Oliver has giardia - and I have a few questions

[LarryL]

I thought I'd move this out of the food group and start a new thread as it is no longer food related.

Oliver is a little over 3 months and has been with us for two and a half weeks.
A day after changing food he had diarrhea - after getting a stool sample to the vet, he tested positive for giardia.

We have been adding a bit of mashed sweet potato to his food to firm him up a bit.

The vets office initially gave me metro, but thanks to DK I requested Panacur instead.
They gave me 3 little baggies of powder - a 3 day supply.

Question 1: I know I'm supposed to give a probiotic either two hours before or after he takes his meds. Yesterday we bought all natural fage Greek yogurt - is this a probiotic? Or is yogurt & probiotic not the same?

2: how often should we give him yogurt? Just once a day before or after his meds??

3: I asked the guy at the vets office if in a week or two I should give another stool sample, but he said he would just take more Panacur in two weeks. This sounded weird to me as I dont want to give him more meds than necessary - am I right for thinking that?

4: as far as cleaning, I know to be diligent with his poop cleaning. Is the only way he can reinfect himself by eating licking his poop???

5: he just got his booster shot yesterday - should I avoid taking him outside until this passes?

6: how cantageous is he to other pups? We have a puppy socialization class on Wednesday that I now think I should cancel?

Lastly, I will take as much advice & recommendations as possible!

Thanks

[F, Calla & Luca]

If there is it would no doubt be toxic to dogs too. Plain old bleach on spots that the dog has pooped on is recommended.

[LarryL]

Hey guys,

Thank you for all your concern and well wishes. It is appreciated.

Our vet gave me 5 more days of Panacur, and said to come back in 3 weeks. If that doesn't help, he'll give a different medication. I asked if I should do 10 days (5, then 2 weeks off - then 5 again) but he said no.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping this works, but I believe he has a drug resistant strain from the pacific northwest.

Before we did his does of Metro, we tried 5 days of panacur and it really did not help.

Not sure if this time will be any different, but hoping for the best. 

Back then Oliver was "acting" sick - waking me up in the middle of the night to go potty, and had very very soft spraying diarrhea. This time he seems much better, and his stool is constantly improving - but his poops go back and forth. It's literally one is hard and formed, the next is very soft, then nice and hard, then soft.

Again, hoping for the best - but back then my breeder told me that 5 days of panacur would do nothing - she was right.

But the Metro didn't work either. Hoping the additional Panacur would take care of this.

Additionally, he uses a porch potty on our balcony. We try to catch every drop with the awesome plate technique we learned here lol. Anything we miss we spray with bleach. Outside we are very diligent to not let him near any poop. And we also wipe his butt after he goes with doggy wipes.

My wife is considering quarantining him for a few weeks at home. I am not sure if that is a good idea. What do you guys think?

She also wants to maybe throw out all his toys and get new ones?

Isn't giardia passed thru poop. Not sure how his toys would have that on it.

Would you guys throw away all his toys and replace it with new ones??

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I hope this round of Panacur will do the trick!

Giardia is a parasite..but it is not only in poop..it can also be in an area of soil where an infected animal has pooped..it can be in the soil, in water, puddles..etc.  Which is why you have to wash his paws…not b/c he may have walked in his own poop..but b/c it can be in the soil that he walked on.  

If you think about it in the same way our germs are transmitted…door knobs, cell phones, etc..it is the same concept.

As far as the toys go, it is the same thing as his bedding. Make sure you are washing them..I would throw them all in the washer and add some bleach to it.

What do you mean by quarantine him?  Does he go to public places that he may be picking this up from?

Here is a great article on giardia..it may have been posted before..but it clearly explains giardia..and it can't hurt to read it again!

http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/ani...

[Brittney & Cally]

Having just gone through this maybe I can help a little. I tried to catch everything with a paper plate and if I did I I would slide it in a poop bag and toss it. Wipe the butt and paws and move on. I was constantly changing Callys bedding...after every use. I washed a ton of towels ( with a little bleach) and would just throw in towels and rotate out Kongs as well. If I did not catch the poop I would pick as much of it up as I could put it on the paper plate and whatever I did not get up I would pick up with Clorox wipes and as soon as I saw there is no traces of any poop I would then spray with bleach. I was constantly wiping her butt and paws with baby sensitive unscented wipes. Cally was on six days of panacur and her poop started improving at day four but would keep going back and fourth from formed to diarrhea and my vet said that is normal just to keep doing what I was doing. With in seven days she was good as new! She gets tested on Monday! I have still been crazy about picking up her poop and cleaning just in case! Are you taking Oliver outside the home? You said your wife wants to quarantine him? Where has he been going?

[Heather]

I was told by my breeder that they haven't had any recent cases, now I'm wondering if this was a lie.
Can anyone PM me the name of your breeder if you have a recent puppy with Giardia?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can tell you with absolute certainty that it was a lie, unless by "recent" she means this week. 

[Heather]

I just realized Oliver is a golden doodle. My puppy is a labradoodle.
Do you want to PM me info you have about my breeder?
Thank you.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Your breeder has a group here, and there is a discussion in that group about the ongoing giardia issues. To my best knowledge, nothing has changed. Since that discussion was posted, there are have been others with the same problems posting about resistant giardia in the Food Group. Again, it depends on what is considered "recent".

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Is 7 months ago "recent"? Here are some discussions from an owner with a dog from your breeder: 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/looking-for-others-who-ve-...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[LarryL]

By "quarantine" I meant not taking him outside.

Only having him go on the balcony.

He goes frequently on the porch potty on our balcony, and we also take him outside for walks.

We don't let him walk in puddles, drink from them, or come in contact with other poop.

Maybe we should keep him indoors for a while she thinks

[Heather]

This all worries me so much! We are getting a new puppy in June from a breeder in the NW! May I ask where Oliver is from? I'm scared our puppy will come sick as well!
I hope Oliver gets better soon!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are at least two well-known breeders in WA state whose puppies have come home with resistant strains of giardia.