Dog Taenia Worm
Between two and three feet long, the taenia series is an intermediate worm that dogs and foxes frequently carry in their intestines, and which they contract by eating cysts and their inhabit-ants heads which may number a dozen or more when they eat hares, rabbits, or squirrels. Some cysts may be an inch in diameter and cause the intermediate host great discomfort. The rabbits or squirrels become infested from eating grass, nuts, or other vegetation to which eggs of the worm are sticking.
It should be noted that many pets that are only intermediate hosts can be made very sick by the cysts of tapeworms developing within their organs and muscles as well as in their intestines. Rabbits are notorious in this respect.
PREVENTION: While it is impossible to avoid all contact between a dog arid any potential tapeworm host, the owner should try to reduce the contact to a minimum. The dog should never be fed any raw rabbit and whenever possible should be prevented from catching and eating them. It is also wise to see that all beef, pork, and fish fed to the dog are well cooked. Both the dog’s and the dog’s quarters should be dusted with flea powder to reduce to a minimum its chances of catching and swallowing this insect host. If a dog has been infested, the kennel and the rugs and furniture in the rooms it has been in should be thoroughly gone over with an efficient vacuum cleaner to remove all dried worm segments. It is also necessary to burn or bury the feces for a time to eliminate the chance of re-infestation.
TREATMENT: No worm treatment is always effective so even the medications veterinarians have at their disposal are not loo percent effective but they are the best available. Over-the-counter drugs are of little use for eliminating tapeworms. Once eliminated, reinfestation is common.
Symptoms of being infested with dog taenia worm. The following symptoms that your dog would show up in cases it has taenia worm.
- The worms mainly stay in the mall intestines of the final host which is the dog of their entire file cycle. Excess multiplication of these worms may lead to diarrhea and acute vomiting tendency. The worms may also be defecated through vomiting and secretion of stools. Gradually the dog loses quite an amount of weight. A feeling of unthrift ness is also experienced by the dog.
- If your dog has a low amount of worms infested in his intestines it would often be seen licking or rubbing the anal parts with the carpet surface or the ground. The dog does it out of irritation as due to the sticky nature of the worms the segments of the worms stick to the anal walls.
When the worm first appears from the anal tract worm looks like a pearlescent white color and contract lengthwise and appear like a ball. You are recommended to take your dog to a good vet clinic for treatment and the worm infestation easily gets cured with proper medications and maintenance of proper hygiene.
See more: Dog Tape Worms