Worms!

I hope that you can convince your mom to let Smudge in the house otherwise, I have to agree with Lightplum, shelties are not outside dogs, especially in heat. They are very sensitive social dogs that do need to be with the family. I do hope you can work this out with your mom. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
 
Last edited:
I have to echo what everyone here has said, Jessica, about keeping Smudge outside. Especially since he's a puppy, he will be very confused about why he's banned from the house and it could set his training back and impact his personality. Worms are very common in puppies, but there are ways to deal with it in the house...he can be kept in a crate, or an xpen, or an area that can be easily cleaned with disinfectant. He should not, however, be kept outside all the time. If your family won't relent, perhaps you could find a friend who would be willing to keep him for you. Once you see the vet and he's on treatment, he should improve as long as you keep the yard picked up, as everyone has said. Good luck, and please keep us posted! Little Smudge is just too precious for this.
 
VERY good news! After talking to the vet and getting medicine, I have convinced my mom to let Smudge come back in the house. :biggrin2:

I've never seen the vet so packed! I had a hard time finding a place to park, which is odd. Usually I'm the only one there. Anyway, they gave Smudge a pill. The vet was busy, so a vet tech helped me. I don't know if I was asleep (I only got three hours of sleep today. Yay!) or if they just didn't tell me how long the pill would take to work. I was supossed to take Smudge in Thursday for a booster shot anyway, but they said since he took the pill that he didn't need to come in Thursday. They told me to come back on July 19th. I might call back Monday, as I don't understand if I'm going back on the 19th for a booster shot or another worm medicine.

The vet tech said it was tapeworms. She said that human adults have a hard time getting them, but that I should clean all of my bedsheets really good and possibly vaccuum my floors (which I have already done all of this). She said children get them a lot easier, because they often times put things in their mouths that they should not and don't wash up as often.

I'm so happy that I've talked my mom into letting Smudge back into the house. There's no way I was going to leave him outside anyway. :biggrin2: I would have found a way to get him back in.

On the way to the vet I found out the hard way that it's time for a new pet taxi. Poor Smudge. :sadsmile: He's gotten so tall that he couldn't even stand up in the pet taxi! I'm going to buy a new one after work.

I love that little dog. :biggrin2:
 
Hooray! Great news, Jessica. I'm so glad that Smudge has house privileges again, and that he'll be OK. Keep us posted on how he does. :biggrin2:
 
Smudge is one lucky little pupper to have you!!

Just a question for everybody though....is it likely the cats and kittens also have them? Should her mom have them treated as well to guard against re-infestation for Smudgiepoo?
 
Oh I am so happy that it worked out! I agree something should be done with the cats so they don't reinfest Smudge! Let us know how he is doing.
 
I'm so glad to hear that it is just worms and that your mom let Smudge back in the house. He is too cute to be kept outside!!

Here is my opinion on the whole cat situation. Since your mom is setting food out for the cats, everyone that is around is going to end up at your house. Your mom doesn't need that many to keep the mice out. All she is doing is feeding stray cats that could carry mange, feline leukemia - which all of them will get if they share food bowls, and other various diseases. It will lead to Smudge getting re-infested with worms esp. if the kittens are getting in the yard. Don't get me wrong, I don't like to see anything un-fed but she is creating a huge problem and eventually your neighbors are going to be mad. I had a neighbor that did this and we had sickly cats all over the place and they came and used my yard as their litter box. I had a 3 yr. old at that time that I couldn't let play out in our own yard because of it. The cats were dying and transmitting diseases and I finally told her to quit feeding them. She did and the problem went away. If she really wants to keep the mice out then keep two around but have them fixed. This will also keep the population down. I see that someone mentioned that there are groups out there that will do this for free as long as they are outdoor cats.

Just my two cents, didn't mean to ramble, I have just dealt with this before!!
 
I'm back with an update on Smudge. As of this morning, it seems like he is worm free. I do have another problem though. His flea medicine is not working. It's Advantage? Advantix? Something like that. It's not killing the fleas at all. The worst of the worm problems may be over, but if his flea problem is not fixed then it will only get worse and the worms will come back. Can somebody suggest something? He is 10 weeks old and weighs 6.6 pounds, if this helps any.

Also, I think I may have given everybody the wrong impression about the stray cats. They are not nice stray cats at all. When I walk outside one of them runs to the fence and hisses at me, and then runs off. :uhoh: I don't want them to starve to death, but they are going to hurt somebody. I've talked my dad into getting rid of the kittens. I think he's going to take them to the animal shelter, as we don't know what else to do. That leave three adult cats.

I do want to thank everybody for the help they've given me. :yes: I don't know what I would do without this forum.
 
Fleas can be a real problem, and tough to get rid of once you've got them. Smudge may be flea-free, but if the outside cats have them, or if they're in your house, it's another problem entirely. If you've already treated him with a flea product, you have to be careful what you do since he's so young. Check with your vet and see if they can give him a flea dip. That will get rid of them on him and you can start again. The most important thing to know is that you can't treat with two products at the same time, so don't try an additional treatment on him unless your vet says it's OK. But you have to make sure they aren't in the house, or on the cats. You may need to use a flea bomb if they're inside. Good luck! Poor little Smudge--he's certainly having a tough time! Good news about the worms though!! Keep us posted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top