Baja possibly has giardia UPDATE test results back

[vikki.k]

Well what was due to be a routine trip to the vet this morning for Mole to be castrated turned into a few hundred pounds later (thank god for insurance!)

Mole was fine and went in at 9am for his nice little boy op Refused to walk out of the room himself so had to be carried away! He is now sleeping it off on the sofa, so all went well there.

But poor Baja is possibly fighting a case of giardia, he had been funny a few weeks ago but was fine when put on chicken and rice, but then the upset tummy and mucous came back at the weekend, so after talking to the vet they suggested he come in a have a once over and run some tests. They seem to think it's giardia (we wont know until the results come back) but all the signs point to it. So he has been given some pro kolin until the results come back, and then will be treated for it.

I've done a quick search on here but any advice is appreciated. Should I be cleaning the grass/gravel areas he goes to the toilet on?
Also how long would we be looking for it to clear up and is it likely he will be susceptible to it again?

Thanks in advance  

[debsallen]

poor Baja, sorry for my ignorance but what is giardia? 

Glad Mole is ok and resting

[vikki.k]

Thanks Debbie. Giardia is a parasite that lives in the intestine (thats the simple answer!) so it's effecting his toileting habits in a pretty bad way at the moment. Luckily Mole is not affected so things could be worse I guess 

[debsallen]

awwww, poor Baja, give him very gentle squidges from me.

[Annette]

Poor little love.

Gentle hugs from me.

[SimonandMandy]

I always thought that giardia was a water borne ailment?  It certainly is the main cause where I come from.... any stagnant water near you or where Baja  drinks?

Hope Baja is OK

[vikki.k]

I always thought that giardia was a water borne ailment?  It certainly is the main cause where I come from.... any stagnant water near you or where Baja  drinks?

Hope Baja is OK

Yep thats the likely cause, he was drinking from pub 'dog bowls' on holiday, bowls outside shops and the possibility of finding water at day care that we don't monitor. Guess we are lucky that Mole shows no signs. Although starting to wonder if Mole should be tested, or only if he shows signs?

[johndoran]

Sorry to hear about Baja .I think it would be impossible to stop Bonnie drinking stagnant water as she is such a mucky pup when we are out I think she preferes dirty to clean. So would you say there is a good chance that Giardia is something just waiting to happen ?

[vikki.k]

Sorry to hear about Baja .I think it would be impossible to stop Bonnie drinking stagnant water as she is such a mucky pup when we are out I think she preferes dirty to clean. So would you say there is a good chance that Giardia is something just waiting to happen ?

I really don't know, Mole seems fine and he drinks from exactly the same places. How do you make sense of that 

[Dream Girl]

I let Rosie drink from communal dog bowls when we're out - eg in Parks. Am I doing the wrong thing?

[brownsugar]

Our Toby had giardia when he was about nine weeks old. It gave me a bit of a fright because it is so infectious! For us human persons, too, BTW. And cats.
The giardia parasite seems to have a life cycle during which it produces cysts (eggs) in the gut. Via the poop the cysts get in the water or e.g. on grass and get ingested. And there you have another victim...
Some healthy dogs with giardia don't show any symptoms but do produce the cysts.
There seems to be a lot of giardia around here (Netherl.), a website of a vet clinic here says 10%-20% of dogs carry the infection.

Toby had two five-day treatments with Panacur. I washed him after his treatments, and did a good clean of his bench and blanket and his puppythings.
Our vet didn't think it necessary to treat our cats. I also didn't do anything to our garden (but we do pick up the poo's).

Toby is almost 15 months now and he is fine. When I worm him, I use Panacur, just to be sure. For the cats, too. I think it's not unlikely he'll pick up some giardia again sometime in the future as there is so much of it around here. Hope not but I do watch out for it!

[merrysmum]

I completely sympathise Vikki - poor Baja 

My little one has similar symptoms and I'm beginning to wonder if it's the same cause. As you say - they can pick it up from the water and it's so difficult to monitor everything they drink from. Merry loves all the stagnant puddles about at the mo and always prefers a drink from some manky pool to his nice clean water bowl at home 

Best of luck with your boys - hope they're both much better and bouncing around very soon 

[Helen]

just be warned, a lot of the bloods come back inconclusive, but they will still treat for Giardia as it's very common in dogs.

brownsugar has given some great information, it's what I've read too    Hadn't realised they use Panacur Granules for giardia but it makes sense, here I think you're prescribed anti-biotics?

[vikki.k]

So the test results came back and he does have Giardia and also tested positive for E-Coli but the vet said he doesn't need immediate treatment for that, we have to wait and see if he picks up by Monday before they would consider anymore treatment. Does that sounds right or should he be treated I don't know  The fact we are on holiday next week means I will find a vet up there and they will fax over his history should we think he has not improved.

Plus we take them up to Scotland on holiday tomorrow lunchtime, will the panacur upset him and we will need to allow for stops at every service station?

We have declined the Metronidazole in favour of the panacur, much to the disappointment of the vet  but we are doing what we feel is right for him.

Another thought is will he be ok around other dogs, as we were due to do the Dalbeattie Forest meet next week, but should we keep him away?

So many questions again.....sorry!

[Helen]

The vet may feel that he and his system needs to recover a bit more before the next round of anti-b's and treatment.  I think it's a good idea to have a vet on hand in Scotland, will make you feel far more comfortable.

Start him on the Panacur today and see how his system reacts - some dogs have different reactions to different wormers and he may just take it all in his stride so you won't need to stop at every services 

Are they going to re-test for the e.coli when you get back?  They may be thinking that the panacur may help with that anyway.....