[puppylove21]

Please help us!

Once again my puppy has been scooting around on the floor in the morning. Then she kept passing mucus out her anus, and then... I SAW A WORM!! Hanging outside her anus!! :eek: :(

Oh lord I've never seen that before and almost freaked out completely! It was hanging out about 1 inch so I used tissue and pulled the rest of it out slowly... it was about 3 inches long, and I flushed it down the toilet.

She had worm treatment at the vets in may, I was told to give her more in August... now what should I do?

She's OK in herself and its all stopped now, but what the hell kind of worm was that and how did she get it inside her?? I feel such a bad dog owner for letting this happen, but why did it happen?

Please please PLEASE HELP ME! (shes a 4 month old jack russell cross chihuaha puppy)

[puppylove21]

Thanks!
She already had puppy worms from her mother I guess, when she was 3 months old and her belly got all bloated.

But this time I actually saw a huge worm coming out! And her tummy is not bloated at all.

She had vet worm treatment last month about 6 weeks ago, so is it safe to give her another dose of it today?

She's also been chewing on raw hide and I was just informed that is hard to digest and it can give them worms too... is that true?

So is this why she's been scooting on her butt everyday? Because it itched because she had worms? And everyone here thought it was her anal glands... and all this time my poor puppys been suffering, I feel terrible and I'm scared for her...

Oh she also has fleas, but I don't know what that has to do with worms??

[puppylove21]

I have given her a dose of worm treatment from the vet, I had some left from last time. It's a 3 day course, but I didn't check with the vet if its OK to give her it again after 6 weeks. A dog breeder online told me its OK to worm dogs as long as its been 4 weeks since the last dose, so hopefully it won't make her vomit.

I'm going to buy some flea treatment drops to put on her neck and above tail, from a store like walmart.

I'm just shocked she got worms so quick. I thought dogs only needed worming every 3 months. How did she get worms? From the dog park we walk in where people don't clear up their dogs poop and people leave kfc chicken bones allover the place? Not from her raw hide chews? Not from her fleas? I just pulled a big flea off her right now ew

I'm still in shock over seeing a huge worm coming out her butt... I feel sick from seeing it... seriously... oh my lord.

[labman]

I have gone back and looked at several of your other questions. Your puppy has had a number of problems. You have gotten a lot of conflicting advice, but time after time people have said take the puppy to the vet. Apparently you never resolved the scooting problem. You never posted back what you tried. If trying to express the anal glands yourself, or having a groomer do it, didn't take care of it, you should gone to a vet with the problem. As Jennapht mentioned, the problem could also be due to worms. Anal glands is the most common cause of the scooting, but sometimes it is worms. How are the skin patches doing?

I think it is time to make a list of the dog's problems and take it to the vet. Take a stool sample too. The vet will help you identify the worm and select an effective remedy. Also, are you giving the dog heartworm and flea remedies? Most of them control several types of worms.

You have to remember everybody is free to post answers here, and some of the advice comes from people knowing no more than you about dogs. Many people base their answers on the limited amount of experience a single person can have. It is even more limited if they are uncritically doing the same thing as 20 years ago. Others have learned from other people through reading and training. Experience is more valuable if you have tried new things you have read about or been told. So some of those suggesting you can avoid a vet visit have not been helpful.

[puppylove21]

I don't believe I need to make the visit to the vets if I can sort it myself with peoples help. Im on a low income so vets expenses are a concern and its very difficult to travel to my vets as well.

Im giving her a 3 day course of worm treatment from the vets I got on the last visit.

I just bought a flea tablet from the pet store and the guy told me all dogs have fleas they are unavoidable, which makes sense, the treatments just kill them for a short while, then you need more.

How often do you all use flea treatments on yours? Of course its going to depend on where you live too, Im in a neighbourhood with a lot of dogs, so mine will get them more often than say a guy living in the country with no strange dogs around.

I didn't think I would need to come back here about her scooting on her butt, because after looking at it to see if its swollen, the answer is no it isn't. And after trying to express it myself just in case, nothing came out. So I stupidly thought changing the food from wet to dry as I was advised to do here, would make her poop firmer which it has, and that would sort out any anal glands problems. I was told today by a breeder elsewhere that she is far too young to be having things wrong with anal glands, and that people should have told me about scooting being a symptom of worms. Maybe someone here did? But I don't remember reading it. Though I probably ignored it because she was giving worm treatment 6 weeks ago, so I didn't think she could get worms again in that space of time.

Now I know the scooting is down to worms, because I unfortunately witnessed a worm coming out her butt and took it out myself. Which I guess is good in a way because otherwise I still wouldn't have known about it! So as I still have worming treatment from the vets, to last the full 3 day course, I should be able to get rid of the worms for her.

So that's the worms and fleas taken care of for now. I know I will keep needing to give her flea treatment whenever I see them, and same with worm treatment, unless she isn't scooting then I will give her the worm medicine every 3 months as recommended for dogs.

Labman could you tell me some more about dog heartworms please? Ive never heard of this before. Or I'll look them up on wikipedia. But are you saying every dog should be given treatment for heartworms to prevent them?

I just looked different dog worms up on Google and I'm pretty sure the worm I saw was a roundworm!

[labman]

Heart worm is a very common problem in the USA. It is spread by mosquitoes. The larva travel from the bite to the heart where worms grow eventually blocking the heart. The dog may not show much in the way of symptoms except perhaps a shortness of breath. Then one day, it coughs and falls over dead. The most common treatment is to give the dog a medicine every month that kills off the immature worms before they are big enough to cause any problem. Giving the same medicine to a dog with mature worms can kill it. A dog not on the medicine must have a blood sample checked and any mature worms treated before taking the medicine.

Since winters are mild here, I start my puppies on Heartgard+ at 2 months and continue it through the winter. It kills some other worms too. My puppies come from the breeder free of worms. I take no other precaution except the Heartgard+, and have never seen a case of worms.

This is the fourth summer I have switched to Revolution over the summer. Since I had very few flea problems before starting it, I can't say it is working, but I can say dogs don't have to have fleas.

[RubyPitbull]

Puppylove, PLEASE, do not use over the counter flea & tick meds on your puppy. I know you said you are strapped for cash, but certain OTC medications are not good for adult dogs, much less a puppy. Some have been known to cause severe illness and death, in adult dogs. You need to call your vet and ask what he/she recommends for a tick & flea treatment for your dog at 4 months of age, and what you should do about heartworm meds for the pup. There is no getting around the heartworm meds. They are dispensed by the vet. As for tick & flea treatment, at this age, you need to also buy product from the vet. If you can't afford these things at the moment, borrow the money if you have to. You need to ensure that your puppy has the best care possible. The first year of a dogs life is the most crucial for growth and health. Please, I don't mean to sound like an alarmist, but you can't skimp at this point in time, or else you may cause irreversible damage. When you buy those products, you can buy another course of treatment if needed to completely rid her of the worms. Bring in a stool sample so the vet can check to see exactly what she has and if they are still incubating.

[puppylove21]

Thanks for your support you all.

Ive got her on vet worm treatment and vet flea treatment, I had the worm medicine saved from my last vets visit, and my neighbour had some vet flea stuff she said I can use :)

Everything was chaotic with her at first and then it seemed OK but it wasn't, she had worms and fleas again.

Now there's something else just happened a few minutes ago! She was all excited I arrived home as usual and slipped over and seems to have hurt her leg, she won't put weight on it but she didn't cry and is OK if I touch it. Are these all signs I shouldn't have a dog? Why is it all going so wrong? I love her so much, Im trying my best but it isn't good enough I've let her hurt her leg... whats next? :(

I'm in the uk, the vet didn't say anything about treatment for heartworms, maybe its different here? We don't vaccinate our dogs from rabies like you do, as its wiped out here.

[pompano]

please help us!

once again my puppy has been scooting around on the floor in the morning. Then she kept passing mucus out her anus, and then...........I SAW A WORM!!! hanging outside her anus!!! :eek: :(

Oh lord ive never seen that before and almost freaked out completely! It was hanging out about 1 inch so i used tissue and pulled the rest of it out slowly.....it was about 3 inches long, and i flushed it down the toilet.

She had worm treatment at the vets in may, i was told to give her more in august....now what should I do?

Shes ok in herself and its all stopped now, but what the hell kind of worm was that and how did she get it inside her????? I feel such a bad dog owner for letting this happen, but why did it happen?

please please PLEASE HELP ME! (shes a 4 month old jack russell cross chihuaha puppy)

It is a round worm which is very common in puppies and kittens.It is safe to reworm the puppy again.It usually takes two treatments to kill all these parasites.Puppies and kittens are usually born with some sort of parasites.

[labman]

Any decent vet in areas infested with heartworms would counsel dog owners to have their dog tested and treated. If neither your vet or other dog owners have said anything about heartworm, it is possible the UK is free of the plague. It is really no big deal here either as long as you diligently dose your dog with $7 tablets monthly. And besides, the stuff kills a bunch of other stuff. The Pacific North West here is free of the heartworms.

[puppylove21]

Thank you all.

I am trying to be more relaxed, I have anxiety so I'm a nervous wreck sometimes lol and she's my first dog so this is all new to me. But Yes I agree.

Well this morning I haven't noticed any fleas on her yet, and she only scooted about on her butt twice so far which isn't much at all compared to usual :) so hopefully the worm treatment works. I give her some more today as it's a 3 day course.

The worm I saw was from looking them up on Google images a roundworm, and I checked her worm treatment is affective against those as well as others.

She pooped in the night and I didn't see any worms in it. But it was more soft because of the worm meds I guess.

She's putting weight on her leg but still not right on it, so hopefully its just a sprain?

Labman I will look into heartworm in dogs in the uk.

About the fleas, I plan to put all her bedding in the washing machine this morning and then vacuume my whole apartment thoroughly, is that the best way to make sure I remove them? I haven't seen any in her bedding or on the sofas or in my bed but then they are quite small so... and I have carpets in the hall and my bedroom, so they could hide in that? Ive been told they can survive away from the animal, I thought they would die...

I was so freaked out yesterday though seriously. The sight of a huge worm coming out my tiny puppys butt! I didn't know dog worms (round worms) were that big! I thought just the size of worms humans can get you know those tiny white ones... then to see this huge thing hanging out and have to take it out... I was so shocked. I couldn't eat much because I couldn't get the image of that worm out my mind for the rest of the day, and I was sure I would have nightmares about a worm last night LOL but I didn't :) geez they look nasty!

[Wondergirl]

I'm a cat person but know that heartworms and rabies are two entirely different things.

Animals are expensive--for checkups, shots, equipment, food. If you're on a limited budget, find a vet who will work within your means, even if you can pay only a little bit a month. Please be a responsible pet owner.