OK I went through the whole roundworm saga back when I first got Montana & Dakota as puppies (gagging as I type about it) I am easily freaked out by worms but I did what I had to do, wormed them, end of story. Here we are 12 years later. We have free range chickens and one day a month or so ago one pooped in the driveway & o.m.g. there were worms in it. We immediately wormed the flock as backyard chickens suggested and I guess this is fairly common just like in dogs. I did not however worm Dakota (yet) I plan to because she likes to eat chicken poop when you take your eyes off her for a split second. I did not buy the de wormer yet-in the interim we got China. They each have appointments for check ups and I planned to bring a fecal along. Last night (horror) I was sitting on the couch, Dakota next to me, China on the other side on the floor..my dd feet away playing. China coughed, she sometimes does ( I have been suspecting laryngeal paralyses maybe) and then a minute later I saw it. On the floor in front of us was a small worm-it looked like a round worm but only an inch or 2 long, darker and I believe it was dry (this would be important if I was thinking that cough brought out this worm) I flipped, ran to get paper towels to pick it up...my husband picked it up & flushed it. Washed his hands & said it was probably nothing...Nothing my *$% it was a WORM of some type and right there on my living room rug! I feel so dirty. I have no idea if that cough brought this worm out or coincidence?
I have no idea what kind of worm this was or WHERE in God's name it came from. Dakota's appt. is tomorrow evening, so her fecal results will be ready Friday afternoon. I was told that China was tested for heartworm at her March appointment. What could this be? Could it have been brought in from someones shoes or paws? Maybe not even a roundworm but some other thing...
My question is what other types of worms do dogs get and are all of them discovered by fecal tests? Should I got to Tractor Supply for de wormer or wait to see what the vet says? So gross. I dont do well with worms or bugs....jeez I really really hope this is not from one of the dogs....
Gross is right but it happens. Maybe China picked is up outside, even a dried earthworm, and delivered it to you later.
Since you have an appointment for Dakota tomorrow evening, how about taking fecal samples of both dogs and having them tested. Most likely if one has worms the other does too.
A multitude of ways it could have gotten in, like you said, on shoes, paws.
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MontananDakota (10-26-2016)
Take in a fresh stool sample from both dogs, to make sure they aren't infested, then get them on a regular worming schedule since you have chickens. Worms freak me out too, I worm monthly with Ivermectin and two to three times a year with Panacur, and test annually for heartworm, even though I give heartworm meds. *Knock wood* even my litters do no have worms! Thank goodness.
I would repeat the heartworm test on China, just to be sure she is clear, and maybe a chest x ray to rule out anything else going on in her chest/heart/lungs. Old dogs that cough get my attention right away.
ugh. You are both right. I'll bring in fresh samples tomorrow for both girls.
The cough with China seems like a gag type cough only occasionally and because she is so noisy with her throat breathing-I was thinking laryngeal paralysis....she also scooted a few times and I immediately raised her tail ( she was probably horrified thinking what is she doing? what kind of new home is this?? LOL) and checked her butt but I didn't see a thing...thank God.
I actually never had the dogs on a regular worming schedule-I just didn't think I needed to. I do take the occasional fecal in...but I think with the chickens now I have to do something.
Paws crossed that it didn't come from a dog.
Just one thing to add...
Bad Husband!!! Flushing the evidence is a no-no.
Somewhat related husband story that comes to mind:
Our first Lab Brutus started showing signs of blockage and into the vet's office we went at closing time. Vet looked at him, took an x-ray, and suggested giving Bru a tube of cat laxative...if we didn't see results by mid-day the next day, bring him back in for surgery. We had the cat laxative on hand and Bob stayed up all night with Brutus (he was off the next day, I wasn't) to make sure things didn't get worse and require a trip to the e-vet. I get a call mid-morning...Bru just had a big messy poo with a small brick in it. Small Brick??? What is it? I don't know...a small brick. You didn't examine it? No. Did you pick it up? No but I'm going to get rid of it. NO!!!....just keep it and I'll look at it when I get home.
Bob was going to throw it all out but he "managed" to use rubber gloves, a paper plate, and a plastic fork to pick up the small brick....which turned out to be a chunk of corn cob (must have been brought into the yard by a raccoon or dropped by a crow). At least I knew Bru wasn't all of a sudden a rock eater or whatever. But weren't just the rubber gloves enough???
Blackboy98 (10-26-2016), MontananDakota (10-26-2016), POPTOP (10-26-2016)
I know I thought about keeping it but of course it was too late. Gross and gross again. Just gross.
Never ever throw anything away that comes out of either end until you are 100% sure of what it is and why it was there. I don't even worry about rubber gloves-everything always washes off no matter what it is.
Baffle was still pretty young when we had a blockage scare....we took him to the e-vet where he was x-rayed and held for observation for a while (and a second x-ray). Eventually, with the aid of some lubricant and the vet's fingers, a small green object was extracted. It looked vaguely familiar but.....Originally Posted by Blackboy98
Never ever throw anything away that comes out of either end until you are 100% sure of what it is and why it was there. I don't even worry about rubber gloves-everything always washes off no matter what it is.
The vet was holding it and I asked to see it, reaching for it....he seemed taken aback when I just picked it up with my bare hands. I met his eyes and said, "He's my dog." (meaning that whatever had come out couldn't be that bad...I wouldn't bare-hand anyone else's dog's poo/whatever....probably....) When I subsequently asked if I could use his sink, he laughed and said, "of course".
It turned out to be a small piece of Nylabone dental chew that Baffle was obviously too strong a chewer for even at such a young age. His stomach acid had turned the dark blue to green (I saw the core of blue when I picked it up and investigated it).
I do feel compelled to say that I wouldn't have picked up that worm with my bare hands.
POPTOP (10-26-2016)
I'm really not too, too squeamish but the day one of the cats deposited some tape worms on the living room rug and they were alive and moving and looking SO much like long grain white rice, well that day my stomach gave a little lurch. She didn't poop on the rug either, the tapeworms just made a voluntary exit. There, did that make it worse?
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MontananDakota (10-27-2016), POPTOP (10-26-2016), SunDance (10-26-2016)
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