Moving Flat Worms in a New Puppy's Stool
I had left the feces on the pad for a few minutes while I took him outside and to get a bag for the worms. When I came back, they had all left the feces, or were only connected to it at their head and some had left altogether.
This morning he pooped outside and I didn't get as good a look but it didn't seem full of them immediately afterward, could be wrong. I have a few questions.
This is a new puppy to us and he's had accidents around the house. Does this means there are now tapeworms crawling around in our carpet around the house? Is there any danger of becoming infected from the carpet somehow? It looked like they would die pretty fast on their own, but what about eggs? How can I be sure nobody gets infected?
Also, is it possible his body is getting rid of them and that's why this one poop was so full of them, or is it likely they were in all of his excrement? Now he is starting to have formed stool, for the first time this am (and the stool with the worms was mostly but not fully formed, and he strained less afterward).
I would usually collect his poop when I walk, but haven't been able to with him because we've only had him a couple days and his feces has been completely watery. I worry about other dogs getting infected, as well as we humans so any advice is appreciated.
Small, flat, moving pieces that crawl away from fresh stool are typical of tapeworm segments, and routine stool tests often miss tapeworms, so a negative result doesn't rule them out. Taking samples to your vet was exactly the right thing to do, because the type of tapeworm affects treatment and prevention.
Segments dry out and die quickly, but they carry eggs. Clean up any accidents promptly, vacuum and wash bedding, and wash hands after cleanup. The common flea tapeworm can't infect people directly from the carpet; it needs a flea as a go-between, so flea control for every pet is key. Pick up his stool on walks to protect other dogs, and ask your vet about a deworming plan that also covers other worms common in puppies.
See tapeworms in dogs and worms in dogs.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.
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