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

[Brittney & Cally]

Oops my apologies! I am on my phone so it is hard to tell! Sorry Pam! Definitely look into the food group discussions about the food though!

[LarryL]

So Oliver woke us up at 5:00 & 6:00am this morning both times with a pretty loose bm :-(

[LarryL]

He's also been sleeping more than normal - and didn't wanna touch his food today

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

lethargy and not eating are usually an indicator that something is wrong.  how long have you noticed this?  I would call my vet.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree. It's possible there is more going on with him than giardia. Simple giardia typically doesn't cause loss of appetite, lethargy, or behavioral changes, just diarrhea. 

[LarryL]

Last two days he's been on & off.

Meaning, yesterday he ate breakfast normally - did not want lunch at all - ate dinner
Today he hasn't ate breakfast yet.

Also, yesterday he was a fine playful puppy in the first half of the day - tired in the second.
This morning he played for a good 5-10 minutes, but then has been sleeping most of the day.

Right now he's playing with my hat on the floor.

I'll take him to the vet in the morning...anything specific I should ask for?
If the doc recommends Metro - do I take it?

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

Not speaking from experience with giardia, just experience with a puppy who was lethargic and wouldn't eat, other people may have advice as well. Here is what we did: took puppy to the vet, he ran a CBC and xrayed to make sure nothing was ingested (we knew nothing was, she is never unsupervised, but we like to cover all bases) CBC showed signs of a bacterial infection. She took augmentin or clavamox for 7 days, but was back to herself the very next day.

So I think I would go that route. Run a CBC because it makes it much easier for the vet to know if he's dealing with something bacterial, viral, or if the puppy just wasn't feeling well, based on the body's immune response or lack thereof. Therefore I'm not entirely sure your vet will try to get you to take metronidazole unless your puppy IS only suffering from giardia. At which point, you know how the members here feel about metro for giardia and can make your own decision. :) I sure hope the little guy feels better soon.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Has Oliver been recently vaccinated?

[LarryL]

Yes, 7 or 8 days ago he ho this 3rd shot

[LarryL]

So Oliver's attitude is back to normal, and he's eating normally.

But his stool is still pretty soft.

Not watery or runny, but still soft serve.

It improved maybe 10% - but still soft.

He's been eating Chicken, Sweet potato, & and his mixture of RC & Orijen.

He woke me up at 5am again today to go potty.

Still trying to figure out if we do the wait & see thing?

If we do more panacur in a week or two - or if we should try something else as the panacur did not work maybe?

Is soft stool common after a 5 day treatment or Panacur, or does that mean it did not work against the Giardia??

[Brittney & Cally]

Maybe you could just cut out the RC? I know this has nothing to do with the issue at hand but it seems unnecessary, but I could be totally off!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No you're totally right. I was just typing the same thing.