Did your doodle have giardia?

[Shannon Querry]

I can't get the search to go back very far for me so I thought I'd set up a new discussion. Our Fleury girl is 10 months old and has never had perfect poops but in the last few months have been blow-out worthy. I have been home cooking for her for over a month now and the diarrhea was under control except for when she went to doggie daycare twice a week. We were suspecting IBD but went ahead and did a diarrhea panel to just rule things out. I found out last Thursday that she has giardia! The vet put her on metronidazole for 2 weeks and I'm going to continue home cooking to hopefully get some weight on her as she's lost 5 pounds :(

 

The owner of the kennel she goes to is encouraging the owners of the dogs in her playgroup to get tested as there are some poop eaters in the group ;) Her own dog plays in the group and has also tested positive for giardia but is asymptomatic.

 

What are your experiences with giardia? Thanks!

[Natasha]

Yes, Rouser had giardia. Our vet prescribed two different packets of powder with different concentrations of fenbendazole. We gave two packets of one kind and one packet of another for five days and then retested one month later. It takes a full month for the parasite to pass.

I have heard that it is not uncommon and many dogs have it but are asymptomatic. Rouser did have some symptoms so we treated him.

He drank pond scum up in our nature preserve. Yuck!

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Unfortunately this is more prominent than any of us would like to think and it is not necessarily indicative of poor conditions as was hinted in a recent discussion. Dog parks, kennels, daycares ~ all increase the odds, as does any standing water, especially in the 'right' conditions. A lake at a local dogpark here has tested positive many times for the presence of giardia and more ~ yuck is right. That said do we dare even think of the many unknown parasites that we may be walking around with unsuspecting of? There are many breeders who swear of success in prevention with Karbo essentials ~ http://www.gomersinc.com/a_canine_esst.asp.

Personally I have broken down what appear to be the primary functioning ingredients and purchased a higher (and hopefully cleaner) grade of them. I use FOS, very inexpensive at your healthfood store, short for fructooligosaccharides which is thought to provide protection 2 fold ~ first is does not digest and may attach to that which we do not want left in the intestinal lining, second it is fibrous so it helps move along that which we do not want. Digestive enzymes are always helpful in maintaining a healthier gut as well and food grade diatomaceous earth may help in prevention too. If you choose not to use digestive enzymes, probiotics/prebiotics any other time please consider doing so following any gut invasive treatments like a round of antibiotics, dewormer, etc...

[April Cliber]

GREAT info Dianne!!! I'm off to buy some FOS! How much do you give per pound? Thanks!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Guinness has had giardia, and now my puppy has it. We have just been through a round of the dewormer and antibiotics. The treatment worked for Guinness and he tested free of the parasite in two separate tests. I believe the tests were run one month after completion of treatment and again two months later. Because the puppy now has it we have retreated Guinness as a precaution. I think it's great that you're home cooking while she's going through this...my guess is that she'll be able to put the weight back on pretty quickly. I know that I was really concerned with Guinness's first diagnosis, but I now realize how common it is, and he bounced back very quickly. He also has IBD which is a complicating factor, but he's fine with that now too since I've been home cooking. Keep us posted.

[Christina and Cooper plus Benny]

Cooper got it when he was a baby from a local nature area/running trail that has beavers. Beavers are a major carrier of giardia, or beaver fever. :( He wasn't gaining weight and throwing up often and some runny some regular poo. The metronidazole worked great, and he stared to eat more and gain weight and was SO much happier within about 10 days or so. I felt horrible that he had been sick and I didn't know for a while. So much guilt. :(
At any rate, I now test for it every time Coop goes to the vet, because the test is pretty inexpensive, and because a lot of dogs (especially in Oregon) have this and don't have any symptoms so it would be easy for him to pick up again. Plus, we still go to the park and run where there are beavers in the water. I also *try* to keep him from drinking out of any standing water (including puddles) when we are out running. Sometimes easier said than done.
Keep your chin up, I bet Fleury girl will be feeling better real soon. Puppies are SO resilient. :)

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

One of my dogs had giardia when she was a year old. She was treated succesfully and both dogs have since received the giardia vaccine every year with no recurrences. Prevention is still key since the vaccine is not guaranteed to work 100%, at least as far as I know.

[Shannon Querry]

Thanks everyone! She's most certainly not acting sick in any way that's for sure! I'm REALLY hoping that the owner of the kennel calls me tomorrow morning because no doggie daycare=crazy doodle! We are giving her yogurt with her meal twice a day when she eats already but that's interesting about the other stuff. Something else to look into!

Does anyone know how long they remain contagious for once they've started treatment? She'll have been on the meds for a week tomorrow.