecal material to fall in various areas close to the original host. Flea larvae also respond to vibrations and movement, but in entirely different ways.
Flea larvae have been known to fake death when they detect movement but their most interesting behavior is clinging to certain when vibrations are felt. As dogs or cats scratch the larvae picks up on the motion, wrapping itself around the animal's hair. Larvae have also been noted to do the same thing in carpet. When vacuum cleaners are close by, the larvae have been seen clinging to carpet fibers - but they are not too successful. Vacuuming usually picks up these larvae, despite their efforts.
As the end of the third instar larval stage draws near, flea larvae will begin to build the pupal casing in which they will develop into fully developed adults. A portion of the casing is made up of a silky material that is used to hold together all other parts of the cocoon. Larvae gather debris from their immediate surroundings with which they build their pupal case. Indoors, the tiny bits of debris include animal hair, human hair, dust, lint and small fibers of furniture, carpet and rugs. The materials used end up as the perfect camouflage as they blend in with their surroundings. If we could plainly see the pupae, they would be easier to locate and remove. Our only choice is to vacuum thoroughly and regularly to remove as many of the pupae as possible.

By themselves, fleas are not as mobile as one would believe. Adult fleas are designed for jumping (to locate and mount a warm blooded host) and crawling forward through the fur of animals. The eggs easily fall off of an animal as it moves. Flea larvae are capable of movement but do not stray far from where they emerge from the eggs..


Ask your vet for some Frontline, or Revolution to treat your pup and take care of the flea problem. Don't use over the counter stuff as most of it can be deadly to a pup that small, and it doesn't work as well.

Answer 2

First of all, take a deep breath. Worms are perfectly normal in puppies and it is VERY normal to see them after deworming. You should also know that no dewormer treats all worms. If you didn't take a fecal sample with you or they gave one type of dewormer, it's not uncommon to still have worms. If the worms you are seeing look like rice, those are tapeworms. However, they are usually off-white in color, not dark. Also, I would recommend spraying the kennel and your laundry area for fleas (your vet should have a good product or be able to recommend one)...if you're seeing them on the bed, washing won't be enough. I would recommend calling your vet in the morning and asking about this. You could take in another sample, but most times they want to recheck the stool about 2 weeks after deworming to make sure there aren't more or other types of worms. I would recommend at least putting the worms in a sandwich bag and stopping by the vet's office with them to get their opinion if your vet is close enough. It's gross to keep seeing them, but as long as you keep on top of his checkups, shots, deworming and fecal checks, he will be fine.

Answer 3

The best thing for you to do is to keep the dog from being reinfested with fleas. Fleas can cause tapeworms. So you may have to get the dog wormed again if it continues. Your priority should be getting rid of the fleas. Use Frontline TopSpot or Advantage flea control. Good luck.

Answer 4

Sounds like he has tapeworms.Tapeworms are caused by fleas. Regular dewormers do not work for tapeworms.You will need to go to the vet to get a dewormer special for tapeworms.

Answer 5

He probably bit into one of the fleas and that's how he got the worms again. There are several ways dogs get worms. There is over the counter worming medication you can get at a pet store or you can go back to your vet and get your dog wormed. I would go back to your vet because they will know the correct dosage to give.

Answer 6

The worming medicine is doing it's job! Ask your vet what worms the worming medicine will destroy, then describe the worms you found to him. Sometimes a mild worming medicine will only destroy certain worms. Tapes and hook worms require a stronger wormer.

Answer 7

Call the vet, there might even be a 24 hour one nearby and ask what to do. He's going to need some medicine to kill them. Afterwards they should clear up pretty fast.

Answer 8

i would contact your vet but more than likely it is tape worms my dog had tape worms and a regular dewormer will not remove them the vet will need to give the dog a special medicine

Answer 9

I doubt if it's the kind of worms puppies get, especially if he was wormed last week. Clorox the bed again and dry in hot dryer.

Answer 10

They poop out the dead worms, maybe that is what you found. And was he dewormed for hookworms, roundworms, whipworms and tapeworms? If not then it could be any one of them. Call your vet tomorrow and find out if he was dewormed for all of them. I have three chihuahuas and just love the little things. Good luck.

Answer 11

um, it might be maggots, u said u saw it after u put it in the dryer so they might have gotten burnt. Stomach worms and the like are long, pale white, and thin but wide. I doubt it was the kind of worms ur thinking of but get him tested and de-wormed just in case.