Deworming Pregnant Females - Page 1

Hello All,

Is it good practice to deworm pregnant bitches? If so what product do most of you breeders use to deworm them that is effective and does feeding raw give tape worms?

It will not harm the pups or the Bitch I use Strongit-T  for Round  and or Hookworms does not work with tapeworms

Tapeworms In Dogs

The most common tapeworm of dogs (and cats) is called Dipylidium caninum. This parasite attaches to the small intestinal wall by hook-like mouthparts.

Adult tapeworms may reach 8 inches (20 cm) in length. The adult worm is actually made up of many small segments about 1/8 inch (3 mm) long. As the tail end of the worm matures, the terminal segments break off and pass into the stool.

Occasionally, the mobile segments can be seen crawling near the anus or on the surface of a fresh bowel movement. These segments look like grains of rice and contain tapeworm eggs; the eggs are released into the environment when the segment dries. The dried segments are small (about 1/16", or 2 mm), hard and golden in color. These dried segments can sometimes be seen stuck to the hair around the dog's anus.

In order for a dog to become infected with the common tapeworm, Dipylidium, the dog must swallow a flea that contains tapeworm eggs.

This process begins when tapeworm eggs are swallowed by flea larvae (an immature stage of the flea). Contact between flea larvae and tapeworm eggs is thought to occur most frequently in contaminated bedding or carpet.

Next, the dog chews or licks its skin as a flea bites; the flea is then swallowed. As the flea is digested within the dog's intestine, the tapeworm hatches and anchors itself to the intestinal lining.

Tapeworms are not highly pathogenic (harmful) to your dog. They may cause debilitation and weight loss when they occur in large numbers. Sometimes, the dog will scoot or drag its anus across the ground or carpet because the segments are irritating to the skin in this area. The adult worm is generally not seen, but the white segments which break away from the tapeworm and pass outside the body rarely fail to get an owner's attention!

Occasionally, a tapeworm will release its attachment in the intestines and move into the stomach. This irritates the stomach, causing the dog to vomit the worm. When this happens, a worm several inches in length will be seen.

An infection with Dipylidium is usually diagnosed when the white, mobile segments are seen crawling on your dog or in the stool. Tapeworms are not usually detected by the routine fecal examination performed by the veterinarian. Because of this, veterinarians depend on the owner to notify them of possible tapeworm infection in the dog.

Treatment is simple and, fortunately, very effective. A drug which kills tapeworms is given, either orally or by injection. It causes the tapeworm to dissolve within the intestines. Since the worm is usually digested before it passes, it is not visible in your dog's stool. These drugs should not cause vomiting, diarrhea, or any other adverse side-effects.

Control of fleas is very important in the management and prevention of tapeworm infection. Flea control involves treatment of your dog, the indoor environment and the outdoor environment where the dog resides.

If the dog lives in a flea-infested environment, reinfection with tapeworms may occur in as little as two weeks. Because the medication which treats tapeworm infection is so effective, return of the tapeworms is almost always due to reinfection from the environment.

Panacur 22.2% granules is also safe for pregnant females 50mg/kg (22.7mg/lb) daily for 3 consecutive days. Removes roundworms,  hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms.

It has been my experience that PREVENTATIVE treatment is better than having to treat for parasites present.
Any wormers, whether they are Panacur, Ivermectin-based(Heartgard) can cause problems with your bitch's unborn pups.  I am aware the packaging and some vets say they are safe, but giving a bitch ANYthing while pregnant is a potential for problems.

It is best to use a good wormer and thoroughly worm a bitch and have a stool check if needed PRIOR to breeding so that she's confirmed clean and ready to get pregnant and carry her litter. Request the SAME from the stud dog if you don't own him at least 2 weeks before breeding. You don't need a wormy stud infesting your freshly bred female!

If you've got a female or dogs on the premises with tapes that you are treating for, proper waste clean-up is a must in order to cut down on the potential for re-infestation as well as treatment.

No diet that I know of causes worms; treatment and consideration of location/premises determines infestation for worms and such.

No raw diet causes tapes however, eating the flesh(etc) of an animal with tapes (such as a wild rabbit) is also another method of transmission

And I agree with the poste who said although packaging says it is safe, it is always a better idea to get wormings  done before the bitch gets pregnant

What type of worms are you trying to rid the female of, you did not say.  You asked multiple questions in the first post, the tapeworm question came in  under a seperate catagory of feeding raw, a whole other questions from the initial question asked.  Are you trying to treat heartworms?  Subsequent posts addressed tapeworms, hookworms and roundworms, but you never CLEARLY addressed what you are wanting to treat and it is ASSUMED that you are wanting to treat tapeworms, though that is not specified.  Best to ensure the female is healthy, before you breed her, as someone stated earlier.

Stephen