Maggots

[svnwndrangl]

I am totally perplexed. Every day for four days now I have found 2 maggots in my dogs' water bowl. I clean the bowl and give them fresh water twice a day. There is no sign of maggots in their food, the yard, the house, or the garbage. I cannot figure out where these maggots are coming from except possibly from one of the dogs when he/she drinks. Can someone please tell me what is going on and what to do?

[Noweia]

Could they be dropping into the water bowl from somewhere above, or could a bird be leaving them there as it uses the dog's bowl to drink from?

[svnwndrangl]

No, the water bowl is inside. The dogs have a pet door into a fenced yard, but they come in to eat and drink. No, the maggots are definitely coming from him and I can't find any wounds or other skin problems that might indicate Fly Strike. The only thing I figure is that they are coming from inside of him.

[Breezy23]

Is the bowl outside, if so could birds be responsible? Maybe they are finding them and possibly washing them in the water before feeding them to their babies. Just a guess.

[Thunderbird+]

The thought that occurred to me was, the somewhere in your yard there may be some dead carrion that your dog has been attracted to and feeding on at times. Could this be a possibility, a dead bird under a bush or some old buried bones thats been retrieved ?

[svnwndrangl]

No, I checked the yard thoroughly ... several times ... tonight I kept watch over the water bowl ... every time one of the dogs took a drink I checked it and I'm absolutely positive that the maggots are coming from my male dog ... however, when I check in his mouth I don't see anything ... but he was feeling sickly a few days ago ... wouldn't eat for a couple of days ... and then started acting normal again ...

[Eastender]

Take him to the vet for your own peace of mind.

[Clanad]

Only a thought, but you say there is a pet door allowing the dogs to come in. Are you sure what you are seeing are maggots? Could they be slugs? We've found a few in the house and they could be following odors to the water bowls...

[Thunderbird+]

This may sound silly and forgive me if it sounds patronising but have you actually seen these maggots wriggling around ? the reason I ask this is that I've watched my dog wolf down his food and soon after he gulps down his water, often dropping small bits of food into the water, the brand of meat I give him also contains long grain rice which looks remarkably similar to maggots. If this is ruled out then I'd take Eastenders advice.

[svnwndrangl]

Yes ... I know what maggots look like and they are wriggling around in the water ... I called his vet as soon as they opened this morning ... she told me to get him in there and gave me appointment for 2:50 ... since then I have learned that dogs can get internal maggots from contaminated canned food ... unfortunately, the day before he started feeling sickly ... and two days before the maggots showed up ... I had bought them each a can of lamb & rice dog food for a treat ... they normally eat dry food ... in the meantime I'm sitting on pins and needles ... waiting for his appointment ... but as I understand it ... if I've caught the problem in time ... he can be treated ... and will be fine ... a word to the wise ... if you feed your dogs canned food ... check the food before you give it to them ... thank you all for your support ... I will post an answer after his appointment to let you know how he is ...

[Thunderbird+]

Hope all go's well at the vets svnwndrangl, I've not heared of anything like that before, and i will be keeping a close watch on my dogs food from now on, and I think if I were you I'd be having serious words with the dog food manufacturers. All the best!

[svnwndrangl]

Well ... we're back from the vet ... King is going to be fine ... and she even gave me medicine for Duchess ... it wasn't the dog food ... which I'm happy about ... because I do love to give them a treat occassionally ... it's a very contagious rhotovirus ... that is going around ... she said she's been seeing a lot of it ... and even her own dog has it ... as to the maggots ... apparently flies are coming through the pet door ... and depositing their eggs on the water in the bowl ... and even though I wash it and give them fresh water twice a day ... because of the heat ... (we don't have A/C) ... they are developing into larvae at an increased rate ... so all I have to do to keep them out of the water bowl ... is start washing the bowl and relpacing the water four times a day ... instead of only twice ... thanks to all of you ... for your words of support ... I was truly worried sick about my baby ...

[sixpence]

Glad all is OK,svnwndrangl. All dog-lovers have been reading your posting with interest. I was wondering if I had to start inspecting the water bowl, but I see that you talk about great heat, so I wonder if you would tell us which part of the world you live in.

[svnwndrangl]

Actually, I didn't think it was that hot here. We live in Georgia, USA and the temp has only been in the 80's lately. Which isn't like in the summer time when the temp can get over 100. But apparently, flies like warm, moist places to lay their eggs and since I keep my kitchen (where they're fed and watered) germ free ... to put mildly. (Okay, so I'm a germ freak.) The only warm, moist place in there was the water bowl. And between me cleaning and filling their bowl in the morning and then again in the evening, the water was getting warm enough to turn the eggs into larvae. Anyway, for the past two days I've been cleaning and refilling their bowl 4 times a day ... and there hasn't been anymore maggots. But you guys should still heed the warning about checking your dog's canned food ... because I asked the vet about that and she verified that it does sometimes happen. Thank you all ...

[sixpence]

We've all learned a lot from your question and the answers given, so many thanks to you, svnwndrangl, and may your life be " maggot-free" from now on :-)