Giardia in 11month old yorkie any advice helps!
 

Hello all, I have posted before about my puppy having giardia but have another question regarding this "diagnosis." here is the story. I took my puppy in for her first vet check when i got her and she tested positive for giardia, sent home with medication (it was a panacur/flagyl mix), brought in a stool sample a month later, she still had it, sent home with more medication (fenbendazole), stool check in a month, still had giardia, given more medication (Secnidazole) and told to recheck again in a month. Well that recheck should have been done about 3 months ago, but I never did it. I know bad on me. However I recently had to take her to the vet for an unrelated issue (itchy ears/eyes attributed to allergies) and also brought in a stool sample...well guess what, it tested positive again for giardia!! I have had her since she was 12 weeks old and now she is 11 months as of today. She has had no symptoms of giardia and is very regular with her pooping (once in the morning, once in the mid afternoon, and once before bed). She doesnt have any diarrhea and never has had it. She is like any other normal little puppy that wants to play constantly and it doesnt seem to be bothering her. I did start her on probiotics after the first dose of panacur/flagyl thanks to other YT-ers advising i introduce her to them due to the meds, and she has been on them since. I read an article that mentioned giardia and stated something along the lines of "if no symptoms, why treat it." (doggedblog dot com/doggedblog/2010/06/how-to-treat-or-not-treat-giardia-in-your-dog.html) The article made a lot of sense to me, although I am no vet, so I dont know how I should approach this. I am going back to the vet today to get panacur YET AGAIN, but it appears that after three different medications, and 9 months later, these pests will not go away!! I am fed up and dont want to keep giving her meds if this may be something that doesnt need to be treated. Anybody have input or advice. I have also treated my yard and house with diatomaceous earth multiple times and she is not a poop eater, so I am not sure what else to do. Any advice helps! :confused:

Hi. When I first brought Buster home he too had Giardia. It also was resistant to medications and it took a couple of rounds to actually get rid of it. Dogs get giardia from water that has been soiled with feces. Buster came from a commercial breeder and I learned that they had been cited for contaminated water. I personally would continue with treatments since Giardia is so easily transmissible and could be compromising your dogs immunity. Good luck I hope the next round of treatment cures the Giardia. I remember how frustrated I was trying to get rid of it with Buster.
Giardia in Dogs - Learn the Signs and Treatment | VCA Animal Hospitals

Have you been treating your yard? Chances are she is re-infecting herself. *if no symptoms, why treat?* simply because giardia is contagious to humans as well. Every time she has a BM she is shedding spores. It is an intestinal parasite of sorts so why would you not want to do everything you can to get rid of it? Both of our dogs got it when we moved to a new home....this was bavk in May or June. We almost lost our senior dog to it....our yorkie barely had any symptoms of it....we medicated, cleaned all bedding, toys and kennels and treated our yard with D-Earth as directed by our vet....we did this for 2 months on a weekly basis and they have since tested negative. We still treat the yard with D-Earth on a regular basis and we do sprinkle it over their food.

Just wanted to add....she may not have symptoms of it, but if you take her for walks around the neighborhood or to the park....or even the vet and she goes #2....it's possibly spreading it to someone else's pet or child....

Last year Cody was diagnosed with Giardia, was given meds. recheck in a month. I kept him confined to the back deck to poop, reason, I wanted to make sure where he pooped got treated immediately. I used bleach to disinfect that area. His recheck showed no more Giardia.
Cody showed no signs that he had this parasite, I always bring a stool sample when I have a vet visit, good for me as this is how he was diagnosed with Giardia. Giardia can be transmitted to humans. Giardia should NOT go untreated.

If it were me, I'd want to get the giardia out of her system asap. It can be hard to get rid of bc she is constantly shedding spores everywhere, and you have to clean up these areas with bleach or whatnot.

thank you all for the words of encouragement and advice! I do clean everything thoroughly and treat the yard with DE regularly. I always make sure to clean her little bottom too after she goes. It definitely is frustrating and I am hoping that this round will get rid of it for good. It's not that I don't want to treat it, it's that she is so small (3lbs) and I feel horrible for the amount of meds this lil pup has to put through her system (in addition to the ear and eye drops right now for allergies). Vet recommended, Panacur for 7 days, skip 7, then do another 7 days and recheck after that. Fingers crossed this will be it! These are some hardy little bugs that have set up shop! I may take matese advice and keep her poop to one are that is easy to clean to avoid any reinfection. Thank you thank you all!!

Help my 10 month old Yorkie just tested positive for garidia.
I read a lot of you used D-earth where do you buy this? My pup usually pops in the yard which is quite large fir him 80ft x 60 ft so how much would I need to cover the ground where he goes in all different spots. Also my husband has a few. It'd feeders outside and recently he's. Even trying to eat and has gotten to the fallen bird seed and their mess I'm sure. Do birds also transfer this condition? From people with successful results whatmedication it medications did your vet prescribe. My vet put him on a probiotic yesterday because I felt he eats too much grass and garbage from the lawns dropped by other animals and wanted to make sure he was t building up a bacteria in his system. He has. I sign his biwels are perfect except for last week enemy I did find quite a few bird seeds in his poop but no diaharra. He's a happy go lucky puppy and not on a consistent feeding schedule finally and is eating more than ever before since he is always so finicky and picky about what he eats. We also have a pond quite clean that he has been drinking from and swimming but I know fish poop too. Last week I took him to a private beach with lots of kids when he starting drinking the filthy water which concerned me. I'm starting to believe I have a haven for garidia. I do take him on many walks and live in rural upstate New York where there are many wild animals that cross our paths. Such as deer, wild turkey, raccoons, squirrels, wood chips, wood chuck ice, rodents you name it so what am I supposed to do he loves just being outside how can I protect him from the fresh country sir with so many critters that can cause harm and stray cats do we walk through it all. I di my best to stop him from trying to eat everything he smells any advice suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thank you Packers mom