Worms. Another fact of dog life . . . especially here on the farm!

Even if your dog stays in the yard all the time, there is a VERY good chance they will still be exposed to worms. Stray cats, mice, squirrels and other furry un-invited guests tend to roam about when your dog isn’t out and about, and they leave droppings behind . . . or maybe your pooch found more than droppings . . . maybe an entire dead body!

Fleas are another source. (Here’s where it gets complicated)

Fleas carry tapeworm eggs, which get ingested when the dog EATS the flea (while itching). Weird huh?

So how do you know if your dog has worms?! The easy answer is a fecal float. Most vets (not all) can do these IN OFFICE, often while you wait. Simply collect a fresh stool in a ziplock bag (do NOT run errands on the way and leasve stool in the hot car . . . you WILL regret this!) and drop off to the vet. They can test for MOST worms AND micro organisms such as coccidyia.

ONE THEY CANNOT TEST FOR IS TAPEWORMS.

Wait . . . what? WHY?!

Tapeworms do NOT expel eggs out the rear. Rather, they expel “segments” or clones of themselves that break off the end of their body and become new worms. Often they are on the outside of a stool and fall off once it hits the dirt.

The BEST WAY to know if your dog has tapeworms, is YOU SEE ONE.

Yup. The nasty, little, wiggly rice creatures that stick to your dog’s rear, or . . . drop onto the bed!

Normally the cats are always battling them (they eat mice, mice have fleas). This year however, was Ginger’s turn . . .

Most likely, the cat had killed a fresh mouse, and Ginger decided to steal his snack. Regardless of HOW it happened, the tell-tale butt stickers began to appear.

Erik HATES tapeworms. When we had first purchased Carl and Ginger, Carl had been heavily infested with tapeworms. Erik didn’t want to try my easy remedy (I will go over that in a bit), so he got some wormer from the vet . . . and regretted it . . .

The dead worms POURED from his rear in a BIG PILE of spaghetti, leaving Erik gagging and gasping for air. I was mean . . . I made HIM clean it up since he didn’t want to try my kinder approach!

Ever since, he’s been squeamish about worms.

So when Ginger began dropping segments, he blamed the cat. She must have been sitting next to it and the worm segment crawled onto her rear (they don’t do that by the way). But when more segments appeared, he couldn’t blame the cat any longer.

He agreed to let me try Diatomaceous Earth on her. I used it on the horses and cats, and it SEEMED to work, why not the dog? Diatomaceous Earth (DE) has no known side effects and actually acts as an immune system stimulant. No one knows exactly HOW it kills worms, it JUST DOES.

“DE” VS. “Chemical Wormer”

Why would you NOT want to use a KNOWN worm killer? It’s VET PRESCRIBED?!

The answer is in biology. When a worm encounters a chemical wormer, it kills them almost instantly. The worm has a STRONG desire to survive and keep it’s lineage going (like most animals). So it sends out a TOXIN as it does that acts as a message to other worms and more importantly, YOUNG WORMS not affected by the toxin, to DIG IN DEEPER and evade the killer. This toxin often isn’t lethal. More often it just might leave your pet feeling under the weather. But SOME PETS that are already ill or in poor condition or having a LARGE worm load, may die as a result.

Don’t believe me? Read the label. If it tells YOU not to touch it or ingest it, why are you giving it to your much smaller friend??

DE however, only causes nasal or eye irritation if the power comes in contact with those surfaces. I mix mine into raw eggs. No issues. It kills the worms gently by making the environment less desirable . . . no toxins are released and the worms fade away and are expelled by the body.

So all dogs received their raw eggs with DE (each dog got 1tsp, once a day for 5 days, then again after another 7 days).

I’m telling ya, it took 2 DOSES and THINGS HAPPENED . . .

You know . . . Orzo pasta looks JUST like tapeworm segments when cooked . . . I MAY have cooked a bit up and dumped them onto Erik’s side of the bed . . . unfortunately, saw them and KNEW what I was up to . . . BUT . . .

What he DIDN”T see, was RIGHT AFTER HE TURNED AWAY, GINGER JUMPED ONTO THE BED . . . with a LOOOONG dead tapeworm expelling out the rear . . .

I quickly grabbed the toilet paper, plucked it out and shoo-ed the dog out the door! Erik was none the wiser. (He would have ripped the bed apart and dumped it outside, I am QUITE sure!)

Ginger continued to expel long tapeworms for another 2 days, then no more. No segments, nothing.

As for the puppies you may be wondering? They have been on the same DE worming routine as the adults lately, and their stools came back 100% clear.

So DOES Diatomaceous Earth work to de-worm a dog (get rid of worms)? YES. Yes it DOES. Vets will REFUSE to believe it. If you happen to get a positive fecal test on your dog, give it a try! The go back to your vet and assure them, IT WORKS!