Puppy With Tapeworm?? Possibly?

It sounds like tapeworm segments in the bed, and in the poop.

For a person to become infected with Dipylidium,( canine tapeworm) he or she must accidentally swallow an infected flea. Most reported cases involve children. The risk of infection with this tapeworm in humans is low. The most effective way to prevent infections in pets and humans is through flea control. A child who is infected will usually pass proglottids (or what appears as rice) in a bowel movement or find them stuck to the skin around the anal area.

More about tapeworm here:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/dipylidium...

Yes, your puppy definitely has tapeworms. Be sure to tell your vet because if she is being treated for roundworms, for example, the medicine won't kill tapeworms, too. The white wiggly things in her poop are tapeworm segments. They are egg sacs. Often, some will get stuck in the dog's butt area hair and dry out into the hard, rice-like things you've seen, and fall off the hair later where the dog sleeps. I don't think you have to worry about getting tapeworms from your dog. You would have to eat the segments or swallow fleas and even then I'm not sure if dog tapeworm can infect humans. Most worms are species-specific. Sorry but I don't remember if tapeworms are species-specific (infecting one type of animal only). You could put an old sheet or towel on your bed for her to sleep on and then wash it every day. Tapeworms are spread by fleas. You may have to treat your lawn and flea bomb your home as well as getting the fleas off your dog to prevent re-infection.

Yes,if they are rice shaped segments,then the dog has tapeworms.I don't understand why your dog is being "treated monthly" for worms.What kind of worms? When a dog has worms,the vet usually worms them once and then again in a few weeks,unless it's whipworms,which are treated by giving the dog medication for three days. Tapeworms are spread by fleas and the dog will need a medication containing praziquantal to get rid of them,and will also need to be treated for fleas,or he will just get them again.But what medication is the dog getting monthly and for what type of worms? I'm quite curious. Do you mean a monthly heartworm preventative? I hope so. This will not kill tapeworms. You'll have to call your vet.

And no,you will not get worms unless you swallow a flea carrying tapeworm eggs.

Edit: I see the thumbs down fairies are out!

Yes, those are the tapeworms and yes, those are the eggs and also, yes, humans can get tapeworms. It's much more damaging to our body than to dogs. You need to treat for the tapes and keep her flea free. It will do no good to treat for the worms, but let her continue to have fleas.

Maybe the thumbs downers don't know anything about tapeworms or they've got nothing better to do.

The worms coming out are tapes. They dry up with eggs in them, therefore they become egg capsules. The fleas eat the egg capsules and the dog eats the flea. The eggs hatch out and voila! the dog has tapes. It's a never ending cycle if the fleas are not eliminated. A human CAN get tapes and it makes a person VERY sick, unlike dogs. If this person is sleeping with a flea ridden dog who has tapes, this person can get tapes. Do you know how many tiny critters can end up being swallowed while we're sleeping? A flea can easily end up in your mouth and down your throat, then you'll have tapes too. Find something better to do than td people who know what they're talking.

It's a tape worm. You are getting a lot of incorrect answers, but Leslie's answer is 100% correct. Tapeworm segments start out as small, wrigly white worms, they dry up and resemble grains of rice. OTC or monthly meds do not get rid of them, you have to get a certain wormer from the vet.

The only way to get a tapeworm is to ingest fleas.....you cannot get tapeworm simply by allowing your dog to sleep in your bed, so althoug it's gross, if you just have decent hygiene, you aren't going to get worms.

Here's all you need to know:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_tapeworm.html

Well, yes those do sound like tapeworms to me.

And yes, they can very well be passed on to people fron either contact with her fieces, fleas, or just not washing your hands after playing with the dog...esp. if it sleeps in your bed.

Make sure you get the fleas under control (frontline plus is awesome). Because they are the carriers of tapeworm eggs, it doesn't matter how many times your dog will get dewormed, if it still has fleas it will get worms.

So def don't let your dog sleep on your bed, and ALWAYS wash your hads well after you play with the dog, because ANY kind of worm that your dog has can be passed on to you.

I believe tapeworms are the types of parasites that HAVE to be ingested to cause infection. However, having said that, they do lay eggs like crazy and could've gotten anywhere without you seeing so its definitly possible for a puppy to pass it on to another body (human or animal)

When was she last dewormed...if she had worms and was dewormed..its normal to see the worms in the short while that follows.

The little white things moving the the feces are living worms. The white, grain-like things may be encapsulated eggs of the worms.

You probably will not get the worms because your are a different species and canine worms are not attracted to humans.

tapeworms come from swallowing fleas so if you have a flea problem she can keep reinfecting herself also there is no dewormer that kills all worms OTC products are usually not strong enough either have stool checked to rule out other types of worms and get her on good monthly flea meds like advantage some worms humans can get but if these are in fact tapes they can only be transmitted from swallowing a flea

It sounds more like roundworm to me...If she is being treated monthly, I honestly don't know why she still has them...Or has she only been treated once and is going to be going back?

he usual treatment cycle is they get 1 treatment for "x" amount of days (depends on the meds being used) and then again 10 days later....After that she should be worm free....

Check out an "over the counter" producst called "Worm Away IV" I think it is made by Sargeant's.

Can they pass on to humans....yes....

Good luck