You have had your dog for 3 years, and now you notice something is wrong with him.
He is whining and rubbing his butt on everything. At first you thought that he was just being a "bad boy" but then you saw the little pieces of moving "rice" in his poop. Finally you figured that something must be wrong with him. Your pet most likely has dog tapeworms, and here is what you need to know about them.
The most common tapeworms in dogs are basically parasites that attach themselves to the wall of the small intestine by a mouthful of hooks. This parasite is called Dipylidium Caninum, and it is pretty nasty, but also pretty harmless.
The adult sized tapeworm can reach up to 8 inches, and is usually made up of smaller parts called segments, which are 1/8th of an inch long. When the tail end of the tapeworm matures into an adult state the end segments break off and pass out of the body on your dog's stool.
If you look (not that you'd really want to) you can see what looks like little pieces of rice crawling around your dog's anus and in his poop.
Dog tapeworms are usually acquired when your dog swallows a flea containing tapeworm eggs. As the flea is digested in the stomach, the tapeworm eggs are released; the tapeworm hatches and hooks itself to your dog's intestine. Gross, isn't it?
Tapeworms, as nasty as they are, don't cause much more then irritation in your dog's anus. There might be some marked weight loss, but that can be easily remedied once your dog has been diagnosed and treated. Diagnosis depends more on what the dog owner sees than what the vet can test for. If you see creepy little, white crawlies in your dog's poop, your dog has tapeworms.
The treatment in regards to dog tapeworms is simple and very effective. When it comes to your dog's health, you don't want to give him something that is potentially harmful in the long run. Natural tapeworm remedies such as Tape-eze are better for your dog and much less expensive than vet office visits and treatments. It is very important that you treat the whole dog and not just his symptoms. This will ensure that, not only, will he get rid of the worms he has now, but will be better protected against them in the future.
