Talk to me about Giardia

mommyof4boys

I looked it up and am trying to get more info. Gwen Tennyson came back positive for it and I need to pick up meds.

Mrs.Hizzo

It's just an intestinal parasite. Dogs often get it from contaminated water, or from other dogs. The meds are probably Flagyl or something similar. It's like an antibiotic where the animal does a 7-10 day course, and at that point should be fine.

It can be transferred to humans, so you might want to bump up the hand-washing with your kids.

mommyof4boys

Thanks.  These kitties are going to cost us about a thousand dollars when all is said and done...Right now I have my boys wash their hands before eating and before touching anything that may go in their mouths.  Is that enough or should I have them do mroe?

Mrs.Hizzo

I'm sure that's probably fine. Our puppy had it when we brought him home, and my kids were all over him. They didn't get it. As long as they aren't playing in the litter box or anything, you probably don't have to worry much.

Caz1221

T had it twice as a puppy, and we didn't get it.  As PPs said, just make sure hand-washing is frequent, and don't let the animal come in contact with your food or anything like that.  The meds kick in really quickly, but you need to make sure to give the full cycle even if the pet seems better.

Harlows*Secret

Giardia (or Laguardia as one of my clients called it this week) can be a stinker to get rid of.  I recommend a second fecal test once the meds are completed to make sure they are negative.  They may need more than one round.

mommyof4boys

Lagardia sounds like an airport near me  We were told to have a 2nd test done in a month as well.

RyanandManda

mommyof4boys:

Lagardia sounds like an airport near me  We were told to have a 2nd test done in a month as well.

I know I'm a little late posting on this...  I hope you're still checking it!  My dog had Giardia and we did several cycles of all kinds of meds to try to get rid of it.  Unfortunately, none of them worked and he almost died from malnutrition and dehydration when he was a puppy.  What DID work (although he probably has dormant parasites still hanging out in there which is fine as it doesn't have any effect unless they become active) was a low waste food (vet prescribed), lots of probiotics, coconut oil, and time.  His immune system had to get strong enough to battle the critters on its own.  Meds just didn't work for him at all!  

I just wanted to share a perspective that's probably not too common as I understand meds (sometimes several rounds of them) work well for most animals.  Our dog also had Cryptosporidium at the same time as the Giardia which I'm sure made tackling the parasites more challenging.

Good luck!!