Frequent How quickly do tapeworms grow in dogs? Essential Tips

4 different tapeworms- 4 different risks

There are 4 common species of tapeworm you should be aware of:

Dipylidium tapeworm – the most common species which is spread by fleas.

Taenia tapeworm – caught by dogs who scavenge while out walking.

Echinococcus granulosus tapeworm – known as the sheep tapeworm, caught by dogs only.

Echniococcus multilocularis tapeworm – found in the northern hemisphere.1

The incubation period for tapeworms is anywhere between 3-10 weeks from your dog ingesting a tapeworm and starting to pass egg segments – but these eggs aren’t always visible. Humans can be infected by ingestion of eggs from the environment, which causes the formation of cysts in the liver and other organs and can be fatal.

1Adult worms lay eggs in the dog’s small intestine.

2Eggs released into the environment through the dog’s stools.

3These eggs can look like small grains of rice on your dogs rear or in the dogs stool.

4Eggs are ingested by intermediate hosts, such as sheep, cattle, horses and fleas.

5Larvae form in the liver or the lungs of the intermediate host.

6The dog eats carcass containing hydatids and adult worms form in the intestine.

Want to keep reading? Learn more about worms by exploring the articles below.

Would you know what to look out for? Read up on the signs of intestinal worms.

Are tapeworms dangerous for my dog?

Tapeworms do not normally cause serious health problems in adult dogs. Occasionally dogs will drag their bottoms on the ground, a behavior known as scooting, in order to calm irritation associated with the proglottids. Note that scooting can also occur for other reasons such as impacted anal sacs. It is important to have your dog examined by your veterinarian if scooting is noted.

In puppies, heavy tapeworm infestation can be more serious. Lack of growth, anemia, and intestinal blockages can occur.

Clinical diagnosis is usually made by observing the white, mobile tapeworm segments in the feces or crawling around the anus. These segments look like grains of white rice or cucumber seeds. Occasionally segments are seen crawling around the dog’s anus.

Tapeworm segments are only passed intermittently and therefore are often not diagnosed on routine fecal examination. If you find any segments, white or golden color, bring them to your veterinarian for a definitive diagnosis.

Occasionally, the head of the adult tapeworm detaches from the intestinal wall; the entire adult tapeworm will then be passed in the feces, or vomited up if it migrated to the stomach.

With todays deworming medications, treatment is simple and effective. The parasiticide may be given either in the form of tablets or by injection. It causes the parasite to be digested in the intestines so you normally will not see tapeworms passed in the stool. These drugs are very safe and should not cause any side effects.

Clubs Offering:

Tapeworms are an intestinal parasite. Along with roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm, this flat, segmented worm is found in dogs, cats, humans, and many other species around the world. The most common tapeworm species is Dipylidium Caninum. The medical term for a tapeworm infestation is Cestodiasis.

If you’ve ever seen photos of tapeworms, your reaction was probably one of automatic revulsion. (Especially those alarming videos of tapeworms being removed from people. A woman in China had an eight-foot tapeworm taken out of her stomach!) Even though they’re disgusting to look at, it’s important to recognize the signs of parasites, so your dog can be treated before the worms do damage to his body. The good news is that treatment for tapeworms is very effective and simple.

A medical model of an adult tapeworm / Copyright decade3rd-anatomy online

There is a cycle through which dogs get tapeworms:

First, the dog will ingest a host that is harboring tapeworm eggs, most often an adult flea. There are a few ways a dog might ingest a flea, such as self-grooming, or grooming a canine or feline housemate. Other animals that are potential transmitters of eggs include birds, rabbits, or rodents, which even a well-fed dog might scavenge for.

Once digested, the tapeworm eggs settle into your dog’s small intestine. There it will develop into an adult.

The adult tapeworm is made up of lots of small segments, each about the size of a grain of rice, called proglottids. Adult tapeworms usually measure anywhere from four to 28 inches in length.

As the tapeworm matures inside the dog’s gut, these segments break off and end up in the dog’s stool. Since these segments contain tapeworm eggs, the cycle will begin again, with a new host and most likely a new recipient.

How quickly does tapeworm medicine work in dogs?