Gardia In Greyhound

[Guest fasthound]

Hi,

I am new to this discussion and would be greytful to have some feedback on this subject. My grehound was diagnosed with Gardia (Bever Fever). She has been on Metro. medication and seems to want to go out in the early morning and she stays outside for a long tome grazing on the grass. I also notice that her stomach sounds very acidy and was wondering if this is one of the side effects of this intestinal parasite. My other grey is also on Metro. medication in case he is infected. I take them to the dog park most every day and am suspecting this is where they got it from. I heard of a shot that they give for this disease any suggestions? recommendations?

Edited January 25, 2010 by fasthound

[Guest GryffinSong]

I had a borzoi who got giardia. We think she got it on hikes in the woods, from infected water. I honestly don't remember the treatment, but it would be great if there were a shot. There wasn't, that I know of, when mine had it, but that was many years ago.

 

Good luck!

[Guest SueG201]

the metro is causing the stomach upset give them a pepcid in the morning also clean up poop immed or th ey can get

reinfected

[Guest Energy11]

the metro is causing the stomach upset give them a pepcid in the morning also clean up poop immed or th ey can get

reinfected

 

Ditto on this! And, yes, most likely, they got the infection at the dog park. I'd keep them away from the dog park until they are no longer infected, too. Good Luck! I brought this home to mine when I worked at the vet in Florida. I started bleaching my sneakers after that!

 

Good Luck!

 

the metro is causing the stomach upset give them a pepcid in the morning also clean up poop immed or th ey can get

reinfected

 

Ditto on this! And, yes, most likely, they got the infection at the dog park. I'd keep them away from the dog park until they are no longer infected, too. Good Luck! I brought this home to mine when I worked at the vet in Florida. I started bleaching my sneakers after that!

 

Good Luck!

[Guest mcsheltie]

There is a vaccine for giardia. But it's efficacy is questionable. There are many documented cases of dogs being reinfected within months of receiving the vaccine. Studies have shown it may (and note the word "may") reduce the duration cysts shedding and the number of cysts shed in feces. But they are still infected. It does not rid the dog of a current infection.

 

SueG201 gives good advice. Clean up the poo right away. Give a Pepcid, wait 1/2 hour and then give the Metronidazole with a meal.

[Guest spider9174]

Put a poop cup on her to keep her from eating grass and poop. The pepcid is a good idea too. I'd also recommend giving a little yogurt. The Metro. can be hard on the stomach and digestive system. The yogurt will help put back all the beneficial flora (or give a probiotic.)

 

Other places that she may have gotten giardia...standing water and goose poop.

[Guest Lovey_Hounds]

yes there is a vaccine for gardia, it cant completley stop gardia from happening but it can stop how severely your dog gets infected and makes it easier to get rid of. honestly dog parks are breeding grounds for dog diseases and illness and that is the most likley place your dog picked it up.

[Sighthounds4me]

We've used metronidazole on many occasions here. Naples had giardia years ago, and we've had other troubles, also.

 

Probiotics are a must. Metronidazole is apt to kill good bacteria, as well as bad, so you need to add more. Preferably, an hour before or after the med, so the probiotics don't die, too.

 

Regarding the probiotics, I use the Probios brand, which I purchase at my local farm and fleet store (in the cattle section). I use the powder, and it is WICKED cheap, but works quite well! If you can't find this product, you can use any probiotic pill for humans, at about 1/2 to 3/4 dose. Others may suggest yogurt, but I would stay away from that, because many dogs are lactose-intolerant.

 

And, try to prevent her from grazing the grass. It's possible that is where she got the giardia to begin with, if not at the dog park. We are reasonably sure Naples got it from standing water in our backyard. It can be transmitted by almost any animal.

Edited January 25, 2010 by Sighthounds4me

[EnzaFerrari]

Enza had it and it was not fun at all. She did get Flagyl but I was under the impression one of the few things that can cure giardia is Panacur and you have to dose them twice - once now and once three weeks later.

 

So she had the bland diet, flagyl for 7 days, and two rounds of Panacur plus I added in probiotics before her tummy finally settled down.

 

I think it's also hard to pinpoint where they pick it up as Enza had it and didn't go to dogparks then.

[tbhounds]

The tummy rumbling could be from the giardia and it could also be from the flagyl. If your pup doesn't improve you can try panacur--once a day dosing for 8 days.

[cleptogrey]

felix had it as a young pup, it took a couple of rounds of flagyl to clear it up. he was on rice only for quite a while, invest in a rice cooker,well worth it!!!

[Guest Swifthounds]

I agree, the metro is the most likely culprit for the tummy trouble. Pepcid is a good short term fix, while using abx. Personally, I would give Slippery Elm to calm the GI tract. let the body do its thing, and retest in two weeks. Has about the same liklihood of the god testing positive a second time, but without the side effects. The majority of cases of giardia clear on their own. Mtro was shown in one study to have a success rate of 67%.

 

There is a vaccine for giardia. But it's efficacy is questionable. There are many documented cases of dogs being reinfected within months of receiving the vaccine. Studies have shown it may (and note the word "may") reduce the duration cysts shedding and the number of cysts shed in feces. But they are still infected. It does not rid the dog of a current infection.

 

SueG201 gives good advice. Clean up the poo right away. Give a Pepcid, wait 1/2 hour and then give the Metronidazole with a meal.

Two important things to note in considering the Giardia Vaccine:

 

1) The 2006 American Animal Hospital Association Guidelines list this vaccine as “not recommended.” (as do Dr. Schulz and Dr. Jean Dodds)

 

2) "Vaccine" is a misnomer here. It isn't a "vaccine" in the "preventative" sense. It is not intended to prevent infection in the vaccinated animal, but instead the vaccine is licensed as an adjunct to treatment and is used to reduce the shedding of cysts by the vaccinated patient. While this might be helpful in a kennel situation that is trying to reduce environmental contamination during an outbreak or where an animal keeps getting reinfected, it is not helpful to the average dog whose owner wants to simply prevent infection.

 

Your best cure and preventative for giardia is keeping the dog healthy.

[Guest fasthound]

I agree, the metro is the most likely culprit for the tummy trouble. Pepcid is a good short term fix, while using abx. Personally, I would give Slippery Elm to calm the GI tract. let the body do its thing, and retest in two weeks. Has about the same liklihood of the god testing positive a second time, but without the side effects. The majority of cases of giardia clear on their own. Mtro was shown in one study to have a success rate of 67%.

 

There is a vaccine for giardia. But it's efficacy is questionable. There are many documented cases of dogs being reinfected within months of receiving the vaccine. Studies have shown it may (and note the word "may") reduce the duration cysts shedding and the number of cysts shed in feces. But they are still infected. It does not rid the dog of a current infection.

 

SueG201 gives good advice. Clean up the poo right away. Give a Pepcid, wait 1/2 hour and then give the Metronidazole with a meal.

Two important things to note in considering the Giardia Vaccine:

 

1) The 2006 American Animal Hospital Association Guidelines list this vaccine as “not recommended.” (as do Dr. Schulz and Dr. Jean Dodds)

 

2) "Vaccine" is a misnomer here. It isn't a "vaccine" in the "preventative" sense. It is not intended to prevent infection in the vaccinated animal, but instead the vaccine is licensed as an adjunct to treatment and is used to reduce the shedding of cysts by the vaccinated patient. While this might be helpful in a kennel situation that is trying to reduce environmental contamination during an outbreak or where an animal keeps getting reinfected, it is not helpful to the average dog whose owner wants to simply prevent infection.

 

Your best cure and preventative for giardia is keeping the dog healthy.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I will agree- generally, healthy dogs don't pick stuff like this up in my experience. My dogs are exposed to everything under the sun with all the shelter pulls and fostering (of non Greys from terrible county shelters) I do, and how often I am in public with them and so forth. They drink rain water, eat grass, frequent parks where tons of dogs walk and play. My crew doesn't even pick up kennel cough when I bring home a dog in active infection with it, and none of mine are vaccinated for it. Work on building that immune system- the less you bombard it, the better IMHO

[Guest fasthound]

Thanks for all your advice. Yes, she is on probiotics with the Metro. meds. Someone on this post commented that you can get it from goose poop. I wonder if she got it from the new dog park. it use to be a duck farm. not sure how long ago it was though. I know another man there complained his dog was not feeling well. Does anyone think I should contact the dog park to see this is going around. I know I will not take them back there for a while. Ever since i have been going there the past month maybe she picked it up there.

 

And the posting about the immune system. Any ideas what I can do to keep her healthy? she is a healthy weight with bouts of loose stools occasionally. I have her on Wellness Core right now and seems to be good for her. I also add pumpkin to her food when she gets loose stools.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

Lots of exercise, and keep up the quality food, probiotics, and I personally believe training, bonding, and lots of good chewing action, running, and playing contribute. A happy dog is a healthy dog!

 

Ducks carry all kinds of disgustingness, so it could be that. As easy going as I am, I do not let my dogs go anywhere near fresh water down here (because of gators, mainly, but also because ducks are so damn disgusting).

 

Some people have success with Tylan in small amounts for a few weeks, but I truly prefer to avoid antibiotics when possible.

 

Also, this is the first I have heard of Metro causing upset stomach. In my circle of friends we consider it the wonder drug. I've never had a dog with loose stools that metro didn't cure within hours. It's like a miracle drug!

[Remolacha]

I am a little late to this, just wanted to add one of my dogs got giardia from eating feral cat poop He was new and I had never had a poop eater before! He also has IBD which hadn't been diagnosed at that point, but his imune system was definitely compromised.

 

If your dog is otherwise healthy, he should recover from this just fine.