Giardia

[Samantha Randall]

Hamilton had diarrhea for about a week before we finally took him in to the vet. (He was acting completely normal and we thought it might have been that we switched his food) He tested positive for a parasite called Giardia. The vet informed us it is very common and nothing to be worried about. Just curious if anyone has had experience with it? They gave us packets to sprinkle on his food in the morning, a tablet to sprinkle at night, antibiotics that he takes twice a day, and a tube of paste like substance to administer once daily until it's gone. Quite a bit of medicine for him! 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Giardia causes intestinal issues in people too, it's a very common parasite.. be really careful handling Hamilton's poop and wash his bed etc. on HOT (to try to get rid of the parasite cysts).  

[Samantha Randall]

Thank you for the tip! just washed all of his bedding last night. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Tons and tons of people here have had doodle puppies with giardia. If you type "giardia" into the search box in the upper right corner of this website, you will be amazed at all the discussions and info about giardia. 

[Samantha Randall]

wow you're right! Didn't realize this many pups experienced it! Thank you

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I dealt with this when Guinness was a puppy.  In addition to the meds it's really important to wash all his bedding.  We also had to wipe his butt and his paws with baby wipes each time we brought him in.  We had to either spray down the area where he pooped with a bleach mixture or else try to "catch" his poop before it hit the ground (some people do this with a paper plate).  It can definitely be transmitted to humans so be sure to scrub with anti-bacterial soap.  As I recall it took two rounds of the meds, but it never came back. 

[Samantha Randall]

Just washed all his bedding on hot last night- thank you for the tips! 

[Carol and Truffle]

Having had some experience in the past - I will second the importance of getting the yard cleared up. If you don't, your pup may just keep reinfecting

[Samantha Randall]

Thanks for the tip! 

[Jeremy Little]

Our rat terrier had it twice when she was younger. Drinking rainwater was something the vet said was a risk factor. They gave us meds and she lived almost 16 years. No lasting affects.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

You MUST give Hamilton a probiotic to counteract the effect of the meds - just like humans need a probiotic when taking antibiotics.  The best doggy one to give is Proviable (order on Amazon). It must be given at least two hours distant from the other meds he is taking.

[Samantha Randall]

Thank you! I think he was given one (the tablet we give at night) but will double check when I get home. I've also been giving him frozen pumpkin in his kong as a treat but will get probiotics if he isn't already taking it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's really important to continue the probiotics for a few weeks after the antibiotics are discontinued, too. The anthibiotics will kill all of the bacteria in the gut, including the good gut floira necessary for proper stool formation. For this reason, it's very common for the diarrhea to return after the meds are discontinued, so you want to be sure to continue giving the probiotics.