Uggh, I feel for ya - giardia sucks. My boy is still trying to get over it... his last stool sample came back negative, but his poo still isn't firm, so he may still have it - the giardia doesn't actually come out to be seen in every poop, and half the time they're so small, vets miss them even if they are there!
You've got to wash his butt with gentle baby shampoo after ever poop, or else he might lick himself and become reinfected. You have to pick up the poop right away so he doesn't accidentally lick on it next time he goes out, or track it back inside to lick it off his paws later. After you pick the poop up, pour a 10-20% bleach solution over where the poop was. Do this in the house as well, and wash any blankets or clothes he gets poop on in hot water. Get rid of all previous poops in the yard - poop=reinfection. I'd suggest using the bleach solution on your hard floors and bottoms of shoes as well, just in case any teeny tiny bits of poo were tracked inside from before. And IMO - just keep him off the carpet altogether for now. Bleach is the only thing I know of that kills the giardia, which can live for days and only a couple of 'em in an almost-invisible-its-so-small piece of poop can reinfect your dog. My boy is only allowed on a section of the carpet right after he's pooped and we're sure there's no more in there waiting to come out right away - otherwise, he's gated into the dining/kitchen area.
Anyways, all that's what we are doing... Nikko's first meds were panacur and flagyl together, then a longer dose of panacur alone, and now he's on a higher dose of flagyl alone. His poops are FINALLY starting to shape up, but they're still not perfect yet.
Good luck getting rid of the giardia - sometimes it's easy to wipe out, but often it takes longer than you hope and it's a lot of work to do all that cleaning and bathing. Also be careful because if you in any way eat his infected poo (like he licks poo then kisses your mouth), YOU can get giardia too! So no mouth kisses for awhile. But hey, at least your pup's bum will smell nice like baby shampoo for a couple weeks...
Let us know how it goes. :-)
Lauren & Nikko |