• Intermittent or frequent diarrhea or vomiting
• Your dog may have a fever
• He may scoot and lick his rear (though scooting can mean other things too)
• Your dog may be off his food or be a little lethargic; his coat may look dull
• You might see stools that are coated in mucus (but otherwise look normal)
• You might see squiggly worms or “rice bodies” in his stool.
• In young puppies you may see some of the same behaviors such as bloated tummies, dull coats, lethargic behavior, scooting their butts and sometimes you may see no symptoms at all.

Remember, some parasites can’t be seen by the naked eye like giardia and coccidia.

The dead and dying wormspass into the stool after administration of the deworming medication and then you may start to see them dispelled in the dogs feces.

Tapeworminfections are usually diagnosed by finding segments which appear as small white worms that may look like grains of rice or seeds—on the rear end of your dog, in your dog’s feces, or where your dog lives and sleeps.

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How Long Does it Take for Dewormer to Work?

It can take as little as two hours for the worms to start dying offbut in most cases, the process starts about 12 hours after the dewormer is given. You can see the dead and dying worms in your puppies feces for up to a week.

Most tapewormmedications kill the adult tapeworms within 24 hoursafter they are given. In some cases a second dose is needed  3-4 weeks  later to kill any remaining adults and those that were larva at the time of the treatment.

Since none of these treatments kill the immature forms of the worm or the migrating larvae, at least two or three treatments are needed for most types of worms.

Treatments need to be done at two to three week intervalsand should be started at 2 wks of age with puppies, along with their mother. Better yet, deworm the Dam and any dogs that will be in the puppies environment starting 10 days before whelping.