How frustrating.

First off, what were the courses of treatment for the pups? (meds and follow-ups) I figure the vet has used a wormer like drontel plus, but I think it needs follow-up doses to kill the worms in certain stages of development.

Have worms been identified in a fecal direct smear or flotation? Which worms? I wonder if there might me a resistant strain of ghirardia that drontel plus does not cover?

Certain parasites can be very resiliant in your back yard, or just in local dirt, so maybe they are getting reinfected? Also, compromised animals (with weaker immune systems) tend to be more susceptible to things than very healthy animals, so have all the health issues for the pups been resolved?

Are you using over the counter worm meds or vet ones?, I assume vet ones, Did you treat for the recomanded time period? Have they been drinking from dirty puddles or eating things they shouldn't?

What type of worms do they have?, also if switching to a better diet ( usealy seen with raw diets/homemade ) its common for dogs to pass worms, its actually a sign of the body repairing itself- though if dogs are not on raw I would rule out this unless its a very high grade food like Evo, or Orijen ) If this be the case, its a good thing not a bad thing.

All medications taken have been prescribed by the vet. The last time (about four weeks ago it was drontel plus). Yesterday the vet took a stool sample, looked at it and said it was tapeworm. The stool sample was also sent off to the lab, results should be back today. The are on dry food, I have not changed the food. The puppies have been given a clean bill of health - other than worms. The puppies spend an average of four or five hours a day in the yard (we are training on the invisible fence system) and have several walks per day - at least one is over a mile - and yes, the do stop to sniff and pick up stuff occasionally, although the now respond immediately to the command 'drop'!

Have your pups been on worm prevention medications such as interceptor? If not I would highly recommend it.

Why don't vets recommend diatomaceous earth? It would be safe for everybody in the household and is very effective in the control of parasites. Be sure to locate FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth.

It can be applied directly to the dog's food.

yes, they have their months flea/tick/heartworm etc. Just heard from the vet, no other parasite was found in the stool sample. She is trying to contact the vet school at UGA in Atlanta so that she can discuss what medication to prescribe for the puppies. What is FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth?

its probably human grade soil treatments i saw a guy on tv eating clay, thats what comes up in my mind.

Heartworm meds won't necessarily prevent ALL worms.....interceptor or a more complete worm prevention may be needed.

Its not uncommon for pups to need to be dewormed several times.

Some worms have developed resistance to certain drugs and your vet may need to change medications in order to get them ...

I probably would be very diligent about poo clean up, making sure droppings in the yard are picked up quickly and disposed of properly (in the garbage) - until you have the problem under control.

Food has nothing whatever to do with parasite loads.

Also: vets do the fecals in their offices, they do not send them out. Techs do that. I did them.

Last: Because drontel plus can only treat parasites in certain stages of their development, a followup dose is necessary three weeks later.

Food in itself doesn't, but the kind of food can lead to a cleansing- meaning they were in there all along but have only- come out.

given the fact the pups came from a horrible suitation its no surprise that they are full of worms., you probably should invest in whatever worming meds the vet says.

So, runswalken, cats that live on wild prey do not have intestinal parasites? Obligate carnivores - cats, hawks, owls - that live on appropriate food from the wild are cleansed by that food?

My pup was abused, neglected and had to be de-wormed 3 times as well....

3 times has nothing to do with abuse, its the standard protocol required for the life cycle of the parasites...

Even pups who weren't abused or abandoned typically have to be dewormed three times...

You say that your pups have been wormed three times. Has it been the same type of "worm" each time? Are they on heartworm preventative? Most of your heartworm preventives protect against hookworm and roundworm with one (interceptor) protecting against a third, whipworms. However, tapeworms are contracted through fleas. The flea is the intermediate host of the tapeworm and the dog has to swallow the flea to get tapes. Even though you may not see fleas on your babies, you do say you take them for long walks where they could pick up a single flea which could be all that it takes to get tapeworm. There is a heartworm preventative (Iverhart Plus) that claims to protect against tapes but the dosage of the medication (dronsit) seems too low to do this.

I guess my best advise would be to worm your babies according to your vets advise and get them started on a good heartworm preventative. Also realize that some "worms" are zoonotic meaning that the are transmissible to humans so your pups "worms" not only have a health risk to your babies but to you too!

I do use interceptor every month. I am not sure what type of worms they have had to be honest. I guess I need to check with the vet. I just assumed (wrongly I now know) that once they had had medication all would be well.