Tapeworm in puppies is very common and a lot of puppy parents talk about it but dont know much about it.
If you are reading this, that means you suspect your puppy has tapeworms, your puppy has tapeworms and you want to help him/her, or you just want to know about it. Either way, I would be providing all the information you need.
As someone whose dogs have given birth a couple of times, I now see worms as a normal thing compared to the first time my puppies had worms and I panicked.
I got a lot of advice from the Reddit and Facebook dog groups I belong to when I had my first case of tapeworms in puppies while also seeing the vet and I would be sharing everything with you.
What are tapeworms in puppies?
Tapeworms are ribbon-like flatworm parasites that live in your puppy’s small intestines.
There are several species of tapeworm but the ones that are most common in puppies are Dipylidium caninum and the Taenia species.
Tapeworms also affect other animals like cats, mice, birds, rabbits, and even humans.
Unlike other common intestinal parasites like hookworms and roundworms, tapeworms belong to a different family called cestode.
The head of the tapeworm is called the scolex or holdfast, the scolex has hooks and suckers that anchor the tapeworm to your puppy’s small intestine.
Something that might fascinate you to know is that tapeworms don’t have mouths and digestive systems and you might be asking “Then how do they absorb nutrients?”.
Tapeworms absorb nutrients through their body segments which are also called proglottids, their body segments are linked together like a chain, and new segments are continuously grown and added at their necks.
Adult tapeworms continue to add segments throughout their lifetime and could sometimes grow up to 16 to 30 feet which could be horrifying.
As adult tapeworms mature, their proglottids break off from their main body and are passed out in your pup’s feces.
If you see things that look like grains of rice or cucumber seeds about 4 mm wide and 13mm long moving in your puppy’s poop, those are proglottids. They can also be seen moving on the hairs around your pup’s anus.
The proglottids carry fertilized eggs and when they dry up and become golden-colored, they break open and release the fertilized eggs into the environment.
One proglottid can have up to 20 tapeworm eggs in it.
Symptoms of tapeworm in puppies
There are no obvious signs or symptoms of tapeworm in puppies until you see some of the proglottids we talked about, in their poop or the hair around their anus.
However, if your puppy has flea tapeworm, he/she may develop an itchy bottom which may cause them to rub or scoot along the ground.
But scooting is also a sign of other diseases, so I would advise that if you notice scooting, you should see your vet and not assume it is a tapeworm.
How puppies get tapeworms
Puppies cannot get tapeworm by ingesting tapeworm eggs and the two main types of tapeworms that affect puppies which are flea tapeworm and hydatid tapeworm have different modes of transmission which we would be looking at.
How puppies get flea tapeworms
When flea larvae ingest tapeworm eggs, the tapeworm egg develops as the flea larvae become an adult fleas, then if the infected flee is swallowed by your puppy when it licks its fur or during grooming, the tapeworm in the flea would infect your puppy.
How puppies get hydatid tapeworms
When grazing animals like sheep, cows, goats or rodents ingest hydatid tapeworm eggs from contaminated grass while grazing, they develop hydatid cysts in their organs, and if your puppy eats raw organs which contain the hydatid cyst they would get infected.
This is common in puppies that stay on the farm or puppies that are fed a raw diet.
The life cycle of tapeworm in puppies
The life cycle of flea tapeworm in puppies
When a puppy swallows a flea that has ingested tapeworm eggs, it becomes infected with tapeworm larvae. The larvae grow into adult tapeworms in your puppy’s intestine and its proglottids which contain eggs are passed through poop, a flea ingests the eggs and the cycle continues.
The life cycle of hydatid tapeworms in puppies
When grazing animals like sheep, goat, and cows eat grass or rodents that are contaminated with hydatid tapeworm eggs would develop hydatid cysts in their organs and when a puppy eats their organs raw, the puppy would be infected with tapeworms.
When the infected puppy poops and it contains proglottids, grazing animals would ingest it while grazing and the cycle continues.
Diagnosis of tapeworm in puppies
The proglottids of tapeworms would be present in your puppy’s poop. In case you have not been following proglottids are segments of the tapeworms body that comes out with poop.
Proglottids look like grains of rice or cucumber seeds about 4 mm wide and 13mm long moving in your puppy’s poop. They can also be seen moving on the hairs around your pup’s anus.
Treatment of tapeworm in puppies
Tapeworm treatment is not complex and it is effective. Parasiticides are used to kill tapeworms and they could be informed of tablets or injections, so your vet would choose which one is best for your puppy and administer it.
You may be expecting to see tapeworms in your puppy’s poop after deworming but that is not how the drugs work, they cause the tapeworms to be digested in the intestines.
The drugs are safe and should not cause any side effects because my puppy does not get any side effects and other puppy parents say their puppies don’t experience side effects.
You should know that the variety of products available for treating tapeworm in puppies would not all be equally effective. Though praziquantel tablets are the most common drug for tapeworm in puppies, various brands make it.
I recommend you consult your vet, so he/she would prescribe the dewormer that best suits your puppy.
Natural remedies for tapeworm in puppies
Diatomaceous earth (food grade) for tapeworm in puppies
Diatomaceous earth is made of single-celled honeycomb-structured algae organisms with silicon exoskeletons called diatoms.
it is basically a type of algae mineral that is rich in silica.
It kills tapeworms and some other worms in your puppy.
You should always ensure that the diatomaceous earth you are going to use for your puppy is food grade.
Dosage: ½ a teaspoon for 20lbs of body weight, give it to your pup for 7 days, stop for 7 days, and repeat.
You can mix it in water.
Pumpkin seeds for tapeworm in puppies
Studies have shown that pumpkin seed is an effective natural dewormer. Make sure you use unsalted pumpkin seeds.
Dosage: ¼ of a teaspoon or 2 or 3 seeds ground up well for 10 lbs of body weight. Give it to your puppy once a day for 21 days.
Prevention of tapeworm in puppies
As a puppy parent, you should learn how to control fleas in your environment because it is very important for the management and control of flea tapeworms in puppies.
Flea tapeworms could infect your puppy again in as little as two weeks if your environment is infested with fleas.
When puppies are reinfected with tapeworms, puppy parents would think the dewormer was not effective and it did not kill all the tapeworms but tapeworm medications are very effective, so it is likely to be a reinfection from the environment.
You should also stop your puppy from scavenging because they can be infected with hydatid tapeworms and if you put your puppy on a raw food diet, you should make sure the meats are safe and clean.
Your puppy should be dewormed at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks with a deworming medication, you should consult your vet, so he/she can tell you the dewormer that is best for your puppy and how to use it.
When your puppy is 8 weeks old, your vet would guide you on how your puppy should be dewormed routinely every 2 to 3 weeks until they reach 6 months of age.
FAQs about tapeworm in puppies
Can humans get tapeworms from puppies?
Technically, yes they can. Flea tapeworms cannot be gotten directly from your dog but if you swallow an infected flea you would get it.
Although flea tapeworms are the most common tapeworms, they are not the only tapeworms that infect puppies.
Another less common type of tapeworm is the hydatid tapeworm also called Echinococcus and these are dangerous to humans.
Hydatid tapeworms cause serious diseases when they are in the human body and it is harder to diagnose because their proglottids are very small and not easily seen.
Hydatid tapeworms are common in puppies on the farm or puppies on a raw diet, farmers are more at risk to contract these tapeworms.
Hydatid tapeworms can result in cysts being formed in the liver and other organs of other humans that is why it is mostly called hydatid cyst disease, it can also be called hydatidosis or hydatid disease.
Are tapeworms common in puppies?
Yes, tapeworms are common in puppies but that does not mean you should not treat them.
What happens if puppies go untreated in puppies?
Tapeworms could cause anemia, intestinal blockage, and discomfort in your puppy, so I advise that once you notice your puppy has tapeworms, you should commence treatment immediately.
How serious is tapeworm in puppies?
Tapeworms in puppies could be pretty serious because it could lead to anemia, intestinal blockage, and discomfort.
How long does it take a tapeworm to grow in a puppy?
Your puppy ingests tapeworm larvae and it takes about 1 ½ -2 months for the larvae to develop into adults.
Is it hard to get rid of tapeworms in puppies?
No, it is not hard to get rid of tapeworms in puppies. Most drugs are effective and take a few hours to kill all the worms.
How long does it take tapeworm medicine to work in puppies?
It takes about 2 to 6 hours for tapeworm medicine to kill all the worms in puppies.
Important information
I am not a vet, any advice shared in this post is from my personal experience, deep research, advice from puppy parents, and vets in the Reddit and Facebook dog groups that I am a member of.
Some puppies die yearly because of tapeworms due to the ignorance of their owners, please share this post with groups or people that may need it, you could just save a puppy’s life without knowing.
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