bath due to the fact i noticed it was completely eaten up with fleas.. once out of the bath i was combing and getting fleas off and i noticed a white flat s shaped by its butt. i do think it is tape worm though im not sure . the feed store is not open all we have here is walmart on a sunday .. i need to treat this puppy now and needed to know what is the best treatment for it. i also wanted to know is it safe to have this puppy around my kids / i wont let my kids touch it cause i m scared my kids will get whatever it is .. this puppy is 7 weeks old . i dont know if it matters or not but this puppy has been living on a farm. please if you know answers to this .. if your guessing please dont . i need some facts as the vet is to expensive on a sunday .. than kyou for all your help.
2006-09-24 09:52:14 · 31 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
Sounds like tape worm (which he would have gotten by eating one of his many flea friends).
As long as your kids don't handle his poo or eat any fleas you are not likely to catch it.
A veterinarian can prescribe a high quality tape worm treatment for you. I don't know what wormers WalMart would have. If you choose to use something OTC instead of waiting for a vet tomorrow, make sure that it treats Tapeworm, not all wormers do.
Good luck!
2006-09-24 09:57:48 · answer #1 · answered by ? 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is no need to panic.You do NOT need to treat the puppy now. It is fine to wait until the vet office opens on Monday. Do NOT buy any flea or worm product OTC from Wal-Mart, supermarkets, feed stores etc. They are worthless at best and they can harm your puppy even cause it's death. Also OTC flea products can't be used on puppies under 10-12 weeks old. There is also no need to keep your kids away from the puppy. They can't catch tapeworms from the puppy. The puppy has tapeworms because of fleas.
When you go to the vet to pick up flea meds take along a stool sample to get it tested for other parasites besides tapeworm.The vet will give you the appropriate wormer for the tapeworms and whatever else it may have. Also make an appointment for the puppy to get an exam and it's first distemper/parvo vaccination. He needs this when he is 8 weeks old. It is very important.
2006-09-24 13:28:01 · answer #2 · answered by Great Dane Lover 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all check out the treatment called Frontline for the dog, a simple bath won't keep the fleas away for long. Secondly, take him to the vet if you think he has tape worm or any worms for that matter. Call the vet right away and set up an apointment as soon as possible.
You may want to keep the puppy away from the kids just for now until you know exactly what is wrong with him. I know a vet is expensive but depending on the worm, it could be very harmful to him and make him very sick.
2006-09-24 09:58:00 · answer #3 · answered by Animal Lover and Owner 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Seeing as the puppy was covered in fleas, I would say that it is definitely a tapeworm that you saw. As tapeworms are a result of swallowing fleas. It is safe to let the pup around your kids, the only way they will get tapeworms is if they swallow a flea also. Some Walmarts do sell some medicine for tapeworms, as it sounds like you are in a rural area yours probably does. Just follow the dosing instructions on the label.
Or you may just want to wait until tomorrow and go to the vet. I agree that paying for an emergency vet visits for tapeworms is a bit excessive. Over the counter de-wormers typically do not get rid of all the worms though. Make sure you let the vet know what kind of medicine you gave the dog, and how much.
Worms can cause a lot of problems if they are left untreated. I have a puppy in my care right now that has a prolapsed rectum. The vet believes it is because the previous owners did not treat his worms, and when I found him he was over loaded with them and literally at deaths door. His "owners" put him in a crate and left him outside my shelter in the middle of the night, very sad. We aren't sure that our little guy will make it.
2006-09-24 10:06:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
sounds like a tapeworm...they get them from swallowing a flea so if the dog is covered in fleas it sounds likely. Tapeworms are NOT easily transmittable to humans, you would have to ingest an egg which you would get by handling the stool and then touching your mouth. Tapeworms are easily treatable, with pills or injection. The vets use Droncite or Drontal which is the most effective. I would not trust pet store remedies until they are Droncite...which you can get via internet pet websites. I would suggest taking a stool sample to the vet however, because the puppy could be infected with more than 1 type of worm...roundworms...etc...which can be more easily transmitted to humans. This way you can get the dog treated for everything at once and get the correct treatment. Also, you need to get a long lasting flea treatment (advantage, or frontline) or the dog could reinfect itself with tapeworms over and over. Also while at the vet...your puppy can get an overall checkup and vaccines. If you are worried about paying a lot on a Sunday...wait until the weekday...one day is not going to make tons of difference, your puppy should be fine until then.
2006-09-24 10:01:42 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Poor Puppy,
If he has fleas hes got worms the 2 go together, you can get worm meds for him at Petsmart etc they are open Sundays. Wallmart has some worming meds and some flea products just a bath wont be enough read the directions carefully and give him some of that, he will need to be wormed every 2 weeks for a couple of months at least. A 'free' puppy is rarely free btw theres always a vet bill to be paid :-) He is going to need his DHLPP shot next week and the vet can do a fecal sample and check for exactly what sort of worms he has and get them treated with something stronger than the pet shop will sell you Panacure is a good all round one if our feed shop stocks it though.
Let the kids play with him hes going to be lonely and scared enough as it is, just make sure that they wash their hands before eating anything, and dont put thier hands in their mouths. Clear up poop straight away and dispose off in a sealed bag. Worms are more dangerous to pregnant women, than kids. But PLEASE remember kids had dogs and managed to survive before worming and flea meds were thought of.
Enjoy your new family member.
2006-09-24 10:04:05 · answer #6 · answered by mips1970 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I know I'm kind of repeating what everyone else has said, but just to confirm--yes, the puppy certainly could have tapeworms. He also probably has a belly full of roundworms, just about every puppy does, especially if he hasn't been given any dewormer yet.
I don't know if WalMart carries tapeworm meds, probably not--the drug name is praziquantel.
Don't worry, the medicine takes a while to work anyway, so there's no harm in waiting till tomorrow and making a vet appointment. Then he can get some good spot-on flea treatment and a good dose of dewormer. Bring in a bit of poop and any worms you see, so they can see exactly what the little guy has. It's worth it, since he'll need his vaccinations anyway, especially if he hasn't had his first set yet.
Again, don't worry, you won't get the worms from him, especially if you keep your and your kids' hands clean.
Good luck!
2006-09-24 10:05:53 · answer #7 · answered by ? 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like tape worms. Isolate the pup from the kids. Perhaps have him in the laundry room or a bath room. When you take him potty scoop up his poop and throw it away immediately in a container not accessible to the kids. Unfortunately there's not really any trustworthy stuff they sell over the counter for worms. Yes they do sell stuff, BUT remember, you get what you pay for. Cheap wormer from a pet store or grocery store equals bad job on getting rid of the worms. I suggest isolating the pup from the kids until you can get him to a vet tomorrow. Assuming it's just a simple case of worms, worm medicine usually doesn't cost much if that's all you have done at the vet is the deworming. Of course, since you just got the little guy you should have him checked out by a vet anyway just in case. You need to make sure the little guy is healthy! :)
2006-09-24 10:05:25 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It won't hurt to wait until tomorrow to get a proper exam done by your vet. Make sure your kids wash their hands if they do handle the puppy. If you still have the worm, put it in a plastic baggie and take it with you to the vet. If it is indeed a tapeworm, they do not always show up in every fecal sample. Bring in a fecal sample, too, as your puppy may have other intestinal parasites.
Someone suggested Frontline. DO NOT use Frontline on your puppy. It is only safe for puppies 8 weeks and older. Your puppy is too young.
Good Luck!
2006-09-24 11:56:42 · answer #9 · answered by GSDoxie3 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/byqI8
She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.
2016-07-18 05:41:18 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋