My puppy is scooting. Can I safely give another tapeworm dose?

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Generally speaking the active ingredients in most of these dewormers for dogs have a very wide margin of safety so giving another dose by accident is not likely to cause any significant issues.

Hello. There have been some reports of drug resistance with tapeworms. I would talk to your vet about either upping the dose of the praziquantel or trying an alternate drug called epsiprantal. And make sure your vet sees a stool sample containing the tapeworm segments just to make sure there is not something else going on. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question. It’s fine to give them the tapeworm medicine but I would wait until tomorrow. Then give it to them with some food like white meat chicken (no bones). I hope this helps!

Hello. There are wormers available over the counter that will take care of tapeworms. Make sure the product contains the ingredient praziquantel, or you can pick up SafeGuard canine wormer at Petco. If you want to be sure of what you might be seeing befors giving Poppy any wormer, you can always take a fecal sample to your vet for analysis. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Puppies and kittens need a series of repeated deworming medications. And even if they have been dewormed, it is common for them to have other intestinal parasites since there are so many different types of parasites and they each require a specific type of deworming. What you are describing is likely tapeworms, so hopefully the tapeworm medication will work. I am including more information about tapeworms below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951442 Since tapeworms are transmitted by fleas, you will also need to make sure that Ariel doesn't have fleas or she may have tapeworms again. I would also make sure that your veterinarian has checked a fecal sample on her to see if there are any other microscopic intestinal parasites that need to be treated, but may require a different type of dewormer. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I'm a bit confused by the description of the medication you used, as I'm not familiar with an over-the-counter powder praziquantel medication, and typically I give praziquantel for tapeworms as a single (tablet) dose, which in some cases is repeated several weeks later if needed. The product that is typically given as a powder daily for 3 consecutive days is Panacur, with an active ingredient of Fenbendazole, which only gets select species of tapeworms. So, a few thoughts to answer your questions. No, I would not recommend re-dosing if you just finished treatment 2 days ago. Sometimes it can take a few days for the parasites to be expelled from the system, and I wouldn't typically re-treat until at least 2 weeks later. Keep monitoring Buffy and see if those tapeworm segments continue to decrease, or if you still see them a week or two from now. Additionally, dogs tend to get tapeworms from ingesting fleas, so make sure Buffy is treated with an effective flea preventative. Finally, I strongly recommend having Buffy's stool sample checked by your vet, and rather than treating with something over the counter, get the medication your vet prescribes. Not all dewormers are created equally, and in my experience the over-the-counter meds are not nearly as effective as those available through a vet. Also, given your puppy's young age, it is very possible she may have other types of intestinal parasites in addition to tapeworms - tapeworms are the most visible, so they may be the ones you're seeing, but other types of worms are more often shed as microscopic eggs and wouldn't be detected unless you're using a microscope. So, I know that's a lot of information, but I want to make sure you're effectively treating Buffy's condition, and in order to do so it is worth getting the appropriate medication from your vet. I hope this helps!

No, it's not too early to give Twinkie another dose; however pyrantel pamoate does not kill tapeworms. Praziquantel does, and that available by prescription from your vet. Unfortunately it's illegal for use to prescribe any drugs or give dosage instructions without seeing the cat in person. You will need to take her to a vet to get praziquantel, and they can give you the dose and schedule. Best of luck.