Will A Dewormer Hurt If There Are No Worms?

[Guest FordRacingRon]

The thread title is what I want answered,,if particular a tape worm pill.

 

The background. I have never seen a tapeworm segment before but this fit the description. In Lei'as first poo of the day there was one white, about 1/2 inch long, what appeared to me to be a tape worm. Not dead. I say tapeworm say that because it fits the description I have read here on Greytalk. Her second poo had none. Just got back form the afternoon walk,,third poo and nothing.

 

Tomorrow I have to deliver some of the food to my group that was donated to our group and when I deliver it one of the ladies is going to give me a couple of pills they use for this with dogs off the track,,not even sure what it is (the pills that is). Will it hurt Leia to give her those if in fact she doesn't have worms? I think she must because where could this have come from ? I am sure it didn't leap off of a bush or something at the park

[macoduck]

I give my dogs Trifexis. It's for heartworm and flea protection but it also kills worms. Unless that's some kind of super-strong pill I'm guessing a dose wouldn't hurt.

[tbhounds]

Not sure I would give a medication to my hound unless it was cleared with the vet.

For tapeworms you need to use praziquantel.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Not sure I would give a medication to my hound unless it was cleared with the vet.

For tapeworms you need to use praziquantel.

 

This is what they give the hounds that come off the track,,,

[Guest FinnsMom]

If your dog passed a segment of a tapeworm then she most likely has tapeworms. You will not see them in every poo. Finn passed a few "pieces" and then nothing for a few days and then he passed one that was about 6-8 inches long and alive. Took that poop bag to the vet and was given Droncit to get rid of them.

 

The next time you see something, take that poop bag to the vet so they can verify and give you what you need.

[JJNg]

As long as it's an approved dewormer and the appropriate dose for your dog, it won't hurt. But without knowing that the pills are, that's hard to say...

[tbhounds]

As long as it's an approved dewormer and the appropriate dose for your dog, it won't hurt. But without knowing that the pills are, that's hard to say...

'twas my point too. Need to find out the name of the medication first.

Edited November 25, 2012 by tbhounds

[Guest FordRacingRon]

As long as it's an approved dewormer and the appropriate dose for your dog, it won't hurt. But without knowing that the pills are, that's hard to say...

 

As I said,,it is what they give our dogs when they come off the track,,but I will find the name of the stuff and post it. My friend with the pills has been doing this for years, was the president of our group and knows Leia (she is in our will as getting Leia is anything happens to us). She knows Leia and wouldn't do anything to hurt her. I guess I am just trying to save the vet fees as this guy is outrageous and I am tired of buying him a car every year !.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

It's CESTEX

 

Per the internet,,a dog Leia's size should take 200mg. she is giving me two 100 mg tabs. The vet info says this was tested on dogs at 90 times the recommended dosage with no ill affects.

Edited November 26, 2012 by FordRacingRon

[JJNg]

Cestex is epsiprantel. Very safe medication and effective for tapeworms. Shouldn't cause any problems even if the dog doesn't actually have worms.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

NOt sure but have a question.

 

I started this thread on Sunday after a worm in her poo. Yesterday morning there was one more. Looks exactly like all the pictures I can find on the web. So yesterday about 11 am I gave her the dose of Cestex. Today I expected to see some really nasty things,,but on the morning walk she had 3 poos and nothing,,,not a dang thing except 3 poos that many would be jealous of.

 

Am I not supposed to be seeing gross stuff now or doe sit take a bit?

[Batmom]

You don't see tapeworms in the poop after worming -- they digest.

[racindog]

My holistic vet and I, who are both notoriously anti-drug & anti-chemical, both feel the worm medicine is safe at the appropriate dosage and it is better to use it and not need it than not use it and risk the parasites. If it were me I would save the money and give her the meds. Now re: tapeworms. A few of my dogs have had them in the past and they all were cleared with 1 or 2 wormings. EXCEPT for Ivy. We wormed and wormed and it seemed to have no effect at all. The vet was perplexed and sent a fecal to the university(GA) and contacted them for referral help. It came back-at least this is what they told me- that it was an unusual tapeworm that she got from ingesting a snail at some point when she was out being a good girl. They were insistant about that. The university sent a special worming protocol to do at specific times and involved around 3 wormings and it worked! No more tapeworms. So it just depends. More than likely a simple deworming will clear it. But it could be one of those cases that requires a particular protocol diligently followed to get rid of them. The good part is that even then it is no big deal since the meds rarely have any side effects and are really not that expensive compared to other things that can happen. Give the #1 sports fan a hug for me and good luck. Sorry but I don't remember the particular med that the university said to use but I do remember it was one of the commonly used ones. The trick was administering it at exactly the right time with regards to the parasites life cycle.

[Guest FordRacingRon]

You don't see tapeworms in the poop after worming -- they digest.

 

this is what I thought I had read somewhere but wanted an expert (as yourself as I consider Batmom an authority) to confirm.

 

this is probably my imagination but she seemed happier then normal today and when walking she would stop and do 360 spins.. She hasn't done that in a couple of years,,it is her way of playing. so she feels better about something.

 

RACINGDOG,,I will keep this in mind. Leia never eats anything off of the ground, that she was taught when she was young. But you never know what a dog may do. Since my group does have a vet approved medicine cabinet I felt pretty safe giving her the pills yesterday (after confirming with ya'll).