Parasites are an unfortunate part of most any dog's life. Many dogs are born with them and most will contract them at some point. Symptoms of intestinal parasites include vomiting, diarrhea and scooting on the ground. If your veterinarian detects worms in your dog, she will likely prescribe antihelmintics, or worming medication. Worming medications are often effective and fast-acting, but most people do not know how to discern if the the antihelmintics are working. Your dog will display a few tell-tale symptoms if the worms are leaving his body.
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Worms in Stool
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Soon after your veterinarian administers the worming medication, your dog may have worms in his stool. According to the Puppy Dog Place website, this is a sign the medication is working and removing the worms from the dog's body. If you notice a worm, you must clean it up or it could burrow into the environment and potentially re-infect your pooch. Although worms in the stool is a good sign the medication is effectively working, there could be a cause for concern if the dog has diarrhea repeatedly or passes a large amount of worms.
Tapeworm Segments Stop Appearing
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Tapeworms don't often let their presence be known. Most of the time, the only way owners become aware of their dog's tapeworm infection is when they actually see the tapeworm segments coming out of the dog's bottom. Tapeworms live in the intestine and as they grow, they break off egg-filled segments. The segments will crawl through the intestine and out of the dog's anus. Owners often see the segments---which look like pieces of flat rice---moving out of the dog or on the dog's back leg hair. In addition, tapeworm segments can also appear on the dog's bedding. When the tapeworm is dead, it will stop breaking off in segments. You won't see them anymore if the worms are dead and out of the dog's body.
Vomiting Worms
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Another way that worms leave a dog's body is through vomit. The Puppy Dog Place website states that it is normal for a dog to vomit a few worms after it has received antihelmintics. Doing so shows that the medication is working and removing the worms from the dog's body. However, if the dog vomits a large amount of worms or repeatedly vomits, contact your veterinarian.
Decrease in Stomach Size
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When a dog has a parasite infection, its stomach will become distended and pot-bellied in appearance. This is because of all of the worms in the dog's intestine. After the worming medications are given and the worms leave the body, the stomach will shrink back to its normal size.
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