I have been wanting to post a thread for a long time, since there is no real info on Tape Worms on this forum, and when I say I did research, I mean I did hours and hours of research. I want to share because even the most knowledgeable owner may be unaware their husky has this dreaded parasite.

Many people pass over this parasite because of several reasons the biggest "my dog has no fleas", that being said, my girl didn't, however just one stray flea from a playmate, or dog park will give your dog this parasite. There are 2 other ways your dog can get Tape worm, eating/licking/killing rabbits, mice, rats, squirrels it gives a separate tape worm than the flea. The most unaware way, and I learned this from my old vet in Florida (vet schools teach vets never to tell their customers this because of being liable, by calling their customers dirty) cockroaches, yes cockroaches can be infected by the same tape worm as fleas. There are several other types of tape worm not as common here in the states, tape worm from certain raw fish, and another from raw infected livestock such as sheep and swine. The kind from sheep and swine is more prevalent in Australia and New Zealand, I do not know the specifics for the fish and livestock.

Many people pass over parasites in their adult dogs, and for good reason, puppies tend to have worms, adults not so much. The reason being that most parasites lay dormant in adult dogs and only through severe trauma such as having puppies, does an adult dog normally have worms, that's why puppies are dewormed so many times, because it's typically passed on from the mother. Good practice when bringing in a new pet, puppy or rescue is to deworm all pets, regardless if they have worms or not, it's to prevent.

Tape worm is typically the only parasite that adults as well as puppies can get, and can get over and over. Here's the kicker though, it rarely shows up on a stool sample. It will show up on the hair of your pets tail and behind, but unless you look at their butt daily and frequently, again you will never know, unlike other worms where there are many, you'll only see a segment and this will only show after 3-4 weeks after your pet has ingested the infected flea, or whatever. If you miss that segment it may be another month before another will appear.

So how do you know? There are many myths about Tape worm, one is your pet will always be hungry, nope not the case. Another is they completely stop eating, nope again. Tape worm works in your pets belly and digestive tract and lives and grows by robbing your pets nutrients from the food they eat. So in reality your pet will slow down on eating, may eat like normal one day and then go several days eating very little. Treats for some reason are happily consumed, not sure why, my guess quick to eat and tend to be higher in calories, they are yummy for a reason. Some days they will have energy, but really they are at half speed, and you'll think "oh it's the heat" when it cools off energy and appetite will come back. Other signs show up, once the parasite has a good foot hold, scooting across a rug or yard, having to go poo but has a hard time and then other days goes all day. Constant licking, you may think UTI or anal glands need to be expressed. Sleeping more than usual, docile demeanor are other symptoms.

How to treat.......I am no vet or vet tech, however, as I stated earlier, poop samples tend to show up negative for Tape Worm. Most dewormers are effective for most common puppy worms and the flea tape worm, with the most common panacur used, however, if your pet has severe Tape Worm or has the second type of Tape Worm, panacur will not work. Most vets now recommend a broad spectrum dewormer that includes this very important ingredient....praziquantel, here in the U.S. you do not have to go to your vet to get, they will charge you a lot as in for me $22 for one pill, which in the end I needed another round to get rid of completely. Sentry hc worm x plus is cheaper and can get on line or at pet stores, I'm sure there are other brands you can buy and are way less money than what your vet will charge you.

A few things I want to mention and one being the most important, deworming your pet will not harm them even if they don't have worms, I truly was concerned, although I personally switched to Iverheart Max, which includes everything Heartguard has plus praziquantel, yes I use it as a preventive. I read a roundtable discussion called "Tapeworms: Overlooked, Underdiagnosed, and Undertreated" with leading vets schools across the country, Oklahoma State University, Auburn University, Purdue University, Cornell University, as well as a leading vet from Houston, Tx and all agreed that since we happily give our pets a monthly preventive for heartworm, giving a monthly preventive and more importantly the use of praziquantel in the treatment and prevention of Tape Worm is key and safe.

I hope I can solve your riddle of why is my dog not eating that much lately. It's not necessarily because your dog is a picky eater, or wants something else, it could be they have Tape Worm. Feel free to ask questions, I'll try to help. And if you have more to add please share.

Renee

It is so much fun when the tapeworms start scooting across your floor like you said. I adopted two cats who came with tapeworms and when I saw worms crawling in their bed, I freaked out. Good to know Iverheart Max prevents in dogs as I don't want to see that again. I vaguely remember (13 or so years ago) my cats having 2-3 treatments as my vet indicated that they can be hard to get rid of at times. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for reading Jessica. I have seen too many times here on why members adult dogs are not eating a lot, we battled this problem for quite awhile with Miya. I have dealt with this many times with cats however, and they are a menace.

After treating what should a person look for? Rice-like poop? Or will the worm go ahead and pass whole as other types do when treated so a person can definitely tell that they were dealing with a tape worm.

I think this is great info. It's hard to think about our furbabies having parasites. I know I get the old "where would she have picked up a parasite? You hardly let her touch the ground without you standing over her watching her every move." This a dear adage I hear often from my dad when I'm fretting over most anything where Kenzi is involved. But the truth is even if I am watching her every move, I don't know what bug just jumped out of that grass she just laid down in, or what organism was in the dirt she just walked through right before she chewed on her toe. Or what Keno rolled in before she ran up and chomped down on the scruff of his neck. Our dogs all live in this world, and this world is full of parasites they could pick up.

They can pick it up in a blink of an eye. As far as what to look for, with tape only the alive worm you may see. After the tape is killed off it will typically be undetected, reabsorbed. Word to the squeamish, with Miya she had it severely, the segment we seen was 2-3 inches long and alive, that means that it was 2-3 feet long inside of her. 3-4 weeks after getting tape if you look close you will see a worm about the size of a single piece of rice, as the worm progresses so will the shed, typically every 3-4 weeks. Dogs make it much harder to detect than cats, cats are small, segments produce much faster. With dogs they may not loose weight, or very little weight, but more importantly make it very difficult to gain weight. We never did see any dead worm segments.

I do recommend that after 2 doses and about a week to clear out of system, to then investigate on picky eater and/or blockage. It did take 2 doses, and the week, before her appetite came back, in fact I thought Miya's one day a week fast was normal for her, not true, she hasn't had a day of fasting in over a month.

FWIW......I will add that I thought Miya was a picky eater. I switched foods, hand fed, went raw, did tough love, put toppers on her food, everything right and wrong that I have read to deal with picky eaters. In the end we saw the worm and and treated her. I will whole heartily agree with huskymom09, in that huskies are good eaters, if your husky is not eating right, especially all of a sudden, please rule out parasites.