Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Giardia?
Hello All!
I just brought our tiny f1b puppy home from the breeder, where she was housed with lots of other doggies. I became a *bit concerned when she was sent home with safegaurd and flagyl, and was told to give both.
I held off, as she was seeing our vet today 48 hours after coming home) and she was eating/drinking/peeing/pooping well. The only thing that bothered me was the smell of her otherwise normal poops...So Stinky!!!
The vet felt she was a bit thin (she's gained 2 oz/day in the last 18 days, weighing 6.6 lbs at 9 weeks).
The combo of the dog being thin/stinky poops/coming from a busy shelter prompted me to give her a dose of safegaurd today, prior to the stool culture coming back tomorrow. She vomitted about 2 hours later. Otherwise she has had no vomitting. She is really, really calm and laid back. Still explores, runs, plays with the kid, etc, but likes her quiet time on her mat too. I'm not sure if that's a golden doodle personality or a sign that she's unwell?
Also, if in fact her stool does come back +ve, how do I clean the yard!?! is it even possible? I have a pair of boots outside on the porch that has her poop on them (whoops) that I wiped all over the grass. It's cold and snowy here right now.
I washed her bedding and my clothes in bleach, I'm about to bleach the sink where my daughter emptied her water bowl this morning. Is there anything else I should be doing inside to keep my kids safe, and the puppy from becomming reinfected? There's no fur anywhere in the house, I gave her a little bath this morning after she had some poop stuck to her fur (washtub has been bleached, as well as the towels I wiped her with...and the clothes I was wearing ;-).
I'm panicking a bit here, but just worried for the health of my kiddos and new pup.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Jess
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on
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Flagyl (metronidazole) is not your best treatment option for giardia. The drug of choice is Panacur, which is not only more effective than Flagyl but also has far fewer side effects.Safeguard is Panacur. I would not use the flagyl unless your vet feels it's necessary on top of the Panacur. Giardia has an incubation period of 10-14 days before the cysts show up in the stool, so it's common to have a negative test even when the dog does have it.
You are also going to want to give probiotics, to replace the good bacteria in the gut that the antibiotics are destroying. Many puppies develop chronic diarrhea from treatment for giardia without probiotics. Order proviable DC online and in the meantime, give two tablespoons of plain unflavored nonfat yogurt 2-3 times a day. Be sure to give the yogurt or probiotics at least two hours apart from the meds, and longer is better.
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Permalink Reply by Jessica on
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Thanks Karen for the info re: the probiotics! I'm sure she'll love the yogurt while waiting for her 'good bugs'.
My vet also said the flagyl was a no-no. So glad I didn't start her on it.
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You have a very good vet. :)
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Permalink Reply by Nancy & Echo on
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I am so sad you have to deal with this. Obviously I have no first-hand experience. But this is from the CDC
How do I protect myself if my dog or cat has a Giardia infection?
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Permalink Reply by Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau on
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Did the breeder tell you specifically your new puppy had giardia, or that the breeder has had a problem with giardia?
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I'd say the fact that the puppy was sent home with metronidazole and Panacur and instructions to give both is a pretty strong indication that the breeder has had a problem with giardia, lol.
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Karen ~ I just thought most breeders did not intentionally send home puppy with giardia, unless they were upfront about the giardia and you wanted them to go ahead and release the puppy. I did not see in the initial comments where there was a discussion with breeder and was curious.
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Unfortunately, I hear this quite often; the breeder sends home meds with the puppy, doesn't mention giardia, just tells the owner the meds are to prevent diarrhea because of nervousness or overexcitement from all the changes, etc. And of course, we hear of so many that don't even send meds and act shocked when an owner informs them a week later that the puppy had giardia. Rarely have I heard of a doodle breeder who is completely upfront about it.
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Yep, that's exactly how it happened! I was sent home with a letter stating the giardia may lie dormant until the puppy gets excited or nervous or stressed with the moving home.
Pup still seems to be doing well though. Is there any percautions that I should take with my yard? We clean up right away, bag the stools. I've heard of 'bleaching the grass' but that seems futile.
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If your temperatures are below freezing, you should be okay. Just supervise her closely to make sure she isn't licking the areas, eating snow, etc.
Of course, that stuff about giardia "lying dormant" is nonsense.
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Cysts are resistant forms and are responsible for transmission of giardiasis.Both cysts and trophozoites can be found in the feces (diagnostic stages) (1). The cysts are hardy and can survive several months in cold water. Infection occurs by the ingestion of cysts in contaminated water, food, or by the fecal-oral route (hands or fomites)...Encystation occurs as the parasites transit toward the colon. The cyst is the stage found most commonly in nondiarrheal feces (5). Because the cysts are infectious when passed in the stool or shortly afterward, person-to-person transmission is possible. While animals are infected with Giardia, their importance as a reservoir is unclear. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/pathogen.html
. Between 2006-2008 in the United States, known cases of giardiasis were twice as high between June-October as they were between January-March 2....An infected person might shed 1-10 billion cysts daily in their feces (poop) and this might last for several months 2,6,7. However, swallowing as few as 10 cysts might cause someone to become ill 2,6...The risk of humans acquiring Giardia infection from dogs or cats is small 17-19,13. The exact type of Giardia that infects humans is usually not the same type that infects dogs and cats 17,18,13. http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/infection-sources.html
Yes, I agree that bleaching the grass sounds futile. If I understand things right, I would guess that since there are so many bacteria in soil, bleach may be less effective on it since soil has such a big surface area. It sounds like the greatest risk of infection is re-infection of your puppy, but I am just speculating.
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