Giardia STILL

[loveshay]

I am at a loss, my lil one tested positive AGAIN for giardia. I gave all the meds the first time, and cleaned like a crazy person...and here we go again.

Thing is, she doesn't go outside EVER..in the car YES, when we are riding somewhere, but NEVER outside walking around, she is puppy pad trained, I use distilled water, and am a cleaning fool... (we live in mt.s so lots of animals and BIG birds roaming around) so we don't take them out there.

My yr. old was tested after puppy was diagnoissed, and he didnt have it. But they treated him too and we are doing both again...I talked to the breeder the first time around,( since I took puppy to vets within 3 days of getting her) and she said, none had ever had it there, she must of gotten it here, but how?? How can I fix it, if it was from here? when I dont know how she got it?

Any suggestions, would be so welcome to hear..I am at a loss..at what more to do....

[kjc]

Giardia can be very hard to get rid of. Does your puppy show symptoms or was it picked up on a well check vet visit?
I'm thnking that if the meds didn't clear it the first time, for the pup to have that level of infection it would have to come from the breeder (it takes more than 3 days to develope to that extent). But, as it can be asymptomatic and hard to catch on a fecal exam, the breeder may not be aware of the problem.
It will probably take multiple courses of treatment with Metronidazole or Panacure to rid your pup of the Giardia. On the final day of dosing, place the pup in a 'clean' area, then clean everywhere the pup comes in contact with. Also clean the pup, paying special attention to the perianal area, as cysts can remain in the hair around the anus.
The cause is most likely an contaminated water supply, which can be feces in the water bowl, puddles in the yard or road, ingestion of contaminated feces directly, water in steams and/or lakes frequented by animals.
Meds are required. Probiotics and fiber added to the diet may help with shedding the cysts. A low carb diet may help. Please discuss these options with your vet, as a low carb diet for a week or two shouldn't have an adverse effect on a puppy but you want to be sure. Maybe do a course of Metro, then Panacur, then Metro again. Again, please discuss with your vet.

Also see: Causes of Giardia in Dogs

Hope this helps...

Duck poop can be toxic to dogs, so I would be careful about exposure to bird poop in general.

[loveshay]

Thanks for answering....first time we did M & F ..one 3 x a day the other 2 X a day....for 5 days....this time he gave us panacur once a day for 7 days...
I just got done bleaching the floor and all there bowls and xpen. they are in there kennel for the night..in the morning I figured I would take one out at a time and bathe them and put in clean xpen..then take kennel outside and wash it then bleach it, while bedding and bed are washing in hot water and bleach.....

Now would you think I should do this daily? bleaching everything? I did read about doing what you said about having everything clean last day..but figured doing it more often may really help?...I hope!

Should I bathe them everyday?? for the week?

I have a comprimized immune system, and just found out last week, I am out of remission, and will start infusions again...so I am concerned about catching it..thats why I am trying to really clean.

Will call about the fiber and low carb diet for them in morning....Thanks for everything!!!!!!

[loveshay]

Oh, and it was found at her well visit..she showed no signs of it at all, but does now...my older one still, has shown NO signs of it.

I took sample in on sat. to have her retested, to make sure it was gone...and NOPE!

[baby yorkie]

From my research, giardia doesn't show up in every stool. My older yorkie showed negative when I took her in, but I know for a fact that she did have it. She got very ill and had never been ill before. It has been about a month and she still shows signs of it and the vet wants me to give her a bland diet. To me, that doesn't cure anything and I'm still passing it around. I am cleaning up after every poop and not sure if I should be bleaching daily. Mine have ringworm also; you responded to my post. I just don't know what to do because it doesn't seem to be an end in sight! I cleaned Monday and am doing it once again today. Good luck.

[loveshay]

Oh I understand completely, I was up till 4am bleaching everything, does it ever end????????
I am so sorry your going through this tooo, it is exhausting....

[Wylie's Mom]

I really feel for you. My Marcel had giardia twice as a pup - we got him, then we had a super rainy spring and he picked up giardia. Got rid of it, back again. All I can say is, keep cleaning everything, use baby wipes to clean his bottom, bathe both dogs once a week, vaccuum a lot. Giardia so easily reinfects bc it sheds off the dogs even as they're healing, and then they get better, but the giardia is still in the enviro.

[Dara311]

So sorry your dealing with this still- are you cleaning up after your baby when they go number 2 outside!? That will help a lot. Good luck. I have seen puppies have it twice or even three times.

[loveshay]

They don't go outside, they are puppy pad trained..actually there feet have NEVER touched the ground outside...we live up in the Mt.s...bears, coyotes,fox,bobcats...never mine hawks and bizzards and so on...and mine are tiny lil ones, so we decided it was best...was waiting for Bella to finish all her shots, and thought maybe we could hit the park, in Knoxville a few times a week....but this giardia is changing all that!

[bgrubbs]

I would keep them on the panacur for a full 10 days. Stop for 7 and them give another round for 7 days. You may need to bleach your yard. I understand your babies do not go outside but you do and then bring it back in on your feet. Use one part bleach to 2 parts water for the yeard. You will not kill the grass.

[loveshay]

Originally Posted by bgrubbs

I would keep them on the panacur for a full 10 days. Stop for 7 and them give another round for 7 days. You may need to bleach your yard. I understand your babies do not go outside but you do and then bring it back in on your feet. Use one part bleach to 2 parts water for the yeard. You will not kill the grass.

Good idea I didn't think of that...we take shoes off in mud room, religiously, but still once ya take your shoes off your walking in there...thanks! I will have my hubby do that.....

[loveshay]

Okay one more thing, and this is gross....but Bella is eating poop!
so now what do I do? I am giving her the panacur, wiping her butt, cleaning with bleach....and she is eating poop! isn't that reinfecting herself constantly? I have her in xpen and I watch, watch and watch, the min. I look away, she poops or Shay does and she has it before I can grab the paper towel...YUCK!!!!

We will NEVER get rid of this if she continues doing this....HELP!

[kjc]

Originally Posted by loveshay

Okay one more thing, and this is gross....but Bella is eating poop!
so now what do I do? I am giving her the panacur, wiping her butt, cleaning with bleach....and she is eating poop! isn't that reinfecting herself constantly? I have her in xpen and I watch, watch and watch, the min. I look away, she poops or Shay does and she has it before I can grab the paper towel...YUCK!!!!

We will NEVER get rid of this if she continues doing this....HELP!

I thought about asking you that! It will be tough. Try cottage cheese with her food, sometimes that will stop them. I stongly suggest probiotics. She's probably eating her stool bc it smells more like food bc of the giardia blocking complete digestion. Probiotics help to break it down, giving her the nutrients she may be missing.

The articles I read say to clean thoroughly the last day. Everyday I would clean obvious poop, maybe change their water very frequently and bleach the bowl in between, bleach food bowls, and wipe butts. You can make a 5% bleach spray solution to have handy... bleach is harmless once dry.

For you, best to wash after handling the pups. You could even use the bleach solution on your hands, and just rinse afterwards. Wipe sink handles down with bleach too. Turn on sink to wash up, grab a paper towel to dry off then use that towel to turn off the faucet.

Keep them clean, but full bath only on the last day of treatment. Not necessary to bathe them everyday.

Just a note: Prolonged contact of bleach on metal will cause corrosion and pitting of the metal. Always rinse thoroughly.

[loveshay]

Originally Posted by kjc

I thought about asking you that! It will be tough. Try cottage cheese with her food, sometimes that will stop them. I stongly suggest probiotics. She's probably eating her stool bc it smells more like food bc of the giardia blocking complete digestion. Probiotics help to break it down, giving her the nutrients she may be missing.

The articles I read say to clean thoroughly the last day. Everyday I would clean obvious poop, maybe change their water very frequently and bleach the bowl in between, bleach food bowls, and wipe butts. You can make a 5% bleach spray solution to have handy... bleach is harmless once dry.

For you, best to wash after handling the pups. You could even use the bleach solution on your hands, and just rinse afterwards. Wipe sink handles down with bleach too. Turn on sink to wash up, grab a paper towel to dry off then use that towel to turn off the faucet.

Keep them clean, but full bath only on the last day of treatment. Not necessary to bathe them everyday.

Just a note: Prolonged contact of bleach on metal will cause corrosion and pitting of the metal. Always rinse thoroughly.

Thanks so much!!!! I will get cottage cheese today how much I give them in there food?

Really appreciate all the GREAT advice!!!

[kjc]

Originally Posted by loveshay

Thanks so much!!!! I will get cottage cheese today how much I give them in there food?

Really appreciate all the GREAT advice!!!

Under 5# - 1 teaspoonful, 5-10# - 1 1/4 - 2 teaspoonsful.