[andkristylee]

Ok, I haven't been on here in forever, between a pregnancy, a newborn, a move to another state and the hubby deploying shortly after I've been too busy to do much on the internet!

Anyways, here's a question for you guys and I hope someone can give me some info!

I take my pup out for a walk everyday and he poo's 3 times. The past two days his first poop had a small c shaped white thing in it. But only in the first poo and right on top. The other two poops there is nothing. Either way I worried and called the vet and they said to bring a sample in to them in the morning. This morning I took him for a walk and first poo had nothing,I took the sample, put it in my car and continued on out walk. This time his third poo had the white c shaped thing but it was in the middle, I would have grabbed that for the sample to take in but the baby was freaking and I just needed to get going.

So I dropped the sample off and called later in the afternoon and they said he was negative for anything. I asked why I was seeing things in his poop and they said that they are going to treat him for tapeworm. They gave me 5 pills(droncit) to give to him all at once and said he would either poop or puke the worms out.

My question is...does this sound right? It's as if they gave me the medicine just to make me feel better without even knowing what I'm talking about. They kept asking me if it looked like rice and I said no. I'd hate to be treating him if he doesn't have it but I'm terrified of my daughter getting anything he may have.

A little background, pup never had an issue with fleas until we moved here (Virginia Beach) and within a week of us moving here I found about 5 fleas on him, continued his flea treatment and it seems fine (although I found an almost dead flea on the couch and one when I was giving him a bath) He's has allergy/skin issues his entire life (3 years) and has been on an antibiotic/steroid almost every other month.

I hope this makes sense. I'm trying to type as fast as I can before the baby starts fussing again!

Thanks in advance for any help/advice you guys can give!

 

[Willow52]

Tapeworm does look like grains of rice. They can also be seen around the anus.

 

[rhondas]

Tapeworm segments will look like a large grain of rice and if you touch it move and a head comes out - sounds gross. I know because my dog got a tapeworm about two years ago after killing a bunny and eating some blood etc.... I was on the lookout for it so I caught it very quickly.

He was given Droncit (I think) but it was only 2 pills. 5 pills sound like a lot. My dog weighs about 59 lbs.

 

[Rainheart]

If he did have fleas, chances are he does have tapeworms. I would go ahead and give him the deworming medication. Tapeworms are passed on if a dog has fleas. You may not actually see any worms come up or out the other end (but just be prepared if you do).

 

[sdain31y]

I pick up (and check) both of my pups poop everytime they go. One time when I was walking the dogs at the Vet before their boosters when I picked up their deposit I saw one tape worm segment on one of their poops! One! Hadn't seen it on their early morning poop or even anytime after, but it was there. We treated both pups with the same medicine they gave you. Quick and easy.

Look online. There's lots of pictures and video of what the tape worm segments look like. Sometimes they are kinda of flat and since they are flexible they could look like a shape.

 

[mylissyk]

That does sound reasonable. Tapeworms can't actually be seen in fecal tests, so if you are seeing white pieces on top of the stool treating for tapeworm is a safe bet.

 

[andkristylee]

Thank you guys so much for all the info! I feel much better about the situation now! Pup will get his medicine in the morning!

 

[attagirl]

Stay on top of the flea meds, he only needs to ingest one, and he'll have tapeworm again. When they bite, it itches, he bites to scratch, in goes the flea, out comes tapeworm segments...