Hookworm Issue?

[Guest GreytKats]

Edit: sorry, I wrote in the title hookworm but I meant to write tapeworm. But I don't know how to edit the title. So just know that this thread is in reference to tapeworms mainly, not hookworms. But I do mention hookworms.

 

Hello, everyone. I have a question about tapeworms. I'm hoping that someone could help me out and direct me in the right area.

 

My vet won't dispense tapeworm medication for my greyhound unless the fecal sample shows a positive sign of tapeworm. We've had the fecal exam done twice now (about two months apart). The results keep coming back negative. We had a flea problem about three months ago. Ever since then, the greyhound has been losing weight and has been very hungry. But even with that, we cannot obtain a prescription for the tapeworm dewormer. We have three other pets, too (another dog and two cats), and I'm sure they're going to require a dewiorming as well. They are all on flea preventatives and the flea problem seems to have been resolved/subsided. However, I'm worried about the Greyhound, she seems to be the only one showing any signs of a tapeworm infestation.

 

So what should I do? Are there good OTC drugs to give my pets, especially the greyhound? I've read that it is mandatory to give tapeworm medication if your pets have had a flea problem. But we aren't seeing any segments in the feces and the fecal examinations keep coming back negative. What should we do? I'm just worried that the greyhound is going to keep losing weight. She is always hungry. And she is not that active either.

 

Also, just so you know, the greyhound has had an issue with hookworms before we even adopted her. She seems to keep getting them in the summertime even though we have her on preventative year round. Right before we had the flea problem (we've never had that problem before, mind you), we found out during her yearly check up that she had hookworms yet again this summer. It's like they laid dormant all year until it gets hot out then they come out again. She is clear of the hookworms again, thankfully. However I wanted to mention this because I'm not sure if she still is just skinny from the hookworms or if she's getting skinnier because of potential tapeworms? She was never this hungry before when she had hookworms. It is very different this time. We feed her a very good diet, too. She eats Bravo raw and I add quinoa and oatmeal, Sojos veggies, and supplements to her food. But I've been adding more food to her diet and even giving her cooked food now, like eggs and chicken and just anything I can think of dog treats, you name it. She just doesn't seem to be gaining any weight. She's not emaciated, and she's very happy, but she's always hungry. You can see her hip bones and she has the "dragon spine" as well. Her ribs show too much, too. She was never like this before.

 

So any help and advice you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Not only for the Greyhound, but for the other pets as well. They don't show any signs of tapeworm, but as I've read online, it's almost a given that they all have tapeworms if they had fleas. So I don't know what to do, because it's been three months and I'm not seeing anything in their feces and nothing is showing up in the exams.

Edited November 8, 2014 by GreytKats

[Batmom]

Usually you wouldn't see any ill effects from a short-term (thus usually rather light) case of tapeworms.

 

How old is she? Has she had bloodwork (CBC - complete blood count - and chemistry panel) and urinalysis since all this started?

 

How much is she fed, in terms of amounts of specific foods each day?

[tbhounds]

Just wanted to add that it would be extremely rare to have a positive fecal float regarding tapes. They must be visualized in the stool.(segments need to be seen). Check your hounds stool very carefully immediately after defecation.

[gr8kids]

I just went to a vet talk last weekend by Dr Jennifer Barker, who is a vet that works with Greyhound Alliance and the Sunburst Project in FL. She spoke about worms and hookworms stay dormant in the mm and gut even if the stool is neg and come out during stressful situations, that's when the stool changes and you see the mucus and little bloody bits. I spoke to her about your situation when I saw her yesterday and she said its not tapeworm for you would see them out his anus and in his poop but rather hookworm.

 

If you go to the Greyhound Alliance website, in the section about the dogs scroll down to 4 greyhounds veterinary service and she will have her protocol about worms.

 

Please PM me and I will give you some other information she gave us of what you can get from your local feed store like Farm and Fleet and dosage or you can contact her

 

Kathy

[Guest GreytKats]

Thank you all for your replies. I must admit, Kathy, that I'm a bit upset that my vet didn't tell me this. They insisted that hookworms could not stay in the body if the dog was being given monthly preventatives on a consistent basis. They kept trying to blame the re-infestations each summer on the grass outside, even though our greyhound was not eating any grass or anything else outside for that matter.

 

I will definitely look into that website you mentioned. Before reading your post, last night I looked into natural remedies, such as giving raw, organic ground pumpkin seeds. They seem to naturally deworm hookworms and tapeworms. But like I said, I will look into that protocol you mentioned right now, too.

 

Thank you for your help. It is much appreciated.

 

 

Edit

Kathy, I'm trying to PM you like you mentioned but I can't find the option to do so on the site? If you could PM me instead, that would be great.

Edited November 9, 2014 by GreytKats

[Batmom]

You need more posts to send/receive PMs .

 

Hookworms can be really hard to get rid of. Monthly preventive can help keep a dog from picking up a new case but usually not enough to get rid of a longstanding case or heavy infestation.

[Guest GreytKats]

Yes, I am definitely realizing that. I feel so bad for our baby. Her tummy gets a little blackened when she has the worms that's one of the signs and how I know something's wrong. She'll also start licking a hot spot. And her tummy gurgles at times. And I checked her gums and they look kind of pale. I'm just surprised her fecal samples came back negative both times. It's so frustrating.

[tbhounds]

Kathy may have her info backwards :-). It's tape segments that can be seen in the stool. Adult Hookworms are small so they are usually not seen passed in the feces. This diagnosis is made primarily by finding the distinctive egg in your pet’s feces. Any pet that is anemic should have its feces checked for this parasite.

Regardless-it's easy enough to prophylactically de-worm for hooks. I find strongid t very effective but, panacur can be used too. Praziquantel is used for tapes.

[lukasmom]

I am pretty sure Dr Radcliff at GEM also said that all greyhounds have worms and that stress will make them become apparant, they are typically biding their time in the muscle of the greyhound. Good luck with your hound and hopefully he will be worm free soon.

[NeylasMom]

Do a search for "hookworm" in this health & medical forum and you'll find some good threads on the struggles people have had getting rid of hookworm infestations, as well as info on how to treat aggressively. Cysts from the hookworms can get into other parts of the body (lungs for instance) and cause reinfestations over the life of the dog. There isn't a medication currently that will eliminate the cysts.

[Guest GreytKats]

Wow. You guys are a wealth of information. I'm learning so many new things. This forum is great and you guys are awesome. Thank you so much again.

Edited November 9, 2014 by GreytKats

[GeorgeofNE]

First, I'd find a new vet. Yours sounds like a bit of a butthead.

 

I do agree with the CBC though. Your dog would have to be heavily infested with tapeworms to be losing weight. She could just be naturally slim.

 

For the record, I have NEVER in my life routinely wormed any pet. And I have never had a pet with worms. I've had several arrive with either coccidia or giardia, but never hooks or tapes. I do use a monthly heartworm preventative year round, but to suggest "all greyhounds have worms" as someone wrote they were told is kind of silly. And not true.

[Guest GreytKats]

By the way, what is this the Australian pet med website everybody keeps talking about? Are they really that reliable (safe and cheaper and no hassle of obtaining scripts)? I'm a bit nervous to give my pets any medications that don't come directly from the vet. Is this website good for Pancur C as well as flea and tick treatment such as Frontline Plus, Revolution for cats, and Advantage II for dogs? How about heartworm preventatives for dogs like Inceptor?

Edited November 11, 2014 by GreytKats

[NeylasMom]

There are a couple. I've used deadfleaz for years and yes, I believe they're safe. The one potential benefit you lose is that if you're dog does get Heartworm while on monthly preventative, the company will usually pay for at least some of your treatment costs. But if you're not purchasing it from your vet I'm not sure they will pay. I personally think its worth the risk given the immense amount of money I will save over the lifetime of each dog.

 

For Panacur, you can get that cheaply from Amazon Prime or places like Entirely Pets, its not a Rx med to start with. It's sold more cheaply under the name Safeguard.

 

ETA: You should still be doing annual Heartworm tests with your vet regardless of where you're getting your meds.

Edited November 11, 2014 by NeylasMom

[Guest GreytKats]

Okay, yes, thank you for that info. I was going to order the Panacur C from Amazon so I'm glad to see that you agree with that.

 

Oh, by the way, happy Veterans Day, everyone!

[Guest Johberry]

Just wanted to offer my sympathy and hope that your hound is okay and hopefully does not still have hooks. Our boy came with hookworms when we adopted him a two months ago. He is still battling them. We just got done with a 6-week treatment of pyrantel every other week and his fecal test today showed one hookworm egg. The infestation is not as bad as before but our vet now wants him to have a dose every month for six months and then do another stool examination. These hooks are nasty and hard to be rid of like fellow board members have said. We are very diligent about washing his bedding and blankets, wiping his paws and anal area/underside of tail area after he does his business, and even using paper plates to catch his poop to help prevent reinfestation. He has put on weight, looks better with his fur growing back in places he was bald before and fur is much softer (probably due to my constant brushing, lol). The best diet we can afford seems to be helping with all this (he gets high-quality kibble + supplements for breakfast and raw for dinner). I like to think in that we feed is helping him be rid of these nasty hookworms. Sorry for rambling. Anyways, best of luck to you and your houndie.