3 Signs of Tapeworms in Dogs
Tapeworms are parasites that live in a dog's intestinal system. While it can sometimes be hard to work out if your dog has tapeworms, there are signs that should make you suspicious. What are they?
1. Your Dog Has an Itchy Bum
Tapeworms are living creatures. Like other worms, they wriggle about. This may give your dog an itchy rear end.
Look out for signs that your dog has an itch. For example, it may drag its bum along grass or against a tree when you take it for a walk. Or, at home, it may rub its bottom along carpets or rugs, or rub against cabinets and walls.
Your dog may also spend more time than usual licking or even biting at its anal area. These are all signs that your dog has an irritating itch that it can't get rid of that might be caused by tapeworms.
2. You See Worms in Your Dog's Faeces
Dogs often expel tapeworm eggs in their faeces. However, these may not be visible to the human eye. In some cases, you can spot hatched tapeworms in your dog's faeces. These are sometimes expelled in pieces or whole.
If you look at your dog's poo and it has one or more tapeworms in it, then you'll see things that look like small grains of rice. These may be parts of a worm that are often a yellowy white colour. Sometimes, whole worms may wriggle about in the faeces if they are still alive.
3. Your Dog Isn't as Perky as Usual
Most dogs don't have significant problems from tapeworms; this kind of infection is often more irritating than anything else.
However, if tapeworms aren't treated, then your dog may start to show other symptoms that are a bit more worrying. For example, your pet may lose some of its natural exuberance. It may become listless, irritable or a little more clingy than usual.
Your dog may also suddenly get more obvious signs of wind than usual or look a bit bloated. It's stomach and rear end may be obviously tender when you touch it. In some cases, tapeworms give dogs diarrhoea, and your pet may start to lose some weight.
If you think that your dog has tapeworms, then take it to your vet as soon as possible. They can treat the infection so that the worms all die off. Bear in mind that dogs can get different kinds of worms, some of which are more serious than others, so it's best to have your pet checked over as soon as you can.