shedding and Giardiasis

[Nancy Sweet]

My 4 month old goldendoodle is shedding like crazy!!! And to make matters worse he has Giardiasis. I am in the process of disinfecting my house. I am very unhappy. Has anyone been through this?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, the bleach solution will kill the grass. However, the choice is between that or risking the dog getting reinfected. If a ball rolls onto grass, mulch, or soil that is contaminated with the Giardia spores, and the dog picks up the ball in his mouth...or even just runs over the area and his feet pick it up....
I always disinfected my hands after picking up the poop, even with the gloves. Just to be on the safe side.

[Nancy Sweet]

I have noticed that my puppy is not eating a lot. He never has been a big eater. I wonder if this is related to the Giaridia? The vet said his weight is fine, but I of course still worry. He just does not seem too interested in his food. I am feeding him Nutro Ultraholistic large breed puppy food. The breeder told me to add a little plain yogurt to get him to eat faster when I first brought him home. Now, he has no interest in the food at all unless I add the yogurt. I am thinking about changing his food, but don't want to do anything now until we are over his medication for the Giardiasis. I hope the yogurt won't effect the absorbtion of his meds. I guess I need to talk to my vet about all this. Wow, I can't till we are through all this craziness so we can just enjoy our puppy.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nancy, once all this is over, please join The Food Group and read about Nutro; I don't want to complicate your life and give you more to worry about, but Nutro has had many recalls, including one just last week, and is not a very good food. Vets are also not a great source of info on nutrition, strange as that may seem.
The lack of appetite is probably not telated to the Giardia. Many dogs, my foster included, have even more appetite than usual when they have Giardia. We have lots of discussions about picky eaters in The Food Group, too, as well as yogurt, probiotics, and how to pick the right food for your dog.

[Nancy Sweet]

I looked at the Food Group and now am really overwhelmed. It sounds like a lot of people are feeding their dogs Fromm's? Maybe I should try that. I will have to find out where to buy it.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I feed Fromm's which I get from a local "feed store".Really just a small pet food that carries many high end brands since i live in a NY suburb.

[F, Calla & Luca]

All,and then some, that you ever wanted to know about Giardia

[Nancy Sweet]

Oh boy! Now I can't get my dog to take his Pill. He has been swallowing it like a pro for the past 3 days and now this moring he spit it right back out. I tried to put it into his food and he spit it out. I then tried to crush it in his food and he won't touch the food. Any ideas? I have been putting it into a treat, but I guess he figured that out. I hate for him to miss a dose of his meds. I want to get rid of this Giardia!

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

try to put it in a hot dog, hamburger, cheese...

Other option is to put it way back over the hump of his tongue and hold his mouth closed while rubbing his throat, you will feel him swallow. Then immediately give a treat

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Pill Pockets work well for many people. They "hide" the pill better than things like cheese, and most dogs really love the taste of them.