Hi Littlebird, and others; Here's a pretty informative site on dog tapeworm, and lots of other veterinary stuff.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_tapeworm.html Basically, dog tapeworm requires an intermediate host, which is the flea. No fleas, no more tapeworm infestations; Of course they don't have to be "your" dog's or cat's fleas, anyone's fleas will do - the neighbor's the mouses or fox's or cat's, whatever. The dog nips the flea because the flea nipped the dog. Once the flea is swallowed It's digested, and the microscopic larvae of the tapeworm are released from it. The larva hooks into the intestinal wall of the dog and absorbs nutrition from the dog, and from the surrounding food passing through the dog's digestive system. As the tapeworm grows, it forms segments behind the part that hooked - anchored itself - to the intestinal wall; the head and neck, as it were. These segments eventually form a ribbon or tape up to 6 inches or more, (sometimes Lots more) just floating in all that digesting dog-food. Eventually the segment at the end breaks loose and out it comes, looks like a grain of rice except it can wiggle some. It's just Full of tapeworm eggs. It dries and breaks apart and flea larvae find the eggs and eat them, and when they become adult fleas and look for a good blood meal on a dog - Bingo! the cycle repeats. Tapeworm meds are a little rough on the dog, not dangerous if the dosage is right but often a vet will want to keep the animal overnight. And it isn't just a matter of seeing the segments that come out, the medication is more than a cathartic, it's tapeworm poison to get the head. Most of the stuff at the pet aisle at the grocery-store is worthless, it just torques off a bunch of segments but leaves the head in place. It takes lots more than intestinal upset to get rid of that. Successful medication gets rid of That infestation, but the next time there's a flea with tapeworm larvae in it and a yen for a hot meal - nippity-nip. Well, the cycle takes about three weeks to complete and the infestation can last for months, years, gradually cheating the dog of all the nutrition it can absorb as it grows longer and longer. All the segments can detach, but as long as the head remains hooked into the intestinal wall of the dog and food keeps going through the intestine, . . . After, that's what parasitism is, right? Dogs, cats, coyotes, people, mice, horses, All trade fleas; fleas don't care - sure they have their preferences but they just want a bite to eat now and then. Ever watch a cat scratching? Flicking fleas, as it were?? That's why fleas are called called a cosmopolitan vector. Just to emphasize some points; yes by all means find a vet that knows what he or she is talking about; try an ag extension service or a university with a school of veterinary medicine. Yes, the tapeworm eggs are formed within the tapeworm segments within the dog. What you've seen "expelled" are almost certainly not the whole tapeworm. They're the segments, perhaps a bunch of them still joined together, and the head is still in there hooked to the wall of the gut. The stuff that gets the tapeworm head is usually not available at the drug store or the feed store or the grocery. Roundworms - ascarids - are easy; tapeworms are not easy. The medications that kill tapeworms are not to fool around with; they're not dangerous if they're properly done though. They are often given by injection. People Can get dog tapeworm, kids particularly, being closer to the ground. It's not common, but it's not rare (or it wasn't many years ago.) Take care, Malcolm On Mon, 2009-06-29 at 22:04 +0000, lampley lane wrote: > I guess all the vets I've had are wrong then. All mine have said > there's no need to worm for tape worms. There aren't many wormers > that kill them, if any, tho I haven't looked for it for yrs cause when > the fleas are gone my dogs expell the tapeworms. I've seen them. The > one's that claim to do anything, say they help expell them. I have > used those to help get rid of them faster. Well, I will check into > this more definately. > LB > > ______________________________________________________________________ > From: Dee Fitzpatrick > Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 1:41 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: CS>15 drops of SC will deworm ... > > I don't think a tape worm can be expelled by just killing fleas Little > Bird. I think they will live and grow as long as there is food for > them. Also, I believe dogs can pick up tape worm eggs from infected > grass etc., dee > > -------Original Message------- > > From: lampley lane > Date: 06/29/09 19:25:03 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: CS>15 drops of SC will deworm ... > > Thanks Tel, but I am confused about the tape worm. In dogs, and I > believe they are the same tape worms, all you do is keep the fleas off > the dog, and the tape worms will be expelled out. A tape worm is only > ingested by eating a flea. It doesn't make eggs in the dog, so no > fleas, and the tape worms in a dog will die ( altho you can speed up > the process with a wormer) And I've had this work with my dogs for 40 > yrs. Is it different for humans? Blessings, Little Bird > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > > -- The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org To post, address your message to: [email protected] Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
