Giardia and/or Coccidia?

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

When I bought my puppy last week, I was given pills by the breeder to give to her.  The breeder said it was to prevent stress-induced diarreah that puppies get.  My puppy continued to have terrible diarreah and when I spoke to the breeder this morning about what type of pills they were, she admitted that the pills were for treating Giardia and/or coccidia, but said she was giving them as preventative measures.  They are Fenbendazole and Metronidazole.  Waiting on lab results to see if my dog has either parasite.  Those tests are expensive!  

 

Please give me advice on clean-up.  What products you use.  I have to clean up the backyard, carpet, kitchen floors, toys, bedding, tarps, and crate.  Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Julie, giardia and coccidia are not life-altering or untreatable. It is a pain in the butt though. It's also very common among doodle puppies, and I'm guessing any puppies who are bred purely for profit.

For the outdoors and the crate, and any surface that can be bleached, you use a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Use a lawn sprayer for outdoors. You'll need a disinfectant for indoors.  Wash all the pups bedding and toys, and clean her after she goes. Wear rubber gloves when picking up poop and cleaning the pup, because it's zoonotic and you can get it. Giardia cysts can overwinter, meaning even frost doesn't kill them.

Get rid of any standing water in the yard that the pup can reach...puddles, containers that collect rainwater or melting snow, etc. so she doesn't reinfect herself.

Good luck. I'm sorry you have to go through this and even sorrier the breeder was dishonest with you.

Make sure the meds the breeder gave you are the real deal. Some breeders order a cheaper product called Fish zole instead of metronidazole. The Panacur (fenbendazole) is what is most effective, though.

 

[Jennifer,Chloe & Myla]

What a terrible thing for her to do! I'm sorry you are going through this, hope your baby gets better soon.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so sorry to hear this, but I would definitely take the puppy to your Vet to get a diagnosis (bring a stool sample).  My Vet treats Giardia with Panacur which helped my Doodle in just a few days.  It is very contagious, so you will need to wash all the dog's bedding in hot water.  I also washed the toys in a mixture of bleach and water....and threw out the ones that couldn't be washed.  For the kitchen floor, strong disinfecting cleaner should work.  I steam cleaned the spots on my carpets after first scrubbing with Nature's Miracle.  As for the grass, our Vet told us that the only way to guarantee that you've gotten rid of Giardia is to spray with a bleach & water mixture.  The problem is that will kill the grass, so I would always take the puppy to a spot where you don't really care if you end up killing some of the grass.  Use latex gloves when you are picking up the poop and scrub your hands often.  It's a total pain in the neck...I've been there.  I was really lucky because with all the cleaning and the meds, I was able to get rid of it and it has never come back.  Good luck.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

My Stuart came to me from a rescue organization with Giardia and Coccidia - so I feel your pain and revulsion.  Get your puppy and a poo sample to the vet ASAP.  Take the breeder given meds to vet to verify what you were given.  One thing that I did was to cut paper plates and then catch the poop when the puppy squats so that the infected poop doesn't touch the grass.  Then I'd be calling the breeder and telling them that you want a refund equal to the cost of treatment.  A reputable breeder would NEVER send home sick puppies - ever.  I doubt that they'll refund you any money but I'd tell them that if they don't - you'll be happy to "advertise" for them on Angie's List and all over the intranet.  Good luck.

[Lindsey & Cocoa]

I'm so sorry the same thing happen to me and it took me 2 weeks to find out what was wrong and get the breeder to finally call me. So for 2 weeks the dog used the bathroom with out us being as cautious as we are now. We are still treating her and I pray this is something that is not ongoing. My vet told me there is nothing you can do if they have used the bathroom on the soil because by the time you bleach that area it's already contaminated the soil and if you have more than one pet to make them all use the bathroom in different areas for a couple months. I only have this one dog so I hope that makes it easier. The paper they sent home said keeping the areas very dry is the best way to kill it because they dry up and die. We keep getting rain and snow so this seems impossible to me.
I have been bleaching her create and washing her bedding in hot water and bleach every other day..... I hope it's enough.

I have never even heard of this until I got my first doodle it was never an issue with any of my other puppies inhave ever had.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Same here. I've lived with dogs for 54 years and never heard of giardia until I fostered a doodle puppy from a BYB.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Some of the organisms form cysts which ca resist drying out though. They can remain viable for a long time.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You want the fecal float test, I think that's pretty standard. Also, bring in several samples, because the cysts don't always show up in every part of the poop.

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

Julie, the BAD news is that your darling puppy probably has giardia and it's a big inconvenience! The GOOD news is that you're on this great forum with a bunch of people who have 'been there/done that' and have a wealth of knowledge (me excluded!) on how to treat it! Please don't get discouraged! You sound like a busy young lady with a family and all those associated commitments. Just know DK is the best puppy-support forum around! You are at the right place!

[F, Calla & Luca]

These are not viruses but parasites. I do think they are quite common in puppies even from small, good breeders. Calla had Coccidia at the breeders. They are treatable but it takes not only medication but diligent clean up. Coccidia from dogs doesn't usually affect people but Giardia certainly can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccidiosis

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In this case, though, it appears that Julie's breeder has 22 adult dogs on the property, in addition to the litters.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Yikes. that is waaaayyyy tooo much. :(