Giardia (?)

Okay so my new puppy came with Giardia (sp?) an intestinal parasite.

I have had him two weeks and the vet just called today to tell me which means he wont start medicine until tommorrow when I go and get it. Problem is he has been in contact with Elle and Bella and all the cats... he has even been sharing their dishes (GAH!!!)...now I could possibly have 6 animals with this infection.

Has anyone else had a puppy with this and did everything work out okay in the end?

I dont know much about it... I have been trying to research it online and havent found much.

Thanks.

Elissa

Causes diarrhea and is pretty hard to get rid of sometimes but most of the time it's just some metronidazole (or SMZ, I forget which is used to treat it).

What do you want to know about it? We see it a lot in cats, sometimes in dogs. It's not really any big deal unless it's a massive infection.

It is zoonotic, though.

its zoonotic, and you can catch it, so be careful. I've had it, its not a lot of fun, let me tell you. Its not a tremendous deal in humans though. I'm not sure about animals.

protozoal parasite - waterborne

My vet gives Panacur if Giardia is suspected.

I had it once after a trip to Mexico.major crampage!

Giardia is found everywhere. It occurs in any kind of wet ground or standing water. Dogs injest it on a regular basis if they eat dirt or grass. Most dogs who get it recover from it very easily and many never get it again.
If you are on a well I would suggest you get the water checked. That is the number one way people and dogs are infected. We are on a well and test our water yearly to make sure that there is no contamination.
More than likely your other dogs have already been exposed to it months or even years before now. Some are just not as resistant to it as others and have an outbreak. Like anything else, the body has to have time to form immunities.

i had huge problems of recurring bouts of giardia at one place i lived. i talked to some dog people in the area and apparently giardia ran rampant in the region.

i was advised to bleach the yard where the dogs went out. as soon as i started doing that, the giardia problems went away. i used a sprayer on the end of a hose, put bleach in it and sprayed it down every day at first and eventually got to where i sprayed it a couple times a week. i always made sure there would be several hours before the dogs had to go back out.

Yup, very good idea and small amounts of bleach in your water (swimming pool strength) is enough to kill giardia but not your lawn

It's not dangerous to dogs? I guess maybe a couple of hours is enough for all the serious stuff to evaporate?

Thanks for all the replies.

I do not live on a well... I believe the puppy came from the breeder with this.

I am going to pick up medicine today and bring in samples to get my others dogs checked out.

I was reading online that it does not always get cured very easily, which is what I was worried about.

I guess we will see how it goes.

Thanks again.

Elissa

No more than pool water. As long as they don't drink it or get it in their eyes, also it will evaporate and dry pretty fast too.

If you do the meds it will clear up really quick. I would guess some people's problem with getting it cured is that the dog is really getting re-infected.
Even city water has been known to have giardia in it. Have it tested and find out. Remember you're drinking that stuff too.

the bleach also can hurt their pads. once it soaks in, dries out, evaporates though it's fine.

of course, if you need to use bleach indoors make sure the area is well ventilated!!

Eek, hope it's all taken care of fast, Elissa.

Can we have puppy pics?

No... you cant...lol!

JK... sorta... I lost the cord to connect the camera to the computer...AHHH!

So I have pictures but I cant get them on the computer...GRR...

But as soon as I find the cord I will let you know.

Thanks Again All.

Elissa

good luck clearing it up....

we just got a new puppy last saturday and one of the littermates had suspect giardia (cuz the pup had the runs)..... the breeder put all the pups on Flagyl twice a day.... our pup did not have it but she put all the pups on the meds just in case..... there are horses in her area and she's got a number of dogs on her property... so the dogs could have gotten into it and transfered it into their water bowls cuz a few of them are water dogs and like to "paw" water out of the waterbowls for fun..... in the meantime, if one pup has it and the others done, keep yuor yard clean & change the waterbowl regularly a few times a day until it all clears up..... but this is good practice to get into anyways.