What Are the Symptoms of a Dog With Tapeworms?
There are not many obvious symptoms of tapeworm infestation in either puppies or adult dogs.
Typically, you may notice your dog licking or biting at his anus or scooting along the ground due to an itching sensation. This occurs as the proglottid segments break away from the adult tapeworm in the intestine and migrate through the anal opening.
When that happens, you may see what looks like a small piece of rice around your dog’s anus or in their poop. You may also notice anal irritation if your dog is scooting excessively.
Your dog might experience weight loss if he is heavily infected, and on occasion, dogs with heavy adult parasite burdens have vomited whole tapeworms that were dislodged during the act of vomiting.
Are There Home Remedies for Tapeworms in Dogs?
While finding a remedy for tapeworms without going to vet might be tempting, there are no proven home remedy solutions. Dewormers are inexpensive and offer proven treatment for tapeworms in dogs.
The “home” remedies that people claim to be effective in treating and preventing tapeworm infestation include:
Garlic and apple cider vinegar have been touted as natural preventatives that make the normal gut environment “inhospitable” for the immature larvae.
Pumpkin seeds and coarsely chopped carrots allegedly “treat” tapeworm infestation by physically debriding the attached worms from the lining of the intestine, causing them to pass through the digestive tract and exit with the feces.
Turmeric has been touted as a gut anti-inflammatory that supposedly promotes gut healing following tapeworm infestation.
Consult with your veterinarian before attempting to treat your dog with any over-the-counter treatments or home remedies.
How do dogs get tapeworms?
Unlike other intestinal parasites, dogs cannot become infected by eating fertilized tapeworm eggs.
Tapeworms must first pass through an intermediate host (a flea) before they can infect a dog.
When the tapeworm eggs are released into the environment, they must be ingested by flea larvae, an immature stage of the flea. Once inside the larval flea, the tapeworm egg continues to develop as the flea matures into an adult flea.
During grooming, or in response to a flea bite, a dog inadvertently ingests the tapeworm infected flea. As the flea is digested in the dog’s intestine, the tapeworm egg is released, it hatches, and then anchors itself to the intestinal lining, therefore completing the life cycle.