Giardia

[donna]

Has anyone had any experiance with their doodle getting giardia? My labradoodle tested positive for it at her annual exam. She was treated, however I am concerned about her getting it again. I can't figure out how she was exposed to it.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Have LOTS of experience with it!....lol.....Almost every foster that I have had especially the ones pulled from Almost Heaven have had it......Giardia is a common parasite primarily found in water....although it can be found on surfaces or in soil or food, that has been contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. Does your doodle drink puddle water?

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

Best treatment for it is a round of Panacure de-wormer and Metronidazole (Flagyl) to ease intestinal discomfort and diarrhea....Also feed boiled chicken and rice with a table spoon of canned pumpkin mixed in while treating.

[donna]

Rosie just completed 6 days of panacure. I am going to have her retested. She had no symptoms. I have had her for 3 years. I have a fenced yard and she is walked on a leash. She doesn't usually drink from puddles. She does try to eat any crumb she can find on our walks. She does have the bad habit of eating her own poop which complicates things. I try to clean up the yard the minute she poops, but she can be very sneaky and trys to hide when she goes. I hope she does not get diarrhea because the chicken and rice thing won't work for her. She has allergies and eats Rx food. THANKS FOR YOUR ADVICE!

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

You're welcome...She may have had it for awhile and just keeps re-infecting herself by eating her own feces...She can also get it from eating rabbit poop, deer poop.....A favorite delicacy of many doodles...lol

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Any areas where the poop has been have to be disinfected; the bacteria lives even through the winter on all surfaces...concrete, soil, grass, etc. Outdoors, you have to spray with a mixture of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water...yes, it will kill the grass. Wear rubber gloves when cleaning up after her, because giardia is contagious to humans, so make sure your kids, if any, don't come into contact with any areas where there has been fecal matter. It is very common for them to become reinfected.
Dogs usually get giardia from drinking standing water...as Jacquie said, from puddles. Make sure there are no containers that collect water anywhere in your yard where the dog has access.

[Jacquie Yorke (DRC)]

did I mention that I had it myself?....I think most people who foster have had it at least once.....lol....it is very contagious....

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Both my doodles had it and gave it to my son's dog who was visiting. That dog then shared it with my son's other two dogs. What a mess. I scooped and bleached and washed for weeks! I am convinced that they picked it up at the dog park, on their feet or a ball from an infected dog. It was really nasty at my house and took two rounds of panacure and a lot of pumpkin, probiotics and rice to return everyone to normal. Sorry your dog had to get it!

[donna]

Thank you everyone for the advice. My Vet wants to wait 90 days to retest. The handout she gave me had included the info regarding using bleach on hard surfaces but she said it was not practical to try and do anything on grass or dirt. I will start spraying the bleach and water on the grass too(I can always plant more).All her bedding, bowls and toys were disinfected after 4 days on the medication as advised. I have been washing off her paws when she comes in from the yard and she had a bath once during the treatment and when it was finished as advised by the vet. I have a feeling one treatment is not going to be enough.We have been lucky she does not have diarrhea.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, maybe they caught it early, before the giardia cells started being shed. My foster had 8 or more poops a day, all like oatmeal...try cleaning that up! I did spray the areas in the yard as best I could, and even ended up replacing some of the sod, because Jack has immune system defiencies and I was really freaked out. But nobody here ever got it. I hope this will clear up soon and you won't have any recurrences.