Food and Giardia

[Stacy]

My pup has had issues with Giardia since we got her. We are getting ready to start meds again. The Vet wants us to do a prescription food, which I don't want to do. She is currently eating Wellness Puppy. I have been wanting to switch her to Acana. I am thinking to make the switch now and see if it helps the diareahh. Any thoughts? 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I am sorry you have these issues with Giardia which seems sometimes to be difficult to get rid of.  Read the post below on why you should say no to those expensive prescription diets.I don't think that changing foods at this stage would be a good idea.  Best to get rid of the Giardia first.  I know that you have to be very vigilant on cleaning up when that Giardia parasite is around and this means thorough cleaning of everywhere  that your pup eliminates.  There are lots of very good posts here about how best to go about it and what the best meds are that do the best job of getting rid of Giardia.  I am sure that Karen and Jack will give you the best up-to-date advice as soon as she spots your post.  

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/why-you...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Absolutely do not use an Rx food. The ingredients are garbage, and there is nothing medicinal or therapeutic in them. Nothing at all that would help clear giardia. As we have said here many times, it is well documented that veterinarians do not recieve nutritional education in school and rely on Hill's, Pruina, etc. to provide them with what information they do have. If you asked them, most of them would not even be able to tell you what was in these foods or how it might help.

As long as the giardia is present, no kind of food change is going to help. I agree that she might do better with a grain-free food like Acana, but switching now is only going to confuse the issue. Her system is not going to respond well to a food change while she's on antibiotics or other meds.

What medications have you used for the giardia? You really need Panacur, metronidazole on it's own won't do it. You also have to make sure that you are thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all aeras where she has pooped, even outdoors, or she is going to keep getting reinfected. Make sure there is no standing water outside, and do not let her drink from puddles. Sometimes, the problem with a tough case of giardia is that the dog keeps getting reinfected. She must be supervised when outdoors.

Have you tried adding pumpkin or yogurt to help her GI tract? Won't cure anything, but might help firm up the poop.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I agree. The food has nothing to do with the Giardia, then switch her food. Avoid the rx. food. The food group has lots of info on the fact that it is junk. Acana is great, I feed it but it won't fix diarrhea caused by Giardia. You could add some canned pumpkin, not the kind for filling but just pumpkin, and probiotics to her food. Also make sure you have the better meds for Giardia, i.e. Panacur.

[Stacy]

Ok, sorry I am just now responding. Ok, so this is the story. We have done 3 rounds of Panacur and Metrazionadal (sp). The Vet said that in tough cases like this he often sends people to the speciality clinic where they scope etc.. he said they don't treat any differently than they are. He said Giardia can be very difficult and no two cases are the same. He said that if a dog has normal poop, but still tests positive for Giardia they don't treat it. Some dogs can be carriers. So he said that often what turns the corner is putting them on hyper allergenic food (prescription food) So I really don't know what to do?? From what I read the prescription foods are garbage and I don't want to feed that to my dog. However, I don't know what to do with the Giardia. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

They are bad foods and what does hypoallergenic have to do with Giardia? Maybe you need a second opinion.

[Stacy]

He said that the food does not cure Giardia, but sometimes the dogs intestines are so inflamed from the Giardia that putting them on the prescription food calms the intestines and the poop firms up. They don't treat for Giardia if the poop is good. I think he is a good vet, but would not be opposed to another opinion. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Feeding any bland diet would do a lot more than Rx food to "calm the intestines", and provide some actual nutrition for a reasonable cost, unlike the garbage in a can that passes for Rx food. Most Rx foods are about 60% carbohydrate, which is the most difficult macronutrient for dogs to digest, and include a lot of insoluble fiber, which might help to firm up poop, but so would some canned  pumpkin. But the main problem with Rx foods is that they contain some ingredients which can be very harmful.

Another opinion might be a good idea, but I think your best bet is the specialty clinic.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Karen is once again the expert here on inflamed intestines. But I would think chicken and rice would be better than rx. food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep. Or chicken and mashed sweet potatoes.

[Shannon and Finn]

I can definitely see your vets point of view on allowing the intestines to heal/rest after giardia and meds.   Rx food likely wouldn't help but maybe doing something simpler than a dry food would.  Thinking yogurt, pumpkin, boiled meat, rice etc. and giving him very small, possibly frequent meals so it isn't so taxing on his system.  I am sure someone here has done something similar in the past. Unfortunately vets aren't nutrition experts but we expect them to be so they just stick with a rx diet recommendation.  Human doctors often give generic and ineffective dieting advice too because they don't know what else to do when people ask.

Finn was just treated for giardia too, with Panacur.  He didn't have runny stools, just bad gas and maybe a slightly reduced appetite but now he seems fine.  Our vet has always been great and wasn't going to follow up with tests or treatments if he was asymptomatic after the first round and I agreed.  Puppies just don't have the immune systems to combat it yet.  I saw a few studies that said most dogs test positive for giardia but don't show symptoms, some studies that said it can lead to digestive problems later...I think we just don't know a lot about it yet so there is a learning curve with treatments.  I have been bleaching his poop spots and giving him a little plain yogurt with his meals.  Hope that helps!