Dog with Worms

Question
My jack russel/pug dog has worms. I can tell because when he poops there are dry rice looking things around his poop but never in it that i can see. There are also a couple times that i have found them coming out of his but, sounds kinda gross! My question is: We are low income family and don't really have a lot of money to take the dog to the vet and spend alot of money on getting him treated, Is there any at home things i can do to get rid of them? Or is the vet going to be really expensive??? What can i do to help him??

Answer
This sounds like tapeworms. Praziquantel (Drontal, Drontal Plus, or Droncit), the standard ingredient in prescription tapeworm medications, is now FDA approved for over-the-counter sale without a prescription. The problem with that is that you need to know how much your dog needs and most sources sell the pills in large quantities, which you wouldn't need. Your best bet would really be to contact your vet and purchase exactly the amount you would need to get the job done. Talk to him/her about cost; some will let you pay a bill off a little bit every month.

The other problem is that tapeworms are often caused by flea infestations, so if your dog has fleas, he will probably get tapeworms again unless you can eliminate the fleas.

Karen