Flea prevention keeps your dog from having tapeworms.
When your dog has fleas, he will chew on his skin to relieve the itching. As a result, he will ingest fleas, and if the fleas are carrying tapeworm larvae, the larvae will latch on to the inner lining of your dog's digestive system and grow into a tapeworm. To avoid giving your dog harsh chemical cures, consider natural and preventative treatments.
Protect against Fleas
To prevent fleas from infesting your dog with tapeworm, keep your dog away from areas frequented by wild animals or strays that might be carrying fleas. Before your dog romps in the weeds or woods, spray her down with a citrus spray made by boiling a quartered lemon and steeping it overnight in one pint of water. Make a flea collar by putting eucalyptus oil, citronella oil, almond carrier oil, cedar wood oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil or geranium oil on a bandanna. After your dog has gone in weeds or woods, check her for fleas using a flea comb and give her a bath using Dawn dish soap. Steep two cups of fresh rosemary overnight and add water up to a gallon to make a rinse that should be allowed to dry on your dog. Always vacuum your home thoroughly after your dog has ventured in weeds or woods, and keep a chemically treated flea collar in your vacuum bag.
Healthy Diet
Since fleas are more attracted to animals of poor health as well as dogs with a lot of sugar in their blood, it is very important to feed your dog a healthy diet to prevent fleas and the concurrent tapeworm infestation. Avoid dog foods filled with simple carbohydrates such as corn, soy and wheat. You may also consider switching your dog to an all natural diet of raw meats, bones and vegetables or cooking for him.
Supplement his diet with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in his water and a sprinkling of brewer's yeast in his food to deter fleas. Five milligrams of vitamin B a day will deter fleas as well. Fresh minced garlic will deter fleas as well as tapeworms. Use only a quarter of a clove for small dogs and up to a whole clove for large dogs per day--too much garlic may cause anemia. To inhibit tapeworms, add a quarter of a teaspoon to a whole teaspoon (depending on size) of wheat germ oil and of fresh ground raw pumpkin seeds to your dog's food every day.
Herbal Treatments
If your dog is already infested with tapeworms, switch him to a low-fat diet consisting of no sugars (grains and fruits) and no fats (eggs and dairy). Tapeworms thrive off of fats and sugars. Instead, if he is healthy, fast him for 24 hours and afterwards feed him chopped carrots, beets or turnips. The roughage will help push out the worms. Additionally, you can feed him a mixture of black walnut hull, wormwood and clove. You can find black walnut oil and wormwood oil at a natural-foods store, through a homeopathic veterinarian or at websites such as Dr.Clarkia.com. Garlic, pumpkin seeds and vegetable enzymes such as those found in papaya and figs are also natural treatments for existing tapeworm.
