Quote:
Originally Posted by jaac  I purchased a puppy from a breeder a little over a week ago. She is 12 weeks now.
Is it common for a puppy to have Giardia? and she also has hookworm
and should i inform the breeder?   |
Definitely let the breeder know.
Yes it is common... and not as hard to treat it once you know what you need to do. It can remain dormant and show up with the stress of the new home.
I have been treating all my dogs with Panacur once a year after we had a puppy diagnosed with it.
It sure is hard to get rid of it completely as it can survive the elements and our dogs eliminate on the grass for example. I can not track it down, but just in case we treat and test puppies and dogs frequently.
I found out through someone who bought a puppy from us that had been tested already and was negative, after a few days on the new home had loose stools and was re-checked and this time was positive. I am so glad she called me right away at the recommendation of her vet.
panacur will also get rid of the hookworms.
Coccidia also showed up the same way... someone bought a puppy and called back.
That one we tracked down fast !
My vet had a bird specialist working with him at the time, she warned me about coccidia in birds and we had "bird feeders" ... so we were attracting all kinds of birds, who were "eliminating" on the ground were the dogs played !
we had to remove the feeders... i miss the birds but it is the right thing to do.
We now test everyone more often but fecals do not always show these critters.
Your breeder MUST be glad to receive your call and you will know by their attitude if it was an "occasional" thing or if they do not care !
I used to brag about never having these ... well... i definitely still do as much as i can to avoid it.
After my experience i would say: it needs to be looked at carefully.
And i can think that in a filthy puppy mill it must be a very serious problem since it survives so many things and can be passed on through water... soil... if a dog steps on it, and licks its paw... being clean is never a bad thing !
Good luck !
XOXO