Having heartworms is a serious illness in dogs. Tapeworms are more of an annoyance because of the grossness factor they have for dogs' human companions. Regardless, ensuring your dog is parasite-free is one of the primary responsibilities of pet ownership. Until recently, preventing heartworms and protecting against tapeworms required two processes and two different medications. Now one product, Iverhart Plus, will protect your dog against heartworms and provide de-worming for tapeworms. However, you must still provide a separate product to protect against fleas, which are the cause of most tapeworm infections in dogs.
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Heartworms
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Heartworm prevention is most easily achieved using a monthly, oral heartworm preventative medication. These products are available with a prescription from your veterinarian. Most veterinarians will require the dog have a heartworm test before prescribing the preventative. This is because giving the preventative to a dog that has heartworms can be dangerous. If your dog does test positive for heartworms, the veterinarian will prescribe a course of treatment. Once the treatment is complete, the doctor will start your dog on routine heartworm preventative.
Deworming
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Many of the heartworm preventative pills also provide deworming for common intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms and whipworms. Iverhart Max provides protection against heartworms, roundworms, hookworms and tapeworms. Heartgard Plus and Tri-Heart Plus provide deworming for heartworms, roundworms and hookworms. Interceptor provides deworming for heartworms, roundworms, whipworms and some species of hookworms. Sentinel and Advantage-Multi provides deworming for heartworms, roundworms, hookworms and whipworms.
Fleas
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The key to preventing a tapeworm in your dog is to keep your dog flea-free. Dogs get tapeworms when they are bitten by an infected flea. The best way to protect your dog from fleas--and ultimately tapeworms--is to use a topical flea repellent product available from your veterinarian. These products are much safer and much more effective than over-the-counter products. Common flea repellents available from your veterinarian include Revolution, Advantage and Frontline.
Tapeworm
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Tapeworms are most likely to be diagnosed in your dog when you see tapeworm segments passed in your dog's stool or around the pet's anal area. However, it's a good idea to take your dog into the veterinarian for a fecal test each year, and it is possible that the doctor may diagnose a tapeworm infection from this routine part of a dog's yearly checkup. Your veterinarian will ensure your dog is on a good flea repellent and will prescribe a dewormer to rid the pet of the tapeworm. Common deworming medications used for dogs with tapeworms including Panacur, Vercom, Droncit and Cestex.
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