# My new adopted puppy has worms



## countesspottymouth (Dec 22, 2006)

OK. So, I don't know what I should do. I noticed him scooting on the floor, so I looked at his rear end and noticed a squishy thing. I looked on his fur, and there were what looked like dried rice around his rear. I thought, hmmm, must be worms, then saw one exit his rear end and that pretty much confirmed it. I looked in his bed and he has tons of "dried rice" in his crate. So, now what? Do I worm him myself with the products at Petsmart? How do I know what type of worm he has? Do I need to worm my other dog and two cats? Do I need to keep him out of the house until the worms are gone? How long is that? Can my children get these worms? How would I know? How long can the worms survive outside the body (meaning, has he been "depositing" live worms wherever he has been sleeping)? He has only been living with us for a few days and I don't want to ruin the bonding process by having to isolate him, but I don't want my children (or myself) to get worms, either. (And how would we treat that?) Finally, do I need to move his crate out of our bedroom?


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## britishbandit (Dec 11, 2006)

Your best bet is to take your dog in to the vet to get checked over since you've only had him a few days, and he should be checked anyway, regardless of the worms. You should deworm the other pets in the house too, just to be safe.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Most parasitic worms are very species-specific. This means that worms from dogs don't get into people, and worms from people don't get into dogs. Very rarely some dog worms will try to infect people and can make them sick, but the worms come from places where lots of dog eggs have been shed, like parks and playgrounds, and not necessarily from a single pet. It's best that you take your dog to a vet immediately. Your dog may have more problems that just worms. So please, for your peace of mind, please make an appointment with a vet ASAP. Good luck, welcome to our forum, and please keep us updated.


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## countesspottymouth (Dec 22, 2006)

So, I do NOT need to isolate him and do NOT need to take his crate out of the bedroom?


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

As a precaution I would isolate the dog, and vacuum the floors in any area that the dog may have roamed. However, the chances of you or your children getting sick is minimal.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

The Rice like worms that you described are tepeworms. you need to get him to the vet for a check up and to be dewormed. Over the counter stuf like at petsmart isn't as good as the stuff from your vet. The vet will also want to check his stool since tapeworms may not be the only parasite that he has.

Animals and people get tapeworms by ingesting a flea, chances are one if not all of your pets has fleas. Your should have your pets on flea prevenatives like Frontline of Advantage, again over the counter stuff is not as good and can be potentialy dangerous to your pet since it is basically an insecticide. 

Your pet does not need to be isolated but your should thouroughly clean your home and his area.


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## countesspottymouth (Dec 22, 2006)

Thanks. The humane society that I adopted my dog from finally returned my call. They told me that the dog was dewormed on the 8th and that the worms I see "crawling out" of his rear are a result of the deworming. They also said that he should have been better by now and that I probably need to deworm him again. They said that I will probably see this "mass exodus" of worms for two weeks! YUCK.


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## Keno's Mom (Nov 20, 2006)

White, rice-like, is the sign of tapeworms. Which also means FLEAS - that's where they come from.

You should NEVER use over the counter worm medicine. Worm medicine is poison and you should take the pet to the vet's for exam and verification of what type of worms and they will give you the proper dosage for the pet. Most times you might have to have two doses.

Check your dog for fleas, take him/her to the vet with a stool sample to be sure (your dog might have other worms in addition to the tape).


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