How to treat tapeworms in dogs

Your pet is also susceptible to infections. Pet dogs, particularly, rare liable to get infected by tapeworms as they eat meat which happens to be the key souce of such worms. If a tapeworm infection is left untreated, it can lead to severe illnesses. Read on to know how you can treat tapeworms in your dog.

Identifying a tapeworm infection

The first thing to do is to determine if your pet dog has tapeworms. The common tapeworm symptoms include vomiting and scratching the rear by dragging across the floor. You can also check the vomit and faeces to see if you can spot the tapeworm. They are small, flat and white in colour and resemble grains of rice. Infected dogs also have bloated stomachs, and they show an increased appetite along with a decrease in weight. There may also be instances of diarrhoea.

Treatment for tapeworm

A tapeworm infection is easy to treat. However, avoid buying over the counter tablets as they may not necessarily help in getting rid of tapeworms in dogs. Make an appointment with your veterinary who will be able to distinguish tapeworms from other canine worms. Besides, the veterinary will be able to clearly identify the type of tapeworm, and administer the appropriate medicine. There are five primary types of tapeworms, and each has its own specialised treatment. Praziquantel is used to treat the D.Caninum tapeworm, while Drontal plus is used to treat Taenia tapeworms. The medication comes in the form of tablets and also injections.

Prevention

Medication is not a one-time affair and your dog is always at risk of getting infected again. The best thing to do is to take adequate precautions. Ensure that your dog is free of ticks and fleas. There are flea collars, flea baths and over the counter medications available to prevent fleas or ticks in your pet. This goes a long way in reducing the risk of tapeworm infection. Another important thing is to prevent your dog from eating raw meat or prey on rodents. Meat can act as hosts to tapeworm and can be ingested along with the meat. Making this part of the routine precaution for your dog will ensure that the risk of such an infestation is considerable lowered.