My dogs have had diarhhea (sp) and I have found tape worm sections while cleaning them up. Anyone out there gave a good organic or non organic solution. I know it is hard to keep the dogs from getting them but Jake is really thin, thinking he's had them a while so everyone probably does. Thanks. Have not yet called the vet.

-- Betsy (betsyk@pathwaynet.com), July 22, 2000

Answers

If it is tapeworm you will find small rice like segments in the dog's feces or sometimes coming out the animal's rectum when he/she sleeps. Fleas are an intermediate host for tapeworms. What happens is: Flea bites dog, dog chews at area of irritation, sometimes gets flea & swallows it. Thus starts a tape worm in the dog. You probably need to do two things. Get a pill from vet (I think it is a prescription rather than over the counter at a farm store) to do in the current batch of parasites. Then get a product like Front Line or Advantage, a once a month topical flea & tick treatment. It kills adults fleas as well as their eggs. That will take care of future problems. I have used it as well as monthly heartworm pill on my 6-year-old Labrador Retriever and have never had an parasite problems. Hope this helps.

-- Southern Hoosier CURT (ctimes@hsonline.net), July 22, 2000.

Droncit tablets from the vet for the tapeworm. The only time my dogs get tapeworm is when they catch and eat a rabbit. Then it's Droncit time.

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), July 23, 2000.

We use panacur wormer for all our animals - sheep, goats, dogs, cats. Panacur is the trade name for fenbendezole. Dosage for dogs is 1cc per 6# body weight. This takes care of tapes as well as most other worms. Safeguard horse wormer, which you can buy at your farm supply store, is the same stuff. Worm dog for two days in a row, then wait 10-14 day and repeat for 2 days.

Amy

-- Amy (mstydale@aeroinc.net), July 24, 2000.