Tough Day at the Vet - Giardia

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

After all the problems we had with loose stools with Guinness as a puppy, we thought we had the problem under control. He went for a couple of months with no problems. Last week we had a couple of loose stools and then yesterday he started with diarrhea. I called the vet and took in a stool sample. Today we had our visit, and he has Giardia. She said that she is seeing this all the time lately. In addition to the stool sample she also did an inhouse cytology, and actually could see the cysts as well as elevated red/white blood cells. She put him on Metronidazole and Panacur. Also, he's been licking his paws over the past couple of weeks and they are irritated. For that she gave the Relief Spray. She wants him on a grain free food (at least for now) with yogurt and pumpkin daily. I put him on GF today. I haven't heard much about it here on Doodle Kisses, but the reviews look good. She told me not to give him any home cooking for now. We live in a condo with several fenced dog pens, where we take Guinness to "do his business"...actually it's a requirement of the condo association. She said he cannot go into the pens now, and probably ever. This will be a problem, and I'm sure we'll be getting "warning letters" and then fines, but at this point he comes first, and I really don't care. So, I'm sure in another week he'll be doing fine, but right now I'm frustrated. Does anyone have any insight on what is going on with all tis Giardia? We've had three other dogs, and I never heard of it. Tonight I'm feeling really bad for my little dood.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sorry to hear this, Jane. Giardia can be tough to get rid of. I had never heard of it either until the last year or so in the forums, and then my foster had it last year. But he was a stray. I had to spray all the areas where he went with bleach & water. Because JD is so susceptible, I ended up replacing the sod & mulch. It freaked me out.
Those pens are infected; giardia cysts can live in the grass or soil, even on concrete, and they over-winter. Any areas where an infected dog has 'gone" have to be disinfected with bleach. Most likely, another dog at your condo association had/has giardia, and now any dog that uses those pens can be infected or reinfected. I would talk to the condo board about the problem and see if they would be willing to disinfect the areas. The giardia has to actually enter their systems, but if something gets on a paw, and then they lick the paw, or they sniff the ground and get it near their mouth... The most common source of giardia is standing water. Rain gutter drip-pans, even puddles. At my vet's office, there was a little dog who keeps getting reinfected by drinking standing water in the yard. The meds work really well, though, and it's usually pretty much gone in three or four days.
What is GF? I know it must stand for Grain-free, but what brand? I hope not Hill's Rx. We do recommend a lot of grain-free kibbles in TFG, as you know.
I hope Guinness gets rid of the giardia quickly and has no more problems, Hugs to you both.

[F, Calla & Luca]

They've warned hikers for years about giardia from drinking from streams etc. but I guess it's become much more widespread.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Okay, as a kid we were warned about natural wells and streams, but it was explained as the threat of Hep A. A Dr. telling me it is not in our area has me wondering is it now a common problem, when 20 years ago it was not.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, I think if it's become more common, swimming in streams, ponds, rivers, etc. has a lot to do with it. It's a great way for dogs to get lepto, too, especially in the spring after the snow melts.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Giardia seems so common lately? Is it becoming more prominent in the U.S.?

My son, now 20, had Giardia at four-years old. His test results were sent to The Health Department and a Dr. called me daily. We were called so often, I still remember his name. We were interviewed extensively, our well was tested, but they were insistent we took our son to the South Western U.S. where he swam in a river and drank the water. We had not! After a few weeks it was assumed he ate unwashed fruit or lettuce from South America. At this time, ( early 1990s) they said it is not common in the U.S. except for S.Western US and Mexico.

Is it more common now, maybe a resistant parasite? More common because we import food? Are there different types of Giardia? Or did The Health Dept. like scaring a young mom? Am I reading to many puppy blogs?

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

May I add to my comment above--the medicine at this time was so rare, the pharmacy did not even carry metha-whatever it is. We had to go to the Childrens Hospital where a pharmacist made the suspension. It was a three-hour wait. This is what makes me think we have imported more Giardia into the country.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't know but when my kids were young we would go to a camp in the Catskills at times and they talked of "beaver fever" back then. We were always warned about drinking untreated water and this was at least in the eighties. But one thing is certain. You are reading too many puppy blogs : )

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

:) Yeah, I'm seeing pretty parasites in my sleep.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Catch this: "Giardiasis (gee-ar-die-a-sis with a soft "G") is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the parasite, Giardia intestinalis, also known as Giardia lamblia. It is the most common cause of parasitic gastrointestinal disease, and it is estimated that up to 2.5 million cases of giardiasis occur each year in the US. Up to 20% of the world's population is chronically infected with Giardia lamblia."
20% of people is pretty impressive. I had no idea. Of course, this doesn't mean the incidence is anything like that here necessarily.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Good grief--and everyone is worried about 10% of the population getting the flu? 20% is pretty impressive--Agreed.

Well all I have to say about this now is, " Giardia is very Shi$2@ty "

[F, Calla & Luca]

Indeed it is.

[Julie B.]

I have dealt with Giardia and it is a pain to eliminate completely. When you finish the meds make sure you wash the bedding, cloth toys and your dog thoroughly. I didn't know to do this the first time and it came back... they reinfected themselves. Also you have to wait 2-3 weeks after finishing the meds to get a good fecal test so during that time consider your dog to be still infected. The reason I say this is because my neighbor's dog and Luah get together for play dates and I had to consider her infected for at least 5 weeks (10 days of meds and 3 weeks after for the fecal) so they couldn't play together. You really have to keep on it to get rid of it unfortunately.