Whipworm questions

[frawri]

HI Group, I need some help with Whipworms. I do foster care for dogs, and I recently got two Chi's that were in pretty bad shape. They were diagnosed with whipworms among other problems. They are being taken care of, and when they are cleared. They will be going to another foster home. But they left behind a few presents that will cause problems for me with any other foster dog I get in. I have been reading up on whipworms, but they don't really give you any idea of how to dispose of the infected poo. I let the Chi’s out to go potty in an outdoor kennel. So for the most part it is contained. But I did let them run the yard once, and they could have gone potty then. How do I disinfect a whole yard, to make certain my dogs don't get it? Both my permanent dogs are on Heartworm meds, would that stop them from catching Whipworms? The other problem is, the foster dogs I bring in. They won’t all be on heartworm meds, how do I make certain they are protected? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Freedom]

This is all that I could find:

It is extremely difficult to eradicate due to the long incubation period of the larvae and the hardiness of the eggs – it is virtually impossible to kill whipworm eggs laying dormant in the soil, so infestation is frequent. Prevention is therefore imperative.

-- http://www.soidogrescue.org/common-health-problems.html

I DID see, in several places, that the monthly heartworm preventative will also prevent whipworm.

I wonder if any of these could give some guidance:
- your vet
- your state veterinary board
- your state master gardener program

[Kater]

Yup, the eggs are very hardy little buggers. Bleach won't even necessarily kill them. My vet says that after picking up the poo, the only way to kill these hardy eggs is to torch the spot!!

Whipworm eggs are somewhat susceptible to drying, but can remain alive in moist soil for years, and are resistant to freezing. Because of this, animals should be restricted from contaminated areas. There is no effective method for killing whipworm eggs in the soil. The only alternative is to replace the soil with new soil, gravel, and pavement.

From http://www.peteducation.com

I would suggest doing a fecal float on any and all incoming fosters. You may want to consider deworming them before arrival (regardless of fecal results) just to be safe. Dewormers are generally quite safe.

I would keep your dogs on one of the following heartworm combo meds: Interceptor (oral), Sentinel (oral) or Advantage Multi (topical). These three monthly meds kill adult whipworms.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[frawri]

Sure I always have questions. LOL I know you mentioned a med that would cover the whipworms. But do you know of a heartworm med that would cover all the known worms out there? I would hate for this to happen again. Like I said I have my permanent dogs covered. But I called the vet to make certain the heartworm meds I give them would cover whipworms. And they said no it doesn’t, so now I have to give them some worming meds, and get a heartworm coverage that covers whipworms also. I thought since I am doing this, I might as well try and find one that covers them all if there is such a med.

[Kater]

The three meds that I mentioned (Interceptor, Sentinel, & Advantage Multi) are all heartworm (HW) meds. So you could switch your dogs to one of these after your current supply of HW meds runs out. Keep in mind that these products will be more expensive than your current HW meds. In the mean time, I would ask your vet if he can worm your dogs for whipworms since they were exposed (sounds like you are already planning to do this). However, I see no reason not to use up whatever HW meds you have since you paid good money for them, right?

There isn't one drug that can cover all known worms, but Sentinel and Advantage Multi come the closest. I personally use Sentinel (oral) because I prefer oral meds to topicals since I want to feel free to love all over my doggie's fur. Otherwise, if you take your doggies in to the vet every 6 mos., then they should have fecals done and any parasites found can be treated.

The Pet Education website (out of Drs. Foster & Smith) is a really good site for this kind of information. Here is the heartworm page: http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=743

To summarize....
Interceptor
Oral monthly heartworm med that "controls hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms".
Sentinel
Oral monthly heartworm med that "controls hookworms, roundworms, and whipworms and prevents flea eggs from developing". By sterilizing the fleas, it also tends to reduce the chance that your dog will be infected with tapeworms.
Advantage Multi
Topical monthly heartworm med that "kills adult fleas, and treats infestations of ear mites, roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, sarcoptic mange, and demodectic mange". By killing fleas, it also tends to greatly reduce the chance that your dog will be infected with tapeworms.

*None of these meds repel or kill ticks.

Hopefully this makes sense. Let me know if you have more questions.

[frawri]

I was told that since one of my dogs is a hearding breed. That those you mentioned can hurt my dog. Because hearding dogs can be sensitive to these ingredients and adverse reactions cause them to be at risk. Have you had any problems with these meds, looks like you have a Border Collie.