Prevention of Giardia

Milliway · 02-22-2008, 07:19 PM

I have a 3.5MO puppy (Neah, black lab mix) who is fighting her second case of Giardia. After trying Tinadazole the first time her stools got better and we thought we were clear...she had a test 2 weeks later and it was negative. A couple weeks later she started having symptoms again, only a lot worse this time. Our vet has told us to stop the Tinadazole and begin Flagyl, which we started today. Hopefully this clears up her symptoms.

So do any of you have advice on prevention? We have a large fenced backyard where our two pups poop/pee most of the time and I always clean it up right away but with her diarrhea it is hard to scoop up entirely so I usually spray it down with the hose after scooping most of it up. I can't give them a bath each time they go out to pee! I also take them for walks in parks (many of the forested) and occasionally to dog parks. Should I stop all of this? I recently found out there is a vaccine for Giardia but my vet does not believe it works very well so they don't carry it. Anyway, I appreciate any advice you all can give me! Thanks!

CrzyBritNAmerica · 02-22-2008, 08:35 PM

Giardia is so frustrating. We read 5 fecals at work yesterday and all of them were positive for giardia! We had one poor dog that tested positive over a span of 6 months!

The main way dogs contract giardia is through standing water. Do your dogs drink from puddles or other standing water? The reason we have such a high rate right now is because all of our snow has been melting and all the water laying around is full of the yucky parasite!I try my hardest not to let bridgette drink from the puddles because of it.

We offer the vaccine and the dog has to have 3 negative fecals before we can do it, but that dog who had it for 6 months finally was able to get the vaccine and hasn't had it since. Our vets at work don't really push it on people as it doesn't always work (as with any vacs), but it does work for some.

briteday · 02-22-2008, 09:14 PM

First I would consider your household water source. If you are on a private well or a community well (vs city water) then I would suspect your tap water is contaminated.

Second I would look for other sources of water that the dogs have access to such as ponds, streams, rivers, creeks. They are huge sources of giardia.

Next I would never let them drink from water at the dog park or any other place. Just carry a bottle of store bought water with you.

Last I would keep them away from places that other dogs go to until the dog is 5-6 months old. Puppies at 3.5 months have lost the immunity from their mothers and have very weak immune systems of their own. they haven't really acquired any immunity to anything. So whatever comes along is fair game to hitch a ride.