My dog is scooting with white worms. Does he need emergency vet care?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Worms do cause diarrhea and a very high worm burden (amount) can cause severe disease. However, if the puppy is eating, playing and drinking, and is acting normally, then you can wait until tomorrow. I would just inform the new owners about the worms, and have them bring Dan to the vet right away. The vet will get proper deworming performed, as well as vaccines. Best of luck with them!

Anal gland discomfort from impaction or infection could also cause scooting, but I would not expect to see coughing or a decrease in appetite. The coughing could be a sign of a respiratory infection like kennel cough, other respiratory disease or heart disease. Heartworm is another relatively common cause of coughing if Ferdinand is not on a preventative. If his decrease in appetite continues for more than 24 hours I would recommend seeing a veterinarian (on an emergency basis if necessary). They can examine him and recommend tests for the cough and check his anal glands.

I'm very sorry to hear that! Unfortunately, this problem sounds quite serious. I can't tell what might be wrong without being able to examine him, but if he is in obvious pain and can't get up, he needs to be seen by an emergency vet immediately. He may be injured or very sick, or may have ingested something toxic. Regardless of the underlying cause, these symptoms suggest that he has a serious, life-threatening problem that needs immediate veterinary care. I would recommend taking him to your nearest emergency clinic right away for an exam and treatment - I'm afraid there is nothing at all you can do at home for a problem this severe.

Have him seen by your veterinarian. The most common, and easiest to treat, cause is full or impacted anal glands. Normally, the anal glands are emptied during the act of defecation. In some dogs, this doesn't happen and the glands fill up, become impacted and could abscess. This would result in the symptoms described. Your veterinarian can Express the glands manually, flush them and instill medication if necessary. Antibiotics and pain medications are also sometimes dispensed. If Scooby is licking back there, place an e-collar (cone) on him until he sees the doctor.

Well the bad smell, aside from feces, is anal glands. Dogs have small glands on each side of their anus that secrete a small amount of fishy smelling liquid. Every time they have a bowel movement a small amount it expressed, it marks their territory. Sometimes if they become excited or scared they express them. The glands can also become impacted, infected, and abcess. If the material in the glands becomes too thick for the dog to express themselves it needs to be manually done. Your vet can do this and show you how to do it. As for the worms, it sounds like tapeworms, which your dog gets from ingesting fleas. An over the counter drug you can use is Drontal. If you cant get that brand name the active drug is praziquantal. Administer it orally once, then again in two weeks. It is definitly a good idea to take a stool sample in to your vet to make sure they are tapeworms, and also that your dog doesnt have any other intestinal parasites such as hook or roundworms. Your vet will need a sample about the size of a nickel less than 24 hours old. Hope this helps

Poor Scooby!! Flat white worms on the stool sounds like tapeworms. I would recommend taking a sample of the stool and worms to your vet; they can more positively identify the worms and also check the stool sample under the microscope to see if any other parasites are present. Tapeworm medication is not typically available over the counter, and usually requires a vet visit. I also recommend discussing flea preventatives with your vet as often these are the source of a tapeworm problem. The fleas carry the tapeworms inside them, and when a dog eats the fleas while grooming etc they become infected b

The most common cause for scooting is allergies, which could be to fleas, foods, or the environment. Other causes include anal gland irritation (often secondary to the allergies) and intestinal parasites. I would recommend having Mindy examined by a vet, but not necessarily as an emergency.