Oliver has giardia - and I have a few questions

I thought I'd move this out of the food group and start a new thread as it is no longer food related.

Oliver is a little over 3 months and has been with us for two and a half weeks.
A day after changing food he had diarrhea - after getting a stool sample to the vet, he tested positive for giardia.

We have been adding a bit of mashed sweet potato to his food to firm him up a bit.

The vets office initially gave me metro, but thanks to DK I requested Panacur instead.
They gave me 3 little baggies of powder - a 3 day supply.

Question 1: I know I'm supposed to give a probiotic either two hours before or after he takes his meds. Yesterday we bought all natural fage Greek yogurt - is this a probiotic? Or is yogurt & probiotic not the same?

2: how often should we give him yogurt? Just once a day before or after his meds??

3: I asked the guy at the vets office if in a week or two I should give another stool sample, but he said he would just take more Panacur in two weeks. This sounded weird to me as I dont want to give him more meds than necessary - am I right for thinking that?

4: as far as cleaning, I know to be diligent with his poop cleaning. Is the only way he can reinfect himself by eating licking his poop???

5: he just got his booster shot yesterday - should I avoid taking him outside until this passes?

6: how cantageous is he to other pups? We have a puppy socialization class on Wednesday that I now think I should cancel?

Lastly, I will take as much advice & recommendations as possible!

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by LarryL on March 3, 2014 at 8:00am

also, the panacur is the powder form.

i was initially concerned it wouldnt be enough as they only gave me 3 days worth - and everyone says you need 5-7, but the actually panacur packaging says to give for 3 days.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on March 3, 2014 at 8:08am

I had an 11 month old foster with raging giardia. He was going 10-12 times a day, waking me in the middle of the night with an urgent need to go out, etc. The poop was like oatmeal; no form at all.

My vet gave me three days worth of Panacur...and yes, it's in powder form. By the second day, there was a vast improvement. By day three, his stools were almost normal. Hang in there. he will get better. The main thing is not to let him re-infect himself.

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Permalink Reply by Abigail *George & Juno* on March 3, 2014 at 12:09pm

Karen, I work in human healthcare and have a background in entomology and parasitology. Lately we've seen increased use of Albenza (albendazole) as an anti-helminthic treatment with lower side effects. Any idea if the same would be true for dogs? It's also usually once a day dosing as opposed to Flagyl (metronidazole) three times daily dosing, in humans of course. Just curious, not recommending it or metro for OP.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on March 3, 2014 at 1:18pm

Treatment of Giardia infections in dogs and cats:

Metronidazole (e.g., Flagyl) can be used in both dogs and cats (not in pregnant animals).
Albendazole (e.g., Valbazen) was recently found to be quite effective in dogs, and may be more efficacious than metronidazole in stopping the shedding of cysts. However, both metronidazole and albendazole have been associated with significant adverse reactions in dogs and cats:
Albendazole: leukopenia +/- anemia and thrombocytopenia; anorexia, lethargy; CNS signs; vomiting and diarrhea; salivation; elevated hepatic and pancreatic enzyme levels; abortion and teratogenicity
Metronidazole: vomiting; CNS signs
Fenbendazole (e.g., Panacur® or Drontal-Plus®) now appears to be the drug of choice. Used in dogs and cats at 50 mg/kg for 3 (-5) days, fenbendazole has been shown to be completely effective in eliminating experimental Giardia infections, and with only mild vomiting/diarrhea as potential side effects.
http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/gik9fel/giardia.html

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Permalink Reply by F, Calla & Luca on March 3, 2014 at 1:29pm

Good info Karen, thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Abigail *George & Juno* on March 3, 2014 at 2:25pm

Thank you Karen! My only scientific experience with dogs was in a parasitology class in which we visited shelters and tested their animals for parasites for free so that we could get lab experience and they could get free lab testing. :) we gave them results, but we never followed up on treatment or options for treatment so I don't have a large amount of knowledge in that area. It's great that we have an effective treatment with mild side effects.

Hoping George never contracts giardia, but I have a hunch that she will. We like to go to the lake, or hike (streams) when the weather is good. And since humans have contracted it from the lake water (gross!) I know she has a good chance as well. Do they ever treat dogs prophylactically? Humans sometimes take Flagyl or Albenza at a lower dose when they know they have an increased risk of contracting it. Again, just curious.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on March 3, 2014 at 2:44pm

I've never heard of doing that with dogs, but it's possible. Personally, I wouldn't give a dog any dose of metronidazole without a really good reason.

If your dogs are going to be spending time in lakes and streams, a bigger concern is leptospirosis. You will want to talk to your vet about the lepto vaccines if you haven't already. :)