Tapeworms!!!

All three of my pups have tapeworms. Ok Jake has them the worst. The vet gave them Cestex to treat them. Jake started his on Tuesday evening. There are still segments in his poop, not moving, but still there. I wonder if that's normal?
Now we all know tapeworms come from ingesting fleas. My pups are on Frontline Plus and do not have fleas. Early in July the crackhead next door moved out, her dogs were full of fleas. Her house is about 50' from mine and the yard is not mowed. We do have bunnies, squirrels and a few cats roaming, wondering if that's how they got them?:confused:

http://www.peteducation.com/article....articleid=1406

That article tells a bit about tapeworm and Cestex. Although I confess I've never heard of a case of an animal still passing segments after being given this medication. I suppose it could be from segments already on the stool that are coming out, but maybe call your vet to be sure.

As far as I know tapeworms take 4-6 weeks to show up after ingesting a flea or other carrier of tapeworm (rodent, etc). It's possible they could have ingensted a flea from your neighbors house, or if you had a lag time between Frontline Plus applications, or if they've gotten into garbage or something and got some undercooked meat. Either way the meds your vet gave you should take care of the problem but I would call him/her about still seeing segments just for reassurance.

Once they are Frontlined it keeps the fleas off their bodies but they can still ingest fleas from other sources. :(

Thanks guys.
Catlady, no garbage, no lag with the Frontline. I will call the vet tomorrow, as I thought it said when I googled tapeworms that I may not see any segments. Five days later seems a bit much to me.
Craftlady, yeah, and I read they can reinfest after 2 weeks, great.:(

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Originally Posted by Craftlady

Once they are Frontlined it keeps the fleas off their bodies but they can still ingest fleas from other sources. :(

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Yup; frontline will keep fleas from living ON them, but the fleas occasionally may jump on them, maybe leave a little present, and your dog grooms itself and bam, ingested the eggs. Or your dog could be walking around outside and fleas from wildlife have laid eggs, they get it on their feet, get inside ingest the eggs or something, there are so many possibilities. Having them on a monthly flea preventative will certainly help but you can't control the environment. I suggest maybe bombing/spraying your yard to make sure the fleas stay as far away from your pups as possible!

From the article posted by Catlady

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. Due to the digestion by the host, no sign of the parasite is seen in the stool after treatment.

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Does this mean after giving the meds or does 'treatment' mean after they're well?:confused: I called and talked to one of our Vet techs and she said it was normal to see the segments in their stool after taking the meds...Anyways, there's not much left of the segments in any of their poop now. I will continue to keep a close eye on the poop!

I've actually never heard of tapeworms from flea ingestion. I've only heard of getting them from other contaminated animals or meat (though I suppose a flea carring tapeworm eggs would be a contaminated animal). I guess I learn something new everyday.

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Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy

From the article posted by Catlady

Does this mean after giving the meds or does 'treatment' mean after they're well?:confused: I called and talked to one of our Vet techs and she said it was normal to see the segments in their stool after taking the meds...Anyways, there's not much left of the segments in any of their poop now. I will continue to keep a close eye on the poop!

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I've never yet had a client call to complain that they are still seeing segments after giving the medicine. I suppose it's possible that some are seeing segments for a time and just never have called to ask about it before.:confused:

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Originally Posted by Catlady711

I've never yet had a client call to complain that they are still seeing segments after giving the medicine. I suppose it's possible that some are seeing segments for a time and just never have called to ask about it before.:confused:

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The Vet tech said to me "where else would they go?" Kind of makes sense.;) I'm hoping NOT to become an expert on tapeworms here, lol, but anytime my furkids have anything wrong with them I research and ask questions. I appreciate any input.:)

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Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy

The Vet tech said to me "where else would they go?" Kind of makes sense.;) I'm hoping NOT to become an expert on tapeworms here, lol, but anytime my furkids have anything wrong with them I research and ask questions. I appreciate any input.:)

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Yeah.. thats what I would think... working at vet clinics for almost 9yrs, we always told clients if they had dogs with worms, that they shouldn't be worried if they see them passing the dead worms after being deworms... like you said... where else would they go?? LOL

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Originally Posted by IRescue452

I've actually never heard of tapeworms from flea ingestion. I've only heard of getting them from other contaminated animals or meat (though I suppose a flea carring tapeworm eggs would be a contaminated animal). I guess I learn something new everyday.

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Oh that's all I've ever heard about getting tapeworms, a major way they get them, anyway. Even if your dog doesn't have fleas they can still ingest the feces and get tapeworms.

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Originally Posted by Spiritwind

Yeah.. thats what I would think... working at vet clinics for almost 9yrs, we always told clients if they had dogs with worms, that they shouldn't be worried if they see them passing the dead worms after being deworms... like you said... where else would they go?? LOL

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That's pretty much the standard speech we give owners with roundworms, however not the same one we give with tapeworms.

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Originally Posted by chocolatepuppy

The Vet tech said to me "where else would they go?" Kind of makes sense.;) I'm hoping NOT to become an expert on tapeworms here, lol, but anytime my furkids have anything wrong with them I research and ask questions. I appreciate any input.:)

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I'm the same as you when it comes to my furkids too. I think sometimes I bug the bosses with questions so much they get tired of hearing me say 'I have a question for you'.:p LOL But my theory is that if you don't know, ask. The only really dumb question is the one not asked.


I asked the big boss/head vet about this thread and the segments still being seen. Apparently Droncit is his prefered tapeworm medication and that comes with the following insert...http://www.bayerdvm.com/Products/dro...TOKEN=60775220

Droncit® (praziquantel) is absorbed, metabolized in the liver and excreted in the bile. Upon entering the digestive tract from the bile, cestocidal activity is exhibited. Following exposure to praziquantel, the tapeworm loses its ability to resist digestion by the mammalian host. Because of this, whole tapeworms, including the scolex, are very rarely passed after administration of praziquantel. In many instances only disintegrated and partially digested pieces of tapeworms will be seen in the stool. The majority of tapeworms are digested and are not found in the feces.

For those animals living where reinfections are likely to occur, clients should be instructed in the steps to optimize prevention, otherwise, retreatment may be necessary. This is true in cases of Dipylidium caninum where reinfection is almost certain to occur if fleas are not removed from the animal and its environment. In addition, for control of Echinococcus multilocularis, a program of regular treatment every 21 to 26 days may be indicated.


Apparently this is why we don't get calls from clients still seeing segments, and according to the head vet and the product insert, if your neighbor has a major flea problem, your dog will most likely have this problem again and require retreatement.

Thank you Catlady! An explanation! The Cestex my dogs were treated with says this ...

Epsiprantel acts directly on the tapeworm. Since it is minimally absorbed following oral administration, epsiprantel remains at the site of action within the gastrointestinal tract. Due to the digestive process, tapeworm fragments or proglottides may not be readily visible in the stool.
But it says *may* not be seen. I mostly saw them in Jake's stool, maybe he had them the worst.
As for my neighbors, they are gone, the house is empty. Her dogs did have fleas, all the time, but now that she's gone, I suppose they're looking for a home. :rolleyes: I can't say for sure this is what happened, funny it happened after she moved out.

Once, after praziquantel one of my monsters pooped a huge wad of dead tapes; it was SOOOOOOOOOOO grossly fascinating!!! (I can't get smilies to work this morning.)