tape worms - AGAIN

[BigD]

I'm stumped -

 

Found tape worms in Buddy (4 yrs) and treated with Cestex (sp) on March 24th. Treated Marzipan (7 months) too - just in case. Did not see any worms in her stools.

 

Kenneled dogs beg of April for 5 days (1st - 5th), saw tape worms again in Buddy's stools on the 20th of April. Treated with Cestex on the 21st. Did not treat Marzipan as didn't see any worms.

 

Kenneled dogs again on the 24th of April. One night. Saw tape worms - tons - in Marzipan's stool last night. Treated both dogs today with Cestex.

 

Fleas - they get Frontline + every month. In the last 3+ months have seen 1 flea on Buddy (caught and killed) and 3 on Marzipan (caught and killed). Have NEVER seen any in the house.

 

Walks - we walk in the parks daily.

 

Baths - every month or so. Buddy has dry skin so need to be careful, Marzipan tends to keep pretty clean on her own.

 

Brushing - every few days they get a good once over with a brush, nail trimming.

 

Beds are washed every week or so. No fleas, ticks or tapeworm segments have been seen in house. Last night saw tapeworm segments on Marzipan. Never on Buddy even when he had worms.

 

Marzipan loves to eat Buddy poop. We do stop her when we see her and try to pick up fresh Buddy biscuits right away. She investigates everything - slugs, dead things, etc. She LOVES to scoop up gecko poop. Which in Hawaii is VERY common. I usually have a fresh 1 or 2 drops in my office every morning. They eat the other bugs, so we like them.

 

What am I doing wrong? I've NEVER had tape worm problems and we have changed nothing in our schedule or walk locations in 3 years. Marzipan is new as of October. But it's Buddy that got them first. Not her.

 

They are on Interceptor as well. Perfect bill of health all around for both. Is this coming from the kennels? The last 2 infections have happened almost 2 weeks EXACTLY from the kenneled time.

 

OTC wormers - I've read in numerous places on the web - are ineffective and a waste of money. I just spent $40 to get some pills to treat these guys. Do I have any alternatives?

 

Thanks....

 

Frazzled Denise, Marziwormy and poor Buddy :confused:

[2 Devils]

Sometimes you have to treat a few times to get rid of certain types of worms, as the meds kill the worms but not the eggs.

 

I also heard that OTC does not work. Are you sure they are tapeworms? Have you been to the vet? Maybe they can give you more info... Have you cleaned/disinfected all the places the dogs have been (beds, cars, etc...)

 

Also, I would question the kennel. It is possible they are picking it up there but I think that you just need different meds and that the eggs are probably not being killed so you just keep getting a reinfestation.

 

Then again, I am not a vet and my .02 could be totally useless - been one of those days

[BigD]

Yes on vet - confirmed tape worms.

 

Vet says one dose and they will be gone. So, is there a test for eggs?

 

A friend recommended Droncit. Buy 10 pills or so and have them on hand.

 

Just don't understand why - suddenly - we've got them again and agin - in both dogs. But there has not been an increase in fleas on the dogs.

 

Thanks Kim, for the reply.

 

Denise

[Tassie]

Over here we tend not to use the same all wormer each time - I usually alternate between Drontal (or Droncit) and an OTC supermarket one - made by Excelpet. Drontal is the one my vets use if they're worming dogs - and Droncit is what the Quarantine guys give you when you bring dogs from the mainland into Tasmania - it worms for hydatids tapeworms.