Worms in house dog on Heartgard Plus

[TXchickmum]

I have a Yorkie that is an indoor dog. He does take daily walks with me. He has been on Heartgard Plus since he was old enough to begin taking it. He is almost six, now. This morning on his walk, he passed a worm (not a tapeworm) in his feces. I was surprised to say the least, as the Heartgard is supposed to prevent heartworms as well as hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms.

We have four backyard hens. I scoop and clean them regularly. -wondering if he could have ingested some of their feces I missed (when he runs out to do his business) and become infected that way. I haven't seen evidence of worms in the flock, but went ahead and wormed the chickens this morning. No signs of worms in their droppings thus far.

Has anybody experienced worms in a dog regularly treated with Heartgard Plus??? I will be contacting the vet Tuesday morning.

 

[Debbie292d]

I have a Yorkie that is an indoor dog. He does take daily walks with me. He has been on Heartgard Plus since he was old enough to begin taking it. He is almost six, now. This morning on his walk, he passed a worm (not a tapeworm) in his feces. I was surprised to say the least, as the Heartgard is supposed to prevent heartworms as well as hookworms, whipworms, and roundworms.

We have four backyard hens. I scoop and clean them regularly. -wondering if he could have ingested some of their feces I missed (when he runs out to do his business) and become infected that way. I haven't seen evidence of worms in the flock, but went ahead and wormed the chickens this morning. No signs of worms in their droppings thus far.

Has anybody experienced worms in a dog regularly treated with Heartgard Plus??? I will be contacting the vet Tuesday morning.

Our border collie was on that and at a vet visit about a year ago, they said she had tapeworms and it was explained Heartgard only kills the most common ones.

They recommended Interceptor Plus and she's been on that ever since.

 

[TXchickmum]

Thanks! I will check into that for sure. This worm was definitely not a tapeworm (as I've had those in chickens about 7 years ago, and know what they look like). -looked like a hookworm. -will ask about the Interceptor Plus!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Worms eventually become resistant to a wormer. So using something else is always a good idea, especially if you are seeing actual worms. I'd run a fecal and get the proper wormer from your vet for whatever they find. Just make sure it isn't Ivomec based.

 

[TXchickmum]

Got wormer from vet. -all good!

 

[Folly's place]

Hookworms are too small to see, whipworms are barely visible, roundworms are larger and can be seen. tapeworms vary in size, depending on species.
Heartgard kills hooks and rounds once a month, when it's taken. In a 'worm friendly' environment, your dog could pick up roundworms in between Heartgard doses, and have adult roundworms seen.
So using an appropriate wormer makes sense when that happens.
The monthly products are all good, but not foolproof, sometimes those miserable parasites find a way in between doses.
Mary