Hookworm And Giardia

[Guest Phaedra3]

I adopted my third greyhound back at the end of January 2011 and have been battling with hookworms and Giardia with little success. He has been dewormed with Panacur one time and Pryantal on two other occasions for the hookworm and has been treated two times with metronidazole for the Giardia. This last stool sample still shows a small percentage of both. My vet has recommended me to have him checked by an internist specialist to see if he has a suppressed immune system. Has anyone dealt with a situation like this?

[Guest BiancasMom]

Is there a way he could be re-infecting himself with a contaminated environment?

[Guest Phaedra3]

It's hard to say....I do clean it up asap and my other grey has not caught it.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Phaedra3

[JJNg]

Panacur often works better than metronidazole for Giardia. I'd probably at least do another course of Panacur - at least 3-5 days. A number of greys seem to have trouble clearing hookworms, and it doesn't usually mean a suppressed immune system.

[Guest Swifthounds]

How many rounds of Panacur did you do?

[Guest Phaedra3]

How many rounds of Panacur did you do?

 

If I remember correctly, he had a 3 days course followed two weeks later by a 5 day course.

Edited August 9, 2011 by Phaedra3

[Guest Phaedra3]

Panacur often works better than metronidazole for Giardia. I'd probably at least do another course of Panacur - at least 3-5 days. A number of greys seem to have trouble clearing hookworms, and it doesn't usually mean a suppressed immune system.

 

 

I will inquire about the Pancur treatment with the specialist. My vet feels that the 3 rounds of deworming meds should have taken care of the problem but I have also heard that hookworms can be difficult to get rid of and that goes the same with Giardia. I hope you are right about him not having a suppressed immune system. My concern is with the number of times he has had dewormer, not sure if there are any ill effects to that.

[tbhounds]

Honestly this not an uncommon problem. As far as the hooks -using strongid once a week for 6 weeks along with monthy interceptor seems to be a winning protocol. Also, I have seen a lot of dogs that are not clinical return with repeated postive ELISA giardia tests. After hearing from some internists the general feeling is treat with either high doses of metronidazole (not the diarrhea dosing) or panacur (for 5 days) and then if they are not clinical just monitor.

I second the thought that your hound does not have a weakened immune system. Does he seem unwell?

Please keep us posted.

[BootsyCollins]

Are you also treating with a preventative like heartgard? That should take care of infection of the worms, anyway, once you get rid of them. Hooks suck.

[Guest Phaedra3]

Honestly this not an uncommon problem. As far as the hooks -using strongid once a week for 6 weeks along with monthy interceptor seems to be a winning protocol. Also, I have seen a lot of dogs that are not clinical return with repeated postive ELISA giardia tests. After hearing from some internists the general feeling is treat with either high doses of metronidazole (not the diarrhea dosing) or panacur (for 5 days) and then if they are not clinical just monitor.

I second the thought that your hound does not have a weakened immune system. Does he seem unwell?

Please keep us posted.

 

 

He does not have much of an appetite but then again he is not very active. He aslo does seem to tire out quickly but that might just be the greyhound thing to do.

 

Are you also treating with a preventative like heartgard? That should take care of infection of the worms, anyway, once you get rid of them. Hooks suck.

 

 

He is treated with heartgard plus every month faithfully.

[Guest Phaedra3]

Honestly this not an uncommon problem. As far as the hooks -using strongid once a week for 6 weeks along with monthy interceptor seems to be a winning protocol. Also, I have seen a lot of dogs that are not clinical return with repeated postive ELISA giardia tests. After hearing from some internists the general feeling is treat with either high doses of metronidazole (not the diarrhea dosing) or panacur (for 5 days) and then if they are not clinical just monitor.

I second the thought that your hound does not have a weakened immune system. Does he seem unwell?

Please keep us posted.

 

Is this strongid a med that I can buy over the counter?

[tbhounds]

OTC strongid=nemex. There may be other brands available-- may have to google search.

[JJNg]

Is this strongid a med that I can buy over the counter?

Strongid-T/Nemex are brand names for pyrantel pamoate (same active ingredient in Heartgard Plus that covers intestinal worms). OTC Nemex liquid is about 1/10 the concentration of Strongid, but it does come in a tablet for larger dogs. As is often the case with OTC vs prescription meds, the OTC dose is lower - the dosing instructions on the Nemex label is about 1/2 the dose typically used by vets (5 mg/kg vs closer to 11 mg/kg). I see a lot of puppies that have been dewormed with Nemex by breeders and I don't think it's as effective as going with the higher end dose.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Worry about the hooks. Giardia will cone and go. Almost all dogs who test positive for giardia have it transiently because of some immune suppression or another. Even without treatment, it will clear on it's own.

[IndyandHollyluv]

Boy, I feel for you. When I adopted my (angel) Indy back in 2001, he had hook worms. I believe he was on Panacur at the time of adoption. Anyway, my sunshine state hound went from hooks to round worms to tape worms to giardia. What a barrel of laughs.

 

I adopted Holly about six months after Indy and somewhere along the way she also suffered through giardia. More fun.

 

While I can't recall the specific treatment protocol, I will tell you that eventually everything cleared up and my hounds were never parasite positive again (well, meaning fecals were negative).

 

I seem to recall Indy subsequently getting a giardia vaccine? Not sure if that was a good thing or not but we did get him squared away -- although it took 4-5 months to do so and for him to have parasite free stool.

 

Hang in there. Don't give up!

Edited August 10, 2011 by IndyandHollyluv

[Guest Hero1]

I share your pain! We are currently battling hookworms with our second greyhound. Lola was hookworm positive when she came up on our rescue's haul from Florida in November 2010. The rescue treated her with Panacur, we treated her with Panacur; then Drontal, then Panacur again, now Pyrantel suspension (all while being on Sentinel for HW prevention). We are very careful about not allowing her to reinfect herself (she is leash walked), And thank goodness our other grey (Hero) is still testing negative. But poor Lola has been rechecked every 8 weeks for 9 MONTHS NOW and we have YET to get a negative fecal! )

She is 4 weeks into the Pyrantel ( and she will have a fecal test 4 weeks later) I have been wondering about trying the Nemex if she still tests positive.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Have you had any good results with the pyrantel? It's so commonly used, IME it seem to be the med that hooks and whips become resistant to.

[Guest LindsaySF]

I would do 7 days of Panacur followed by another 7 day course in 3-4 weeks. The usual course is 3 days, but some of the buggers are getting resistant. Hookworms can also hide in the tissues (where dewormers can't get them), so you might need to deworm several times a year to keep it under control. Then definitely Heartguard or Interceptor monthly. Good luck.

[Guest Phaedra3]

Have you had any good results with the pyrantel? It's so commonly used, IME it seem to be the med that hooks and whips become resistant to.

 

 

No we have not had any good results with pyrantel. This is why my vet wants me to have him seen by an internist. It is my opinion that this is a bit extreme but my vet will not prescribe him any more de-worming meds. So I am sort of stuck taking him to the speacialist and I know it is going to be expensive.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Phaedra3

[Guest Phaedra3]

I share your pain! We are currently battling hookworms with our second greyhound. Lola was hookworm positive when she came up on our rescue's haul from Florida in November 2010. The rescue treated her with Panacur, we treated her with Panacur; then Drontal, then Panacur again, now Pyrantel suspension (all while being on Sentinel for HW prevention). We are very careful about not allowing her to reinfect herself (she is leash walked), And thank goodness our other grey (Hero) is still testing negative. But poor Lola has been rechecked every 8 weeks for 9 MONTHS NOW and we have YET to get a negative fecal! )

She is 4 weeks into the Pyrantel ( and she will have a fecal test 4 weeks later) I have been wondering about trying the Nemex if she still tests positive.

 

 

Does the hookworm affect Lola's appetite? My Mose's goes in spurts eating and then just picking at his food. My vet just can't understand that he still shows positive results for hookworm and Giardia after having Panacur twice and Pyrantel on two separate occassions. The Pyrantal dosing consisted of 5ml every 2 weeks for a six week period for a total of 3 dosings each time. Plus Mose's is on Heartgard for HW prevention.

 

I'm sure this specialist that my vet wants me to see will be a very expensive trip.

 

As for the Nemex.....I saw that at my local Tractor Supply store but the OTC dose must be much weaker than the prescription Pyrantel from the vet.

[Batmom]

The active ingredient in Nemex *is* pyrantel pamoate.

[Guest LindsaySF]

No we have not had any good results with pyrantel. This is why my vet wants me to have him seen by an internist. It is my opinion that this is a bit extreme but my vet will not prescribe him any more de-worming meds. So I am sort of stuck taking him to the speacialist and I know it is going to be expensive.

You can get all of these dewormers online without a prescription. I've found Panacur granules the cheapest on Amazon.com.

 

 

When Teagan had hooks and whips his appetite was off.

[Guest Hero1]

"Does the hookworm affect Lola's appetite? My Mose's goes in spurts eating and then just picking at his food. My vet just can't understand that he still shows positive results for hookworm and Giardia after having Panacur twice and Pyrantel on two separate occasions. The Pyrantal dosing consisted of 5ml every 2 weeks for a six week period for a total of 3 dosings each time. Plus Mose's is on Heartgard for HW prevention."

 

No, the hookworms do not seem to affect Lola's appetite - in fact we have to keep her away from Hero's bowl to keep her from eating his food too. She was quite skinny when we got her in November, but has actually put on a few pounds these last few months (even though the vet said her fecal was still positive).

Our vet put Lola on 10 ml once a week for 4 weeks.(She weighs 68 pounds) It is interesting that the dosing is different from what your vet recommended.

Luckily this medication ( the Pyrantel Pam. Suspension) was only $24 for 40 ml compared to the $75 for the 4 Drontal tabs. But if there is an OC that is cheaper- (and this is going to be a chronic condition), I will need to use the least expensive option.

Lola is due to have another fecal test around September 13th - .