Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have a 1 year old Australian Shepherd and have just added a 6 week old Boxer mix to our family. The puppy has flat white worms in his poop. I am looking for a natural remedy for the puppy and am also concerned about my Shepherd contracting them.

Should I be concerned about other worms that perhaps I can't see such as heartworms?

I'd appreciate your recommendations. Are there remedies I can make myself for various worms (someone mentioned high grade diametaceous earth) or a natural pre-made treatment I can purchase?

Any other suggestions for the natural care of a 6-week old? We got our shepherd at 12 weeks (you helped us then with vaccine questions) so this is new territory.

Thank you!

Your puppy has tapeworms. Tapeworms are transmitted by fleas, so check the puppy for fleas. If you find fleas, treat both dogs, and your house, for fleas as well as tapeworms. If there are no fleas, you only need to treat the puppy for tapeworms alone. A natural treatment is male fern, either as a homeopathic preparation or as an extract. If your dog has not been to a vet, or you can't find male fern, have a vet worm your dog with Panacur, which will eliminate all intestinal worms.

how long does tapeworm medicine usually take to be effective. I found some tapeworm segments last night and gave her the medicine today. When will it be ok for me to let her up on the bed again?? (I know its not transferable to humans through the segments... but its still gross!)

The worms are usually killed within a day and the segments disintegrate, so you should not even see dead worms.