I’ve done a lot of research on Giardia online, but I’d really like to read more stories from people who’ve had to get rid of this parasite from their dog… but first, here’s my story.
About a month ago, I got an adorable Papillon puppy. I went to collect her from a breeder. On the day I was due to bring her home, I noticed her little tummy was a bit bloated, but I didn't pay much attention to it, especially as the breeder told me she was in good health, was up to date with all her jabs, and had been wormed recently.
As soon as she arrived home, she started having diarrhoea which alternated with stools that were more or less formed. Getting her to eat was a real struggle and she would sometimes skip meals. She was sleeping a lot too. I wasn’t happy about it, but I told myself it might just be the change of environment and that I’d wait a few days. As the situation didn’t improve, I booked an appointment with the vet.
The vet said that, on the face of it, there was nothing serious since she didn't have a temperature and was in good spirits (when she wasn't sleeping). He prescribed some probiotics but said that if she wasn't better in a few days, we’d have to run some tests to see if it was Giardia.
As you’ve probably guessed, we did the tests and BANG: Giardia.
So, the vet started her on a treatment (using an oxfendazole-based wormer).
She’s doing better already, but I’ve read that it can take months to completely clear this parasite… so I’d really love to hear some of your experiences… If your dog has had Giardia, how long did it take to cure them? What were they treated with? What other extra measures did you take to help the recovery?
Translated from French
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Hi,
Unfortunately, my dog has been suffering from Giardia for many months now. We bought her from a breeder back in September 2013 when she was 3 months old. We immediately noticed an issue with loose stools alternating with normal ones, a huge appetite, and a lot of restlessness. The vet spent months scratching their head before I suggested testing for Giardia myself, after doing a lot of research online. We did the tests last March and the result came back: massive Giardia infection. This means my poor girl had already been infected for at least 6 months... We’re now on our 6th round of treatment (started yesterday). Panacur for 8 days. It’s effective every time, but it keeps recurring despite taking loads of precautions: disinfecting her bowls with boiling water and a strong disinfectant every day, and washing her bedding at 90 degrees. The difficulty is that our dog lives outdoors, so the garden (which is over a quarter of an acre) is contaminated despite us picking up after her every day. You should know that only heat and quaternary ammonium (found in some heavy-duty disinfectants) effectively kill this parasite. It’s essential to combine the medical treatment with these cleaning precautions. As for us, despite our best efforts, the Giardia is still there, even if it’s less aggressive... it’s discouraging but we aren't losing hope. Since our dog has been ill for so long, we know it won't be easy to get rid of this nasty bug... I’ve read stories from people who took 6 months or more to get on top of it. Hopefully, we’ll manage it too...
Hi,
I know this is an old post but since the topic has come up... I’m a bit concerned by the symptoms you’ve mentioned. Are those the only ones? Because my 3-month-old puppy is exactly the same: alternating between loose and firm stools (when it’s soft, the colour is a bit weird and greenish), a MASSIVE appetite, and he’s very hyper (though I just assumed it was part of the Jack Russell personality). I have two dogs, so I imagine it’s contagious? Should I be worried based on these symptoms alone?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
I’m glad that helped! I read your post too… poor Jack! I hope he’s on the mend soon! Make sure you thoroughly disinfect all his things! What I also used to do was wash Lucy’s bum under the tap with some puppy shampoo after every poo. Just so she didn't spread the giardia all over the flat!
I read your post when I was looking into what might be wrong with Jack, and it was so helpful because our situation sounded really similar. So thank you so much – you’ve been a massive help!
I’m also shocked that so few vets even consider it!
I'm so glad your girl is finally clear of it! Result! ;-)
I’m bumping this post to give you an update, as I’ve noticed people are finally starting to talk about giardia on this forum! I think it’s crazy how relatively unknown it is, especially among vets (!!!), despite how common it actually is!
Anyway. That Dolthène treatment I mentioned did stop the diarrhoea, but it wasn’t enough to clear that nasty bug for good! My vet said he wasn’t surprised because it’s quite a mild treatment, but he hadn’t prescribed anything more aggressive because my puppy was too small at the time (three and a half months old). Now that she’s bigger, we were able to try a stronger course. We did two cycles as follows: five days of Flagyl, five days off, five days of Dolthène, five days off. After the second cycle, I waited a month before having her tested again. The result: negative! Wooohoooo! I couldn’t believe it! I’m over the moon! I think the fact that I didn’t hang about getting her to the vet was the deciding factor.
I hope this post helps other owners and especially all the poor pups out there dealing with giardia!
Thanks so much for sharing your story! Poor thing! It’s true that having a big garden makes things a lot more complicated...
Have you tried Dolthene? That’s what my puppy was treated with and it seems to have done the trick. We finished the course yesterday and I’m taking some poo samples to the vet next week to see if we’ve managed to get rid of this nasty bug... In any case, she hasn’t got soft stools at all anymore, so fingers crossed...
I hope everything gets back to normal for you too!
Hi everyone,
My dog has unfortunately been suffering from giardia for many months now. We bought her from a breeder back in September 2013 when she was just 3 months old. We immediately noticed she had issues with soft stools alternating with normal ones, a huge appetite, and she was very restless. The vet was really just guessing for several months until I eventually suggested testing for giardia myself, after doing plenty of my own research online. The tests back in March came back showing a massive giardia infection. This means my poor girl had already been infected for at least 6 months...
We are now on our 6th round of treatment (which we started yesterday) — an 8-day course of Panacur. It works every single time, but she always relapses despite all our precautions: disinfecting her bowls with boiling water and disinfectant every day, and washing her bedding at 90 degrees. The real difficulty is that our dog lives outdoors, so the garden (which is over 10,000 square feet) is contaminated, even though we pick up her poo every single day. You should know that only heat and quaternary ammonium cleaners (like certain heavy-duty disinfectants) effectively kill this parasite. It’s absolutely essential to combine any medical treatment with these hygiene measures.
In our case, despite all our efforts, the giardia is still there, even if it's less aggressive now... it’s really disheartening, but we haven’t lost hope. Since our dog has been sick for so long, we know it’s not going to be easy to get rid of this nasty bug... I’ve read accounts from people who took 6 months or even longer to finally beat it. Fingers crossed we get there soon...
Poor thing! It’s brilliant that you’ve managed to get her sorted!
Giardia is definitely much less serious, though.
Yes, I’ll keep you posted; it might be helpful for anyone else looking into this.
The vet prescribed: 5 days of Doltene – 10 days off – 5 days of Doltene – 10 days off – 5 days of Doltene – then further tests. We’re on the second 5-day round now. Her poo is looking better, but there are still some setbacks… :/
Yes, she’s 8 now but she nearly died back then! The breeder was even starting to talk about giving me a refund (she’s a Dogue de Bordeaux). Since I know how to do injections, I was able to treat her at home, calling the vet every morning for the day's instructions...
But you're right, it's not really the same thing... Giardia is caused by a really stubborn parasite... It’s very common, but it seems like not many people actually know about it... I’ve read that some owners can struggle for months trying to get their dog sorted before finally discovering it’s Giardia... :s
Anyway...
I hope your pup is all better now, in any case! :)
