worms

[MUDDYBOOTS]

Hi,just noticed some worms in Bensons poo and one on his bottom .Little white ones about 1 to 2 cms long.He was only wormed in November using drontal plus bone shaped tablets.

Would you expect him to become reinfected so soon or do you think the last tablets might not have killed all the worms.Is drontal always an effective wormer or are there better alternatives and is it OK to worm him again so soon.

I havent seen any sign of worms in Gabby or Cloe  my other two dogs ,would you worm them as well to be safe.

Thanks.

[elaine.e]

I'm not sure if the worms you describe are Roundworm or Tapeworm. Benson could have become infested in lots of ways. Fleas are linked to the tapeworm cycle, dogs that catch and eat birds, rabbits, mice etc. may contract tapeworms from them, and worm larvae in dog poo can burrow into the ground and stay there for a long time.

My 2 were wormcounted last year and Louis was worm free but William had Roundworm and Tapeworm. He's the one that is always digging soil and nosing at things when we're out walking, so I wonder if that's how he ended up with them? I wormed them both to be on the safe side. I think if I were you I would definitely worm all three.

Perhaps try a different wormer this time, like Milbemax?

[MANDYANDALFIE]

Alfie had a horrible roundworm (they look like shortish pieces of spagetti) infestation when he was just a few months old and I was using Advocate and Droncit as directed by his vet at the tine.  He had to be wormed again using another dose of Advocate in between the recommended doses.  It certainly did the trick but  I was very unimpressed with the whole situation as I had thought this would not have been necessary.  I naturally have a total aversion to giving chemicals on a just in case basis but was doing what had been advised by his vet.  At the mo, Alfie hasn't been wormed since the end of last October as we travel to Europe a fair amount in the summer months and he has to have a wormer to return to the UK so regular droncit, advocate, and another wormer on top is simply too much in my opinion (and the opinion of his Italian vet).   I'm currently about to use the recently arrived wormcount to check and will treat if necessary and intend to carry on in this way in the future.

In your situation, I would treat all dogs at the same time even if the other 2 are showing no signs on the basis that it would be very reasonable to expect them to also be harbouring worms.

[MUDDYBOOTS]

Thanks,I have just been to the vets and got some drontal  so I will give this another go.He found a rotten dead bird whilst we were walking on the yorkshire moors a few weeks ago :020:so perhaps he got them off this.

I don't like using chemicals on them unless its necessary either so I would be interested in wormcount,what is it and were do you get it from.

Thanks for your help.

[elaine.e]

This is the company I've used http://www.wormcount.com/companion-animals/

They offer testing for the usual suspects (tapeworm, roundworm etc.) and also offer a test for lungworm. Because I don't use any chemical flea, tick or worm preventatives/treatments I decided to give this a try instead. Having said that, it should have been done a couple of months ago but I was lazy and just gave them Milbemax instead of going out in the rain and collecting poo samples 3 mornings in a row

[elaine.e]

Here's a link to a previous thread on the subject http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=102322.msg1505517#msg1505517