Giardia !!

[Karen P]

Just got a call from the vet and Chewie has Giardia!  I guess they rate it from 1-5 and his is only at a 1, so hopefully we caught it early enough.  Any suggestions on care for him.  If I feed him yogurt will it help with the loose stools? 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

When Guinness had it the Vet put him on two meds...one was a dewormer and I can't remember what the other one was right now. You may need to feed him on chicken and rice for a while to help firm up the stools. The yogurt with some pumpkin should also be good.

[Frannie & Callie]

Callie had this recently. It's VERY important to clean everywhere he has been and to pick up his poop very quickly in the yard. Dogs can easily re-infect themselves (I learned this the very hard way and Callie had loose stools for over a month). Yes to the chicken and rice and yes to the pumpkin (I've not tried the plain yogurt...black doodle beard and white yogurt is a scary combo). Callie was also on two meds...the dewormer and an anti-inflammatory (the giardia made her colon inflamed). This doesn't last as long in most dogs as it did with Callie - she had the re-infection so we went more than a month (fortunately for me, Groupon.com had a deal on organic carpet cleaning while all this was happening!). Hope Chewie feels better soon!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Usual treatment is Panacur for three days to kill the parasite, and metronidazole for the diarrhea. Adding pumpkin to his food will help, too.
You need to wear rubber gloves when cleaning up poop, because giardia is a zoonotic disease. Then you should spray any areas where the poop has made contact with a 1 part bleach/10 parts water solution, because the giardia spores are very tough to kill...they will even survive frost...and the dog can become reinfected from contact with the spores in grass, dirt, etc. Even hard surfaces like concrete. And yes, the bleach will kill grass & vegetation.
Check all the areas around your home for any standing water. Gutter pans, planters, even the seats of chairs you may have outdoors...I have seen dogs drinking standing water from the concave seats of plastic patio chairs. If you have any outdoor water bowls, they need to be scrubbed & disinfected.
I hope you did get it early and Chewie is back to normal soon!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

One other thing that wasn't mentioned....the Vet strongly recommended that we wash or destroy all his bedding also to prevent reinfection. We had to wipe his butt (I used baby wipes) each time he went to be sure he didn't infect the house. I was a fanatic the whole time about washing my hands....it did concern me that humans could get it. Guinness had a pretty severe case of it, but he was actually feeling fine in just a couple of days on the meds.

[Karen P]

My husband just picked up the medicine. The vet gave Chewie Panacur granules only. It is to be mixed with his food for three days and then treat again in 3 weeks. Thank you for all the information. Looks like I will be heading to the store after work for supplies!

[Melissa, Samson & Shelby]

The Pancur worked great for us. My vet started with the traditional metronidazole first and it didn't work for Samson. Good luck!

[Kathy Spyker]

Sounds like it was caught early, yea! Hope Chewie is feeling better real soon.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Oh wow...what a pain in the butt!! ha ha There certainly seems to be a lot of work because of this nasty little parasite. I would hate to have to spray my grass and kill it. Gracie hangs in our backyard with us all the time. She loves to lay in the shade of the tree. I guess this is a stupid question...any guesses where Chewie got it. I know it probably is everywhere. Don't any of the shots our puppies get protect them from this horrid parasite? Hugs to Chewie from Gracie Doodle...no licks quite yet!

[Karen P]

We took him to a park that had a little stream and he drank some of the water before I could stop him. Still not sure how I could stop him anyway?? But he probably got it there or possibly from doggie daycare Yeah, I know I wish there was some kind of shot to prevent this. We are going to Kentucky Lake in July and he will be in the water there, so I know he will drink that to. Thanks for the hugs from Gracie Doodle I will pass them on!!

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

There is a Giardia vaccine. The studies I have read say the effectiveness/protection levels are mixed. Both my dogs are vaccinated annually, however, and have not been re-infected after being treated for Giardia 4 years ago. They frequently drink water from streams etc. I do keep them away from dog parks with standing water. My vet obviously believes the vaccine works. So far so good.

[Karen P]

Thank you for the information. I am going to have to check with my vet before we go on vacation this summer. This would be great.

[Laura & Chewie]

Oh, just saw this...hope Chewie is feeling much better soon.