Raw food causing roundworms and tapeworms?

11842 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by FBarnes, Apr 29, 2013

jrpilgrim

Discussion Starter · Apr 27, 2013

My Lab has been eating a raw diet (when available) for about 2 years. Recently she got both roundworms and tapeworms. Our (closest) vet is 6 hours away and sent out Sentinel/Interceptor to take care of the roundworm but we drove in to get the injection for tapeworm. She said we have to stop giving her raw food because it's how she got worms. :frown:

All her meats are frozen prior to feeding (that's also what she prefers - frozen) and it's all meats we eat, too. All fish is from the Atlantic, no Pacific (mostly cod, capelin, and herring). She also eats moose, seal, rabbit, and chicken. Is it common for raw-fed dogs to get worms? Has anyone else had an issue with worms while on raw? I am being pressured to quit on the raw and I don't really want to, but we can't be making trips to the vet for tapeworm injections if it keeps happening. Please help.

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wolfsnaps88

· #2 · Apr 27, 2013

While it is possible to get worms from raw meat, considering you feed frozen meats, its more likely your dog is getting worms from another source, such as rabbit poop or fleas.

Best thing to do is make sure your dog doesn't eat animal feces outside and is on some sort of preventative for fleas.

Worms happen. I give my dogs a heart worm preventative that also does round worm. I check their feces for tapeworms as well as use a topical on them during flea season. There may be more natural ways to prevent fleas and ticks but since I am in a high tick area, I have to use topicals.

I would not stop feeding raw.

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Roo

· #3 · Apr 27, 2013 (Edited)

The first few times we tried raw, one of my dogs had a tapeworm. I was concerned it was the raw, but my vet said more than likely it was from the rabbit or squirrel poop she snacks on in our backyard, she didn't have the common tapeworm from fleas, but the one that can be found in feces and muscle tissues of livestock and wildlife. At the time I was freaked out and was concerned it might have been from the raw food, even though my vet doubted it. In any case we switched heartworm meds to the one that includes tapeworms along with the other worms (Iverheart max) because the rabbit and squirrel poop is always in our yard and I know she eats it, although I try to keep her from doing so. I haven't had an issue since, and have been feeding raw for almost 2 1/2 years now. Most of the other worms/parasites are not transmitted from raw foods, as the intestines, where most are, is usually not consumed.

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Candyd

· #4 · Apr 27, 2013

70% of all dogs have worms. Many get worms because worm eggs are present in their environment (in grass, in the ground, mainly because other dogs defecated there before ; fleas can transmit worms too). Raw meat is far from being the main cause.

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Sheltielover25

· #5 · Apr 27, 2013

Candyd said:
70% of all dogs have worms. Many get worms because worm eggs are present in their environment (in grass, in the ground, mainly because other dogs defecated there before ; fleas can transmit worms too). Raw meat is far from being the main cause.

Heck, more HUMANS have worms! And I don't see us sitting around eating raw meat that often lol

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Losech

· #6 · Apr 28, 2013

Any dog, rawfed or not, can get worms. My kibble-fed (half and half, actually) dogs had (round) worms recently, but not the full-time raw dude. I have no idea where they got them from. But I dewormed all three all just in case. I always do that even if only one dog's got the worms.
I deworm twice a year, rotating between pyrantel pamoate and fenbendazole. Every once in a while I'll use praziquantel. They also get ivermectin (heartworm prevention) in the summer months, about 40-45 days apart. I will use certain dewormers (depending on the worm) on an as-needed basis as well. I self dose with livestock dewormers. I don't recommend this without guidance, but it sure does save a lot of money. I can deworm all three dogs twice (with fenbendazole) for the same cost of deworming the little guy once. It's well worth learning in my opinion, if you have a lot of dogs, are tight on cash, or live lightyears away from the vet.

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naturalfeddogs

· #7 · Apr 28, 2013

Well, tapes come from fleas, so unless your dog ate something with live fleas like a rabbit, or if your dog has fleas and swalloed any which is possible, then that would be where tapes come from. Which in turn, round worms could also come from a whole eaten animal. Something that included intestines/stomach then yes your dog could have gotten worms from raw, but those types of worms don't live in the muscles. Dogs can get worms no matter, so I wouldn't let the vet scare you away from raw. Vets are generally against raw anyway, so any excuse to push you away from it they will jump on. They can worms while being fed kibble as well.

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jrpilgrim

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 28, 2013

Thank you all so much. Maggie hasn't eaten anything including intestines/stomach. I am not convinced that it's from the meat...hope to convince the hubby to keep her on the raw. She loves it and I love giving it to her. Seal is her fave.

I used to visit the forum quite a bit when we first got Maggie, but this is my first time posting...she's 2 and 1/2 now. Great to know there's somewhere I can go to share and receive great advice!!

Jan

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Roo

· #9 · Apr 28, 2013

naturalfeddogs said:
Well, tapes come from fleas, so unless your dog ate something with live fleas like a rabbit, or if your dog has fleas and swalloed any which is possible, then that would be where tapes come from.

The more common tapeworm comes from fleas (Dipylidium), but the other kind of tapeworm the Taenia, which is what my dog had, do not.

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naturalfeddogs

· #10 · Apr 28, 2013

Taenia is less common, and can go through the bloodstream and into the liver, but still end up back in the stomach. And still, an easy fix with a dewormer. To my knowledge, they don't affect the muscles at all.

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FBarnes

· #11 · Apr 28, 2013

Ask your vet, in his/her practice, how many kibble fed dogs have turned up with roundworms and tapeworms. We forget what nasty stuff dogs like to eat. Poop is a favorite and they are often not particular about whether the poop is from wild animals. My dog drinks out of the birdbath so I had to move it out of the yard because bird poop can have all kinds of bad things in it - but if he got something out of that birdbath my vet would tell me it was the raw food, 100% sure of it. We have raccoons and skunks, possums, fleas, you name it in our yard. Raw meat is the LEAST likely to give my dogs a parasite.

Some vets just tend to blame the raw food. If you brought your dog in with a broken leg some vets would try to blame it on raw food somehow.

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Tobi

· #12 · Apr 29, 2013

FBarnes said:
Ask your vet, in his/her practice, how many kibble fed dogs have turned up with roundworms and tapeworms. We forget what nasty stuff dogs like to eat. Poop is a favorite and they are often not particular about whether the poop is from wild animals. My dog drinks out of the birdbath so I had to move it out of the yard because bird poop can have all kinds of bad things in it - but if he got something out of that birdbath my vet would tell me it was the raw food, 100% sure of it. We have raccoons and skunks, possums, fleas, you name it in our yard. Raw meat is the LEAST likely to give my dogs a parasite.

Some vets just tend to blame the raw food. If you brought your dog in with a broken leg some vets would try to blame it on raw food somehow.

Ummm I know!
Not enough calcium! The bone material isn't the best in raw form, kibble calcium sprinkled on and baked is far superior! Hence the broken leg.

eace:

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BearMurphy

· #13 · Apr 29, 2013

I agree with what everyone is saying in this thread but seals definitely carry parasites that you have to be careful of...that's why they say to make sure to thoroughly cook fish that live around areas where seals congregate. Not sure what the worms are, where they live in the body, how they effect your dog, withstand freezing, etc but I would be careful feeding large amounts of seal if you have not looked into this. Of course maybe you live in a place where this isn't a problem because you are far north. I'm pretty sure I read this was an issue in california

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FBarnes

· #14 · Apr 29, 2013

Tobi said:
Ummm I know!
Not enough calcium! The bone material isn't the best in raw form, kibble calcium sprinkled on and baked is far superior! Hence the broken leg.eace:

LOLOL! So true.

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