Do It Yourself Giardia Test Kits....Am I Crazy?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

We're in the middle of dealing with Murphy's Giardia, and I've been doing lots and lots of reading about it.  It is a nasty parasite, and it can be very difficult to diagnose.  It doesn't always show up in stool samples, so you can easily get "clear" samples when they actually have the parasite.  I really believe this is something that Murph may have had for a while, and that could be why we have not been able to solve his food issues even with home cooking.  Anyway, I found that I can order the test kit online (SNAP) test.  I can get 15 tests for $169.99.  It can be purchased through Amazon and it comes from Revival Animal Health which sells lots of other pet meds (like Frontline).  There are lots of reviews for this company, with 97% of them positive.  The reason I'm seriously thinking about this is that I want to be absolutely positive that we clear it up, and one fecal test is just not reliable.  I can see myself bring in samples to the Vet every few days at $30 each time.  Doing it myself seems way more convenient and practical.  Has anyone ever done this or ordered anything from this company?

[Fitz & Henry]

Oh boy... Okay so here's the deal, I truly do not believe that Henry is reinfecting himself because we have NEVER gotten rid of it. Even while he's been on treatments of metro & pancur... There was zero change during or after the treatment. The stool still remained rancid smelling and like soft serve ice cream.
We have also tried a drug called Tinidizaole which cost $85.00 for 10 pills. That was suggested by the internal medicine doctors at Antech Labs.... The results -- no difference, still positive fecal.

We are now on metro & pancur again.... I'm thinking about starting coconut oil to just boost his immune system. But not sure how to get him to eat that.... Suggestions?

I've read on the CDC site and from the FDA that bleaching the grass after you've picked up a stool does NOTHING and it's not recommended by the CDC or FDA. I'm thinking that maybe winter is our best shot.... The temps might get low enough to help??? But I just want to knock this damn parasite out of his system... My poor baby.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Coconut oil to boost the immune system is pure hokum in my medical opinion. As for the rest good luck in freeing Henry of this parasite.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Coconut oil will do nothing to boost his immune system; in fact, a recent study showed that the Omega 6 fatty acid ALA from plant oils, including coconut oil, can increase inflammation in dogs. Canine nutritionists advise against ALA supplements in dogs.

But none of that has anything to do with giardia anyway. :) 

What is meant by "reinfecting himself" is that if you don't completely eradicate the giardia cysts from the environment, that could be the cause of his never having gotten rid of it. For example, if he is drinking standing water from puddles or containers in the yard, and that water contains giardia cysts from ground runoff, the meds aren't helping because as fast as they kill the existing cysts, he is ingesting new ones.

Giardia cysts will over-winter in the soil. Frost doesn't kill them. 

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

You could use a cleaner specifically made for kennels, vet offices and training centers to help keep it at bay but you would want to make sure there are no EPA regulations on the bottle preventing you from spraying your grass.  Giardia is in the ground so there is no real way of eliminating it, rain will push it to the surface.

[Fitz & Henry]

My vet is really into the whole integrated medicine thing and she does a lot of acupuncture on animals etc. she said coconut oil wouldn't hurt anything.... Heck I don't know, I'm desperate at this point. If you told me I had to stand on my head while the dog was eating ... I'd do it. I am just worried about what all these drugs are doing to my dog that is only 6.5 months old. I've already turned him into a neurotic dog, who only will go poop if he's wearing a leash because I have to pick it up the second he goes to the bathroom.

I just am looking for anyone who has had a hard time getting rid of Giardia that came from the Pacific NW and wondering how they finally cured it???

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

My advise on that, which i mentioned to you in another discussion on this,  is to go to the breeder's group here on DK, look through the comments section for the comments from owners who dealt with this, and then contact those people on their pages for advice on how they treated it. 

You are right to be concerned about all the drugs, especially metronidazole. Repeated courses and long term use of metronidazole, especially in puppies, have been linked to GI disease and neurological damage in dogs.

[Fitz & Henry]

We have no place where there is standing water or run off water. I don't let him drink from puddles. He is not outside without supervision, I watch him like a hawk. I even shut off our sprinkler system and dried out our yard to avoid wetness in the yard. I pick up every stool he's ever made, I wipe his rear end, I clean everything.
We've had to express his anal glands 2x and he's only 6 1/2 mos old because of the Giardia not allowing him to have any firm stools.
It's beyond frustrating....

[Fitz & Henry]

I have been looking through the breeders group and reaching out. I wish I could find any of my puppy's siblings.

As far as the cold killing the Giardia, I read on the CDC web site that a freeze would help. I realize it can live in 39 degrees for up to 7 weeks. But this is Chicago... We need a good a hard freeze. I'm the only one wishing for a very cold winter!! : )

[Fitz & Henry]

I already hav Tylan powder.... Tried that too. Didnt help. : (

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-health-giardia-intestinal-bug-...

Giardia in Dogs: Is It a Major Danger or Just a Normal Bug?

Some fear that humans can catch it from dogs, while others say it's part of a dog's routine intestinal milieu.

Dr. Eric Barchas  |  Nov 12th 2013  |   2 Contributions

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This summer I fulfilled my longstanding ambition to hike the Rae Lakes loop in King's Canyon National Park. The forty-mile trek was beautiful, and I had the opportunity to spend two nights at the stunning lakes which are the crown jewels of the loop. Most of the hike follows rivers or streams, so water is abundant.

On the hike I saw something that surprised me: Most of my fellow hikers drank water from the streams and lakes without filtering or treating it. That seemed dangerous to me; stock animals are allowed on the trails, and they don't follow the National Park Service's rule of defecating at least 100 feet away from water. Drinking untreated water where stock animals are common is a good way to contract E. coli. More disgustingly, many of my filthy fellow hikers liked to swim in the lakes after a long day on the trail. Given their lack of regard for hygiene, the lake water probably had plenty of human-sourced E. coli as well.

And then there was the concern about Giardia. Giardia are single-celled organisms known as protozoa. Giardia is supposedly a camper's worst nightmare. It can be present even in waters, such as those in King's Canyon, that appear completely pristine. Infection results in spastic diarrhea that can render a person unable to do much other than sit on a toilet (if one is available). Fortunately, there is some good news for hikers. Giardia's incubation period is usually around 40 days in people. Most people are off the trail by the time they get sick, and they usually blame their diarrhea on the previous night's dinner rather than the crystal-clear unfiltered stream water from which they drank a month before.

But enough about hikers. It turns out that Giardia can infect dogs as well. And Giardia has been a major problem for dogs and their owners since a new test was developed several years ago.

Giardia by Shutterstock.

You see, Giardia had previously been really tough to diagnose in dogs. The organisms can be identified in microscopic evaluations of specially prepared stool samples, but they are fragile. Infected dogs don't shed the organisms continuously, so false negatives were common. A diagnosis of giardiasis was rare in any dog.

But then came the Giardia antigen test. It was a chemical assay rather than a microscopic test. The new stool test checked for proteins released by Giardia organisms. Once vets started using the new test, dogs started testing positive for Giardia all the time. Rates of infection ranged from 10 percent in average household dogs, to 30 percent to 50 percent in puppies, to 100 percent in some shelters and breeding scenarios.

This led to quite a bit of panic. Dogs could get Giardia and so could people. The millions of dogs now testing positive for Giardia needed to be treated to protect their owners. They needed to be treated whether they were suffering from diarrhea or not.

Except for one thing. People weren't catching Giardia from dogs. And most dogs that tested positive for Giardia weren't exhibiting symptoms.

Dr. Eric Barchas takes a dog's pulse. Photo by Liz Acosta

In fact, in the entire history of Giardia in North America not a single case of human giardiasis has been documented to have been contracted from a dog. (Source: Today's Veterinary Practice, September/October, 2013, page 46.)

There are two things to consider. First, Giardia comes in many different varieties. The varieties are called assemblages. Humans appear susceptible to assemblages A and B and rarely E and F. Dogs are usually infected with C or D. In other words, it appears unlikely that canine Giardia can sicken people. (Note that F is the most common assemblage in cats, so spread from cats to humans appears to be a greater threat than spread from dogs.)

Also, one must consider that many dogs infected with Giardia do not become ill. In fact, many experts now believe that Giardia is a natural part of many canines' intestinal flora.

Can Giardia cause dogs to become sick? The answer appears to be yes -- in some circumstances. Giardia appears to be an opportunistic pathogen. Healthy mature dogs can tolerate its presence in their guts without any problem. Puppies, immune-compromised dogs, and dogs with other intestinal problems can experience diarrhea or exacerbation of pre-existing symptoms as a result of the bug.

A young girl with a puppy by Shutterstock.

What does this mean for dog owners? If your dog has diarrhea and tests positive for Giardia then the Giardia should be treated. If your dog is healthy and tests positive for Giardia on routine screening tests then it possibly should not.

And the antigen test should not be used serially. A dog with diarrhea and a positive Giardia antigen test should be treated for Giardia, but the antigen test should not be used to monitor that treatment because it will probably stay positive forever. Instead, microscopic evaluation of the stool should be used to assess for presence of pathological quantities of the parasite.

And what about spreading to humans? As I mentioned, it is not likely. However, basic hygiene should always be practiced. Dog feces should be cleared from the environment rapidly. People should wash their hands after picking up dog poop, and they should keep their dog's hind ends clean.

These common sense steps don't merely protect against the theoretical risk of Giardia transmission from dogs to owners. They protect against the 100% real and ubiquitous threat of E. coli as well.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Thanks so much for this information.....very helpful.

[F, Calla & Luca]

This is a very interesting article. I personally do not believe in routine fecal tests on my dogs and this gives added fuel to my thoughts. If your dog is healthy and you are going for an annual exam why have a fecal test and ask for problems. My dogs have had negative fecal tests in the past and unless they have a longstanding GI problem I will avoid fecal tests. I try to avoid heartworm tests too.Calla had one this year because she apparently never had one. I treat for heartworm year round and I feel comfortable with avoiding the test. And clearly the Giardia antigen test is useless in dogs who have had Giardia. A lot of routine testing by vets gives people reassurance but mostly what it does is help the vet practices bottom line. At least in human medicine almost all testing is done by outside labs and the doctors have to disclose any financial interest in the testing facilities from labs to MRIs.