160 Bear Christiana Rd
Bear, De 19701
302-322-6488
Dr. Jim Berg
|
Dog Questions
Dear Dr. Berg,
I recently took a sample of our dog's stool in to get tested, and I had a message on my answering machine saying
that the sample was "negative for intestinal parasites". I'm seeing little white worms in the stool,
and some of them even move! How could the test be negative when there are worms in the stool? What should I do?
He's also itching a lot around his rear end. Could that be the worms too?
R.R., Wilmington
Dear R. R.,
When you take a sample of stool to be tested, there are several procedures that can be used to detect the presence
of worms. What the veterinarian is really looking for are EGGS from the worms.
Most intestinal worms live in the intestine and are not seen in the stool. Hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms
live in the intestinal tract but shed eggs in the stool. These eggs are microscopic so cannot be seen with the
naked eye. Occasionally you may see a dog shed roundworms or vomit roundworms with a heavy infestation, but most
of the time there is nothing to be seen in the stool.
Dogs may have of and on diarrhea with a worm infection, may lose weight, have a poor hair coat, or even be anemic
due to worms. Sometimes you'll see a little blood or mucous in the stool.
Tapeworms, however, are very different from the other major types of worms seen in small animals. Tapeworms are
actually a long chain of small white segments that are attached to a very small head. Tapeworms can be longer than
5 feet, but usually what most people see are the segments that drop off one at a time.
Tapeworm segments look like small pieces of rice, and they may wiggle if they have just come out. Each one of these
segments contains thousands of tapeworm eggs, and when the segment dries up it will tend to split open, and the
eggs will scatter in the environment.
If your dog swallows a tapeworm segment or a tapeworm egg, they WON'T get adult tapeworms in their intestines.
In order for your dog or cat to get tapeworms, the egg must be swallowed by an intermediate animal and develop
into a secondary form before it is infections to your pet. Grasshoppers, crickets, mice, rabbits, birds are very
common secondary hosts for the tapeworm, but the most common of all is the FLEA.
Often, pets that have tapeworms also have fleas; because that is where they got the worms in the first place…they
swallowed a flea while they were itching their coat. The secondary form that is present in the flea then went on
to develop into the adult tapeworms.
So the scratching that you see is probably not due to the tapeworms, but may be due to fleas or a fleabite allergy.
Take a flea comb and do a survey of your dog's coat (put him on a white surface like a sheet or washing machine
so that you can see what falls off more clearly) to check for fleas or flea dirt. Flea dirt looks like dirt or
pepper, but will turn red when it is wet because it is actually dried blood left behind by feeding fleas.
In the past, tapeworms could be very difficult to get rid of, and the medicines used could be harsh on your pet.
These days, most veterinarians use an excellent drug called DRONCIT. Droncit is one of the more expensive drugs
that we use today, but it is extremely effective and relatively safe.
Also, there is no need to bring a repeat stool sample back to your veterinarian because usually when there are
tapeworms, you will see them. And, as you have found out, this is the one worm egg that often doesn't show up with
most testing procedures used for intestinal parasites today.
Thankfully, tapeworms usually don't harm the animal that they live inside. In fact, I've been told that in years
past, tapeworms were sometimes given (before we had the FDA) as a "diet pill" to help lose weight. Seems
to me that's a pretty drastic way to go about one's weight loss program. I greatly prefer lots of walks with my
dog to help shave off those pounds on both of us.
Back to the Dog Page
<
>
Home Page | About Us | Our Facility | Dog Info | Cat Info
Our Clients | Ask the Pet Dr. | Dr. Berg | Kids Page
This site built and maintained by
Bob Hairgrove / Budget
Web Design - Delaware
Revised 7/27/2000
Copyright ANIMAL VETERINARY CENTER, INC.
2000
|