Whipworms :-/

[Sharae & Winston]

Winston had some terrible blowout diarrhea last night so we took in a fecal sample to the vet this morning. We just found out he has whipworms.

The vet tech said its one of the hardest kind of worms to get rid of because dogs tend to reinfect themselves or go to the same area where they were infected in the first place. He is being treated starting Wednesday with 3 days in a row of Panacur, and then must be treated for another 3 days 3 weeks later, and then again in 3 months. 

He has had tapeworms before but the treatment for that was pretty straight forward with a high success rate. Does anyone have experience with this particular worm? I am scared we will never be able to get rid of it and I feel bad that my poor boy keeps getting sick :(

I forgot to mention this in my original post- He is scheduled to get neutered on next Monday, the 8th. They have reassured me that this is still safe and him having the whipworms will not have any effect on anything, but I still worry. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yep, just had this at my house with two fosters. Intense, isn't it?!

Here is how I handled the situation. Mind you, I could come up with no other ideas, these pups were not potty trained yet, and I certainly did not want to infect my yard, my dog, and my elderly cats ( later finding out, cats do not get these worms)

And yes, both pups were spayed with no issues during the course of Panacur. I was very concerned about their surgeries and recovery also as one dog was emaciated by the worms.  They were spayed just two days after diagnosis.  They really did so good

Do make sure, you follow the medication; do not skip the three weeks, 3 month followups.

So, anyway, I kept them crated.  Used the garage or cement floor only, covered with potty pads, newspaper underneath those.

In 8 days, I went through 5.5 gallons of bleach.

Use a 10:1 mixture. Heck, sometimes I poured it pure!  

I really kept the potty area completely covered with pads.  I gloved my hands and had a separate trash container.

Each day, I would mop the floor area out with bleach, even though I had cleaned up individual areas with bleach with each BM.

Others may tell you to use paper plates but I found this was impossible as parasites cause unpredictable and explosive episodes. I also had two dogs at once and I was too busy to chase one, while the other was pooing behind me somewhere. Truly it was a joke sometimes.

Hard on you and certainly a potty trained dog would be stressed by this.

I also read, if you can, use a non -porous floor that gets sunlight. My garage floor does not.  But, that was the best i could do

If you do have a yard, you may have to take off several inches of topsoil and replace it with new :(

So, my advice, get those horribly expensive pads, bleach, gloves, bag each time, and be vigilant.

Question: does your dog eat poop?   His own, rabbits, horses, whatever?  Been to dog parks?  

Whipworms are a very tough parasite to get rid of. Be vigilant. If I can do it, so can you.

The good news~  After 48 hours of medicine things really do slow down and is much more easy to handle.  A week later, the stools were negative.  The Panacur really seemed to work!   They responded to the meds very well. Tummies were better, and the pups were already crate trained.  So, it should be getting better for you in just a few days.

I'm sorry

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

If you do crate ( recommended) sleep by the pup. They are so very thirsty. Really, these worms will ravish them.  I slept on the couch and had to get up every hour.

Don't withhold water or food to make this easier.   They need all they can get!  You will miss some sleep, but they need you right now.

I had to take a few days vacation to get through this but to see them better~ all worth it in just a few days.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Joanne, This just shows what an amazing person you are....doing all this for your foster dogs.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thank you, Laurie.  To see them get so much better and trust me. To see them giggle. But, geesh, I feel for this woman because it was a lot to go through. 

It really does end, in just a few days.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Sharae, I guess this too shall pass and Joanne has given you great tips and advice. Now, with that said, I sure wish you didn't have to go through all this with your dog. Good luck!

Joanne, Well, I applaud you for dealing with far more than most of even know about when you take on foster dogs. Thank you!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

I totally agree Laurie!  

[F, Calla & Luca]

True, true.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Wow Joanne, you are an amazing dedicated Doodle Mom.  How lucky those foster Doodles are to have you and I am sorry you had to go through so much, but definitely shows what a very good person you are.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh and get wipes. Wipe the paws, the bottom, the paws again.  Just keep everything clean. Clean out that crate hourly.

It took two of us to do two dogs. One would be in the garage with them, the other inside wiping down crates.

Only let your pup play for 10 minutes each hour. Then recrate. As this excitement causes more poo.

So, all those supplies, lots of water, food, exercise....    You will get there.

For some reason, I smell that poo right now!  UGH

Throw out all toys that can not be cleaned.  I used Kongs and rubber balls ( that could be bleached) to keep them busy in their crates.

Sorry, I really had to pitch toys but your dog will be so happy with all the new ones

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In addition to Joanne's excellent advice, it's extremely important that you do not allow him to drink any standing water outdoors. A lot of dogs keep reinfecting themselves by drinking from puddles, gutter pans, planters or other containers in the yard, trenches around planting beds, anywhere there may be standing water. It's very important that he be supervised outdoors to be sure he is not ingesting anything that might be contaminated. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Yes. No more unsupervised trips outdoors! Ever.  Dogs really can get into trouble outdoors, alone. Even with a fence, I keep an eye out on dogs.

Good Advice, Karen

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Since this is occurring AND you had tapeworms, you may want to see about a monthly flea preventative and certainly HeartGuard, even if you do not have mosquitoes in your area.  Heartguard is used for more than just Heart Worms.