I have been struggling with three dogs for the last two months.
I keep seeing tiny worms in their stools but the vet says the fecal is negative. They have been dewormed . After ,I see dead worms for a day but two weeks later I again see tiny moving worms. According to the internet only round worms are visible to the unaided eye. The vet says they are just shedding dieing worms. THEN why do the dogs have soft stools?
They all are fed innova which honestly gives them really soft stools. I wonder if the stools are soft since I think they have worms or is it due to the food composition?
About three weeks ago I switched one dog onto homemade dog food
Connor had been dewormed and played with a new dog toy that has raw hide discs . I think/assume the raw hide discs have beef extract due to its coloring. I was stupid cause none of my dogs do well on the beef laced raw hide. Connor had diarrhea for two days.
I switched Connor onto a beef /rice mixture until his stool firmed. On the fourth day I gave him some dog kibble and within 5 hours he had diarrhea. I then started feeding him homemade dog food. { he gets vitamins, a calcium supplement and a 40/30/30 % mixture of protein/veggie/carb.
Connor looks great. smells better, and no more diarrhe.
My problem is the other two are still on the innova kibble battling with the soft to sometime diarrhea stools.

I think I need to know they are worm free.
I have been to three vets with all sending the stool out to be tested. The results are negative but I SEE the feaking tiny worms.
No they are not tape worms!! I keep asking can you just look under a microscope.
I have dewormed them with the ivermectin and even done a three day fenbendazole dose followed by a two week dose.
The vets refuse to give metronidazole until the stool is positive.
So in the meantime I am cleaning up lots of poo.
I think they need a different dewormer and need to be removed form the kibble.
And Of course there is more one had swallowed a ball which he threw up this morning. This was not visible on a recent x-ray.
Does any one have a better suggestion?

According to the internet only round worms are visible to the unaided eye.

Well, the internet is wrong. I have seen tapes as well as whipworms and it sounds like that is what your dogs may have. Whipworms are very difficult to get rid of. You need to ask your vet for the medicine to treat these specifically. It takes medication as well as antibiotics to get rid of them. They also cause massive bouts of diarrhea.

I have dewormed them with the ivermectin and even done a three day fenbendazole dose followed by a two week dose.

If I remember correctly, did you or did you not state that you did not agree with using Ivomec without a parasite preventative? Why did you dose your dogs with this? If they have whipworms or tapeworms, Ivomec will not kill them. It is only good for heartworm prevention, round worms and hookworms.

What kind of dogs do you have? One swallowed a ball? I hope you have taken him or her to the vet by now. Use caution when dosing and administering Ivomec. I have used this for 16 years now and I took a lot of time to educate myself before I started it. Hopefully all will turn out well.

Best of luck!

THe lab swallowed a ball he had found in the forest.
Since the dogs are three different breds , one can not receive ivertmectin.
The VETS have tested the stool five times. I keep seeing the worms and have asked for them to view it under a microscope.
They have given them dronatal{ sp} and within 10 days I see the worms. THey are small, white and slender. Sometimes they are alive and others are dead.
I believe the source to be the grass.
All three are hand walked with leashes. Out of the three : one has a normal stool , the seond was just given interceptor and the stool is firm with no visible worms , the third who had swallowed a small ball was given rice and chicken and has had one normal stool.
I do think there are several issues going on.
We didn't know that one dog had swallowed a stray ball from the neighbor's yard.
THe issue is seeing worms , having the stools tested , paying the 45 dollars, receiving negative results, and still seeing worms when they are leashed walked and have not eaten any grass.
I believe the source of the worms to be the grass.
The problem is I still see worms after two weeks.
Are they allergic to the innova?
Are they having a hard time with the dog food cause they still have worms?
I have seen four vets and am scheduled for another visit.
They are negative for lyme's
They are negative for heart worms
They have something. It would be lovely not to be cleaning up .
So I head to another vet who will look at all three stools.

I had found a good website listing all the tpes of worms and what meds kill these intestinal parasites.
Two dogs have received three of the below meds.
The third dog can not take ivermectin so we never dosed her with it.
Whipworm infections in dogs can be treated with a few different medications. The most common are:

•fenbendazole
•febantel
•ivermectin
There are a few of the monthly heartworm prevention medications which can also help prevent whipworms and these include:

•Interceptor
•Sentinel


Correction : you can not see hook worms . You can see round worms and tapes according to four vets.
I have had to treat for tapes when we did a few dog rescues.
These worms that I keep viewing are slender white and abundant.
ALL four stool samples are negative.NO worms no eggs. I was told they centrifuge it. Well wouldn't centrifuging destroy the worms
And Yes I am wearing glasses to make sure that I have a clear view.
The three are on a heart worm prevention program.
I don't want to keep pumping them with de wormers. I prefer to know the freaking worm and then we choose the correct med and dose.
I head to the vet again. A different vet!