If you look at the picture below (the insets) you will notice that the Whipworm buries it's entire head in the wall of the large intestine and cecum (appendix). Isn't it strange that parasites have particular areas of the host's body that they like to live in? Why not the small intestine wall? Who knows, but they are comfortable living in the large bowl and cecum of dogs only! Like the Hookworm, Whipworms are also very tiny and can't be seen with the un-aided eye. They are called Whipworms because they have a larger head and a whip-like thin tail section.

After the above story, I think you already know, "Dogs have to eat the eggs to get Whipworms". Whips are not passed from mother to offspring; they make no migrations through the skin; they never get in the mothers milk - Plain and simple, "The only way to get a Whipworm is to eat the egg". Take a moment to look at the eggs in the image below. Notice the thick brown shell? This shell is so tough that the eggs can live in the soil for years. Although they resist freezing the eggs are succeptible to drying and sunlight. This is another reason for concrete surfaced kennels.

Signs may include any or all of the following: Inapparent infestations; nonspecific diarrhea; blood-streaked diarrhea; unthriftiness; weight loss. Most infestations are inapparent. The problem is that Whipworms can precipitate "recurring" diarrhea and colitis. Since the adult Whipworms may not lay eggs everyday, if your veterinarian performs a fecal flatation and looks for Whipworm eggs they might not be found. But the diarrhea keeps coming and going. Like the Hookworm, Whipworms also suck blood, but not nearly as much. What happens is that when the Whipworm buries it's head in the intestine wall it causes a tremendous inflammatory reaction. The inflammed intestinal wall gets red, erroded and prone to invasion by bacteria. I believe this is the underlying cause of the intermittent diarrhea. We treat the diarrhea with antibiotics and it goes away, only to come back later. We kill the bacteria, but if we miss the Whipworms. The damage to the intestine wall continues allowing recurrant bacterial infection to invade the intestine and cause the large bowl diarrhea.

It is easy to get rid of Whipworms. Just give any effective oral wormer, but you have to be careful what you use. Most over-the-counter wormers won't touch them. We use fenbendazole, the active ingredient in Panacur. This is a powder wormer that must be given once a day for three days. The problem is the eggs. You have to clean, clean, clean. It is best to replace all old toys and bones and other items that the dog likes to chew on. If your dog is kenneled or tied out, it needs to be moved to new ground to get away from the eggs. What if you can't move the pen? In that case you need to administer a low level wormer everyday to prevent reinfestation. I like to use Filaribits Plus a once-a-day heartworm preventative that also kills Hookworms, Roundworms and Whipworms. Many of my patients that live in dirt-run kennels take Filaribits Plus to eliminate the reinfection problem from the worm eggs or larva in the soil.

No, you are safe with this worm. They only affect the canine breeds.