Anyone have ideas on tapeworm prevention - Page 1

Buy Praziquantel as a fish med.  It's the same thing as Droncit (the official dog tapeworm med) but when you buy it marketed for fish it's much less expensive and you don't need a prescription. 

The tapeworm cycle begins with the flea larvae eating fecal matter that contains tapeworm eggs. The eggs hatch inside the flea and become cysticercoids. A dog may then swallow a flea that contains these cysticercoids while chewing or biting at an itchy area on it's skin. Once the flea passes into the dog's intestine the flea is broken down and the cysticercoids develop into an adult tapeworm. The tapeworm attaches itself to the lining of the intestine and feeds off the nutrients. As the tapeworm matures the tail segments drops off. These segments are mobile. Each segment contains the eggs of the tapeworm. The egg packets are passed in the feces of the dog. The eggs are then ingested by the flea larvae The most common areas that tapeworm eggs are found are in the dog's bedding and in your carpet. Dogs can also acquire tapeworms by eating infected rodents or lizards. http://www.dogchatforum.com/get_rid_of_fleas.htm

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/23512.htm The Merck manual mentions that eating raw is one of the causes...

Squirrels and outdoor cats spread fleas, as they hop from yard to yard.  There have been reports of fleas in some areas being resistant to Frontline and other products.
 You should check if Trifexis is one of them. Has your vet noticed any resistance in his/her other clients? Possibly the fleas are resistant to your professional's treatment?

I have a too much yard for natural stuff to work, but some people, even in infested S. FL have had Diatomaceous Earth (DE) and Nematodes do a good job.
You can also use DE inside your house.

Eating non-human grade meat from animals such as wild kill or road kill will give your dogs tapes, but it doesn't seem likely your dogs are doing that from your description.

Buy the fish meds. They are cheaper and work.

Eating FLEAS is a cause, not eating raw. I guess if you're creative, you can spin that into saying raw food is bad, though.

I think overuse of all kinds of preventatives is a big contributor. All we do is make things stronger, the more we try to eliminate every little pest, bacteria, virus, etc.

I agree with Jenni and would also try Diatomaceous Earth for your dogs. Do you add a toe of garlic once a week into the food? It's not a 100% worm killer, but it makes your dog's intestinal environment more unfriendly for worms...

Valbazen..............

Thank you all for your suggestions.  I will definitely try DE and where can I purchase Praziquantel (as in what kind of store since I have never heard of it before) if the need arises again.

I do believe the culprits are the rabbits, squirrels, and dozens of half feral cats in the area.  My dogs eat Flint River Ranch Trout and Sweet Potato, no raw.  Not that some day I may not go to raw, just don't have the time to get started (I have friends who feed raw and say the initial fixing raw/getting ingredients/learning a routine is the hardest part).

I'm pro raw, but dogs can definitley get tapes from wild kill, like rabbits. Some people have killed rabbits in their garden etc and then fed to their dogs.

You can find the fish Praziquantel online, like Amazon and probably Ebay. They might also have it at Petsmart, etc, although I've not looked for it there.
I've bought metronidazole online, marketed as Fish-zole for Giardia treatment for my dogs. Same idea. Cheap meds but the same ingredients as the Rx.
Just makes sure that the medicine is the only ingredient.