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My old dog has maggot-like worms. What are they and how to treat?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Male | unneutered | 12 years and 6 months old | 75 lbs

We have a 12 yr old 1/2 German Shepherd 1/2 Rottweiler. He has been reluctunt to go outside because he's old and the steps are hard on his hips and the weather has been bad. He's been pooping in the house. Yesterday I noticed he has worms. They look like Maggots minus the black head. What Kind of Worms are they and what medication can we give him? His vet is a mobile unit and is here twice a month. The next time she'll be here is over a week. I don't really want to wait that long.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on November 10th, 2017

If they are small like a rice grain then they are likely tapeworm segments, however without a fecal examination or seeing the worms it is just a educated guess. I would still recommend saving some worms in a jar or isopropyl alcohol for your veterinarian to see next week. If you use heartworm prevention monthly that deworms for Many parasites, but you can request a prescription for heartworm prevents that includes tapeworm medication as well. That way monthly he gets dewormed. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 16th, 2019

    I recommend to call your veterinarian and have the stool checked for worm eggs. Take in a few of the worms as well. I can't tell from the history, but maggots and tapeworms can both be found in the stool. Maggots get there after the stool is out of the body (flies lay their eggs on it), where as tapeworms are inside the body. Most over the counter dewormers don't have the right medication to kill the internal tapeworm (there are a few different species and although the package is labeled for tapeworms, it often is the wrong species). Additionally, since Buddy already had one worm, it's worthwhile to know if there are other types of parasites as well (not all of them are visible to the human eye). This is important because some of these worms are transmissible to humans and also because you want get rid of all the parasites. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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