# ** Need help in treating a puppy with giardia that has no symptoms **



## nfedyk (Jan 13, 2012)

Hi everyone. I joined this forum in the hopes of getting some suggestions to help my mom's new puppy. Here is a little background. We bought him from a pet shop at the age of 6 months. He is a male Papillion that she named Oliver. When he went for a checkup to the vet he was overall healthy except after the vet sent the stool sample to be tested he was diagnosed with Giardia. He was put on Metronidazole along with Panacur. After the first round of meds was done, the stool was retested and it came back positive again for Giardia. The vet prescribed a second round of the same medicine.

Last week he was retested for Giardia and it came back positive for a third time. :frusty: The vet prescribed the same treatment again and said if it doesn't clear this time he will need a stronger anti parasite medicine. During this third treatment he threw up a couple times while on the meds. I am really opposed to giving him any more antibiotics as I don't think it is good for his system. I have read that most people feel that Panacur is the way to go. But the only way we could get Oliver to take it was by putting it on his wet food. Even then it ran down the sides and he must smell it in the food as he will eat around where the medicine is, so therefore he is most likely not getting the benefit from it.

The thing that concerns me is that he does not show any real sign that he is in any distress. We feed him Wellness Super5 Mix for puppies. He has a great appetite, his stools are firm, he is full of energy and plays all day long. I am already dreading the results of the third stool sample in a few weeks. Would you continue medicating a dog that has no symptoms? Is there any way this could get corrected on its own? Any ideas for a more natural or holistic treatment? My mom also lives in a townhouse community with many other dogs so I am sure it is easy to get reinfected. She has been wiping his back end with baby wipes every time he poops as well as wiping his paws. I would really appreciate any suggestions you could offer. Oliver will be 9 months old in a couple weeks and weighs a little over 8 pounds. Thank you.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

We do use a holistic protocol. If you would like the details please feel free to PM me.

Liz


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## chewice (Jan 1, 2012)

Im no expert by any means... but when cash had giardia it was classic symptoms. Water...and i mean WATER coming out of his bum every 30 minutes, not wanting food... so if his stools are fine, he is eating a drinking and is a happy go lucky pup I don't see why. Also, instead of baby wipes I would use a mild mild bleach solution (or if anyone else can suggest something else that kills the parasite). I dont see babywipes doing anything.

I would go get a second opinion. If you had some bacterial infection and the med's weren't clearing anything up by the second time you would question your doctor.

Also, cash got a quick shot in the bum for giardia...and it cleared up the next day. The doc said it might come back but didn't think of it as an issue... but I also had a vet tech tell me that the giardia vaccine doesn't do crap.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm not vet nor do I pretend to be one, but if I had a dog with poop that is hunky-dory I would be very suspicious of a giardia diagnosis.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Here is a helpful link where we talk about giardia here: Not sure if dogs can be carriers and not be symptomatic Now What??????????


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## Huginn (Nov 21, 2011)

My puppy has giardia, well I'm hoping the meds took care of it. I went with metro, because I wanted to get him taken care of as soon as possible and did not have any time at all to get him what liz recommended (although I really wanted to!). If his retest comes back positive I will be using what liz suggests. However, my point is Huginn was very active and very interested in food and still tested positive. He only had water for poo the first few days when we were transitioning to raw. It actually stopped right before I put him on meds and has only returned once when I upped his food too much and forgot the broth. So, they really can have varying symptoms. Also, parasites don't just go away, you have to do something to get rid of them, be it herbal or chemical. If I were you I would stop taking the chemical route and try the holistic remedies, being on anthelmintics that long really cannot be good for any animal.


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