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If you are seeing maggot like objects crawling round round your dog or cat’s anal area these would most likely be tape worm segments.
These are not directly transmissible dog to dog but are spread via the dog or cat flea and via rodents in the case of the cat. They are about the size of a grain of rice and you can often see them slowly move in an undulating fashion. Bear in mind though that It is possible that what you are seeing actually are maggots, theses can be mistaken for tape worm segments and this can happen where an animal’s hind end is stained with urine or faeces or wounds are present in the area.
1. If you are dealing with tapeworms then this is no cause for concern and actually will normally not cause your dog any great harm. This can be treated with tablets which your vet can supply or you can get them over the counter from a good pet store. If you are in the USA try something like Tradewinds which is now an over the counter product and is the same as Droncit which before you could only get from the vet, it contains Praziquantel. I have prescribed loads of Droncit over the last twenty eight years and found it to be safe and effective. Tape worm treatment will be different from regular round worm treatment which you can also pick up at your vet or pet store.
2. Make sure your dog or cat is free from fleas as they can be part of the tape worm life cycle.
3. Where you think you have a tapeworm problem it would be good practice to worm your dogs regularly against both tape and round worms with a good quality wormer.
4. Dog and cat tapeworms are very rarely a risk to people.
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