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My dog has worms. Are natural remedies safe or should I use meds?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Female | spayed

Is there a natural remedy for worms instead of just medication prescribed? I have no issue taking her to the vet, I was honestly just wondering.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 19th, 2018

Intestinal worms need to be killed. There is no alternative or natural remedy that kills worms. The easiest and safest way to do that is to use a worming medication that does exactly that. If dosed properly according to the weight of the animal, worming medications will only affect the worms and will not affect the animal. There are some exceptions: Ivermectin should not be used in collies and other dogs with MDR1 defect. However, there are many safe alternatives to ivermectin and in general all other wormers are safe and effective.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Stephanie Echols, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 13th, 2019

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No there are no natural treatments for tapeworms. You need praziquantel to kill them. You also need a medication to kill fleas because most of the time a pet has tapeworms from ingesting fleas. Good luck and kisses to George!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 24th, 2019

    Unfortunately no, there are no natural remedies for worms. You need to give Wulfie a deworming treatment like Panacur or Drontal. Do not try any "natural" remedies you may find online. Some of them are extremely dangerous and can be fatal.

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