Diatomaceous Earth and pregnant GSD bitches - Page 2

We have been using Food Grade "DE" on all my dogs in the kennel for years...have never had a problem with any of the dogs including any having puppies...We still use "Pyran 50" on all puppies beginning at 2 weeks of age and then every 2 weeks...including the mother...
I feed 1 teaspoon of "DE" in the dog's kibble/water everyday...
Puppies will still get worms no matter what...this is why we also use "Pyran 50"...Although sometimes the puppies will have worms and sometimes they won't...which always surprises me...


~Bob~

I use a heaping tablespoon of DE per adult per day. I also worm puppies from 2 weeks on with Nemex-2. I would expect to have a dead pup from time to time......I chalk that up to life. I like the way my dogs look and feel.....
Jill

Sounds good ~ Thank you to everyone that contributed. We will re-evaluate how much DE we should be feeding per day, and will also consider the Nemex-2 for our pups. I agree with JillSue... we like the way our dogs look and feel. Maybe we were lucky not having too many casualties with the small amount of litters that we have had over the years. Have a great winter everyone!

Nemex 2 has not been working too well for a while now...resistance. I've had pups brought to me LOADED with worms having been dewormed w/Nemex. And I mean LOADED- like to the point of majorly stunted growth and the breeder didn't realize it. I use fenbendazole 3 day treatments as my staple puppy dewormer.

I would not suspect the DE had a darn thing to do with the dead pups, especially in the quantity you were using (underdosing).

FF please google - roundworms encysted -to get a better understanding of how pups can have worms when dams appear not to be infected. Immature roundworms can encyst thru out the body. The pregnancy reactivates them, they pass the placenta barrier and walla puppies with worms. There are other ways for them to be infected but this is probably the most common.

A question for all the users of DE. Granted probably safer than many chemicals but why use on an ongoing basis? You will teach the organisms to adapt - that is the way of nature. Why not treat only when you have a problem? I have not had serious problems with either worms or fleas in ages. Very occasionally the dogs will be exposed to fleas and tapes either in a public venue or at someone elses property who has cats, boards dogs or has dogs who hunt and eat vermin - or all three. I will then treat. Can not tell you the last time I had to treat for roundworms or whips. And note I do not use any of the current panoply of flea, tick and worm medicines that systemically poisons the whole dog and to which fleas et al have now become resistant.

In cattle, goats, sheep and horses it is not unusual to see good breeders choosing for natural resistance to worms, flys etc.. If you are constantly dosing your animals 1. you do not know if you have a problem or not 2. You do not know the extent of the problem and 3. you can not observe natural immunity or the lack thereof.

DE is made from Diatoms from the ocean...they are the skeletal remains and when ground up and cooked they have razor sharp edges, that in theory, shred parasites to peaces killing them over time. Roundworms have VERY thick skin and take the most time and effort to kill.....the general consensus is that because it is what? A mineral? That parasites can not build resistance to it the way they can with traditional dewormers.

There is a caveot to using DE however. It does not go past the gut. I'm not sure if parasites can scatter in dogs or animals (they can in humans), but they aren't going to stick around and be shredded if they have to, so they may seek "shelter" in other parts of the body until it is safe, hence needing to give it to them everyday for the time that they return to their food source. Something else to consider that vets, and most others don't take into consideration when deworming our pets, is most doses deworming doses do not consider the eggs left behind as the parasite is dying. How can one know for sure that one does of deworming has killed ALL the parasites...so it's also important to keep up on DE to get everything....

It is my opinion that everything has parasites. It's just a matter of keeping on top of the numbers in the body so it does not cause havoc on the gut and body. Mother Nature is very intelligent and the parasites could adapt and grow stronger skin...I would not be surprised. But for now DE works so we continue to use it.

Bronco,excellent explanation.I am only using DE for few weeks now but I already see difference on my dogs.The good thig is you can never overdose,but you can underdose according to the articles I red .

Food Grade "DE" can and is used on people as well...You can put some in a glass of water of other liquid or foods and eat it...It does have a bit of a taste...

I found it can be very dehydrating. It can cause colic in horses and that can be fatal. I used it on my dogs for over a year with no difference; good or bad.
Read up on it and used it on myself thinking it sounded great for all kinds of healthy gains and ended up the most constipated I have ever been. I was taking only 1 tbs a day for a week. It was not pretty and I stopped using it all together on me or my dogs.
Fenbendazole, toltrazuril and pyrantel all work well for my parasite issues.

Thank you everyone!
We appreciate all of your responses. We will continue to read up on the worming issues, and also think about all that was discussed here.