Can a wormer make a dog ill?

aonb

I wormed my hens, dogs and horse this past week.

One of my dogs, a v.elderly JRT X has the odd 'episode' with gastric problems (quite serious and always treated by his vet) but the day after I wormed him, he was really unwell - not his usual gastric symptoms - but completely off food (hes food obsessed, so this is big), horrible stools (not much) and off-form. Im just wondering if the wormer could have had such an effect on him? Ive already stopped all chemicals (flea treatments, kennel cough, thinking about not doing vacc's (we're very rural here, and he doesnt meet other dogs, as his walks are so short/local now) as he's so old. Can I stop worming him too?

(The other dogs had same wormer, no problem. The elderly dog is fine and back to normal again today thank heavens)

SillyMangoX

Sometimes they can be a little off form after taking a wormer, especially if they had worms and they are passing through the system. I would say just give him some boiled chicken and rice for a day or two and see how he holds up, make sure he drinks plenty and keep him warm and comfortable. If he isn't back to himself in a day or two then it might be worth taking a trip to the vet just to make sure that there is nothing else going on

andreac

What one did you use?

aonb

The dog didnt have worms - none of my dogs have ever shown signs of worms - I worm them as a deterrent. This is the 1st time Ive seen a reaction to a wormer, but as I said, this elderly dog has gastric sensitivies. The wormer I used was Troscan.
I phoned the vet this afternoon. My dogs are known to the vet. He agreed that there is no need to continue vaccinating this elderly dog. He's been vaccinated annually since he was born. Im very pleased about this. The dog only goes for short walks now - in a very rural area - there arent many dogs walked around us, and those that are/that we know, are vaccinated. The younger dogs will continue to be vaccinated and wormed.
The vet said that if the elderly dog is suspected to have worms, they can test his faeces, but I dont have to worm him again.
Poor little chap is back to normal again - two days of not eating and miserable is too high a price to pay - so we'll hope that he stays worm-free

moving_home

Funny you posted this cos I gave my dog her normal wormer (drontal) yesterday morning. She was in good form all day but vomited twice yesterday evening and I was wondering if it was related to wormer. She's fine today but I'm concerned about why she vomited yesterday.
Glad to hear your doggie is ok!

boomerang

It's a good idea to vary the type of wormer you use, actually. I rotate between parazole, Drontal and Milbemax. They each have different active ingredients.

Did you halve or crush the Troscan? Parazole is a particularly gentle wormer and can be mixed through the food.

Bear in mind that with some wormers, the worms are disintegrated before being passed out in the faeces. Wormless faeces after worming doesn't mean your dog didn't have worms.

ETA: moving-home, yes Drontal can very occasionally cause vomiting, particularly if the dose given was high in relation to the weight of the dog.

moving_home

boomerang wrote: »

ETA: moving-home, yes Drontal can very occasionally cause vomiting, particularly if the dose given was high in relation to the weight of the dog.

Thanks for that! She weighs 13kg but got a dose for 15kg so maybe that was it. Although this is the same dose she has always gotten!

boomerang

That's not a big different moving_home so I think maybe she is just one of those dogs that praziquantel doesn't suit.

aonb

moving_home wrote: »

Thanks for that! She weighs 13kg but got a dose for 15kg so maybe that was it. Although this is the same dose she has always gotten!

just an observation Moving Home - if she threw up twice, will she have 'lost' the benefit of the wormer?

aonb

boomerang wrote: »

Bear in mind that with some wormers, the worms are disintegrated before being passed out in the faeces. Wormless faeces after worming doesn't mean your dog didn't have worms.

(actually Ive just realized that its Drontal that I usually give them oh well.)

but Ive always been "smug" about the fact that there was never a sign of worms in my dogs faeces - if they have worms before the wormer, they will be in the faeces to be seen yes? (I know the dog will loose weight/form/condition etc if hes got worms - any other symptoms?

If the worms are disintegrated before being passed after worming, how can I tell if there were worms or not Surely not every dog has worms (the vetrinary nurse said they get worms from other dogs faeces? - any other way to pick them up?) Can a dog be worm-free without worming?

Brought my elderly dog for his walk this a.m - hes like a puppy today full of the joys of life and 'cantered' all the way

anniehoo

aonb wrote: »

just an observation Moving Home - if she threw up twice, will she have 'lost' the benefit of the wormer?

She got the wormer in the morning and vomited in the evening, so it would have been more than enough time for the wormer to be "digested" and absorbed so i wouldnt redose. If it was instantaneously or within an hour or so i would but not if it was >8hrs.

moving_home

anniehoo wrote: »

She got the wormer in the morning and vomited in the evening, so it would have been more than enough time for the wormer to be "digested" and absorbed so i wouldnt redose. If it was instantaneously or within an hour or so i would but not if it was >8hrs.

Thanks I wasn't gonna dose her again as she vomited about 8/9 hours afterwards so I'd say it was digested. The vomiting may not even be related to worming but just thought it was strange especially in light of the OP's post

aonb

moving_home wrote: »

Thanks I wasn't gonna dose her again as she vomited about 8/9 hours afterwards so I'd say it was digested. The vomiting may not even be related to worming but just thought it was strange especially in light of the OP's post

sounds good moving home - and worming does seem to be an issue with a lot of dogs - everyone Ive mentioned this to, they have said their dogs or families dogs have had an upset afterwards ... something to be aware of obviously

boomerang

Not always the case, though. For example, my own dogs have never had an adverse reaction to wormers and my friends' dogs the same. It certainly shouldn't be a reason for other owners not to worm their pets. It's a very important part of pet ownership.

aonb

boomerang wrote: »

Not always the case, though. For example, my own dogs have never had an adverse reaction to wormers and my friends' dogs the same. It certainly shouldn't be a reason for other owners not to worm their pets. It's a very important part of pet ownership.

Absolutely agree with you -Ive always wormed my dogs - just wanted to point out that some dogs CAN have an adverse reaction to a wormer (as mine and another poster did) - but not enough of a problem to justify not worming of course - but maybe worth looking at a different wormer if a dog does have a reaction to one product

alibab

My cavalier king Charles is elderly aged 13 and vomited after a dose of troscan wormer a few months back . He was gradually deteriorating before that . He had never vomited before . In the end he got ill was losing weight etc not related to the worming tablet and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis . He is on special diet now and steroids . The vomit on the worming tablet was a sign of a bigger problem as drugs are broken down in the liver . He is like a puppy again now but i have not wormed him since must get the vets advice

aonb

just brought my poor old guy to the vets - gastroenteritis - injections and binder paste plus antibiotics just in case since hes so old - fingers crossed for him. Cooked up a pot of boiled chicken/rice for him, so lots of TLC coming up, and hoping he live to fight (yet) another day!

While posting, a bit of a non-related post, but a friend of mine offered me a bag of SLANE DOG FOODs Corran Meaty Crunch kibble. Ingredients look pretty good - does anyone have any knowledge/experience of this brand - for my younger terriers Im thinking? Can post the ingredients if someone knows enough to judge from that?

boomerang

Ah no, hope he has a speedy recovery - I'm sure he will with all the TLC.

If you post the ingredients in the food, I'd say you'll get some opinions. Generally if the first few ingredients are cereals or the meat source isn't specified ("meat and animal derivatives") you'd be advised to steer clear.

aonb

boomerang wrote: »

Ah no, hope he has a speedy recovery - I'm sure he will with all the TLC.

If you post the ingredients in the food, I'd say you'll get some opinions. Generally if the first few ingredients are cereals or the meat source isn't specified ("meat and animal derivatives") you'd be advised to steer clear.

Thanks, dog is nearly back to normal so happy days.Yes, will just steer clear of this dog food, have done a bit of research on this/derivatives issue. This food has got derivatives, so will just stick to our boring old home cooked food (Which none of them complain about - gobble, gone! - the chef gets a bit tired of it tho :rolleyes:)

boomerang

Cool! I home-cook too. If they're not getting bones, just be sure to add plain calcium carbonate to the food. If you give me the dogs' weights I should be able to calculate how much each of them need. I just get calcium carbonate tablets from Holland and Barrett or the powdered version from www.iherb.com

aonb

boomerang wrote: »

Cool! I home-cook too. If they're not getting bones, just be sure to add plain calcium carbonate to the food. If you give me the dogs' weights I should be able to calculate how much each of them need. I just get calcium carbonate tablets from Holland and Barrett or the powdered version from www.iherb.com

I give them bones when Im away for the day, so not very often (have you noticed that butchers dont seem to have them much any more - wierd, where do the bones go?!?!) I give my hens Limestone Flour which is calcium, would this do? One is dog 8.2 kg (weighed at vet yesterday!) and the other is approx 10kg, the rescue collie I have no idea - he would freak if I tried to weigh him - collie sized and v.thin (because he's ancient). Thanks

bluecherry74

aonb wrote: »

I give them bones when Im away for the day, so not very often (have you noticed that butchers dont seem to have them much any more - wierd, where do the bones go?!?!)

Unfortunately a lot of butchers these days buy their meat in already processed, so they never get the bones to begin with. They're really more like "meat shops" as opposed to proper butchers. You need to find a butcher that processes the carcasses in their shop - they should have nice big beef bones for treats and chicken carcasses/backs that you can include as part of their meals.

moving_home

Bringing up this thread again. 3 months later, another worm tablet and poor doggie vomits again. She hasn't vomited since the last time she was wormed so it definitely has to be related to that. She's been in bad form and I know her tummy is just very upset cos she's not herself. She got sick about 7 hours after taking the tablet so I'm sure it was digested and no need to dose again.

I use Drontal and am going to change to another one next time. Will ask in vets next time I'm in but what are the names of other reputable worm tablets?

Toulouse

Try Parazole, it's gentle enough to use on pups so she might be better able to handle it.