Nisha has Giardia

[Nishasmom]

So she was just diagnosed ; I hope to get some advice before I pick her up in 2 hrs!

The vet wants to send me home with metronidizol ??? Is that good?

Also, she prescribed this Hills intestinal diet. I told the vet I didn't want to feed that so she told me to feed rice and chicken instead. How much rice and chicken should I feed, and for how long?

Also, she told me the metronidizol was an anti diarrhea medicine; wouldn't she need some sort of antibiotic?

Are there any home remedies that I should try? Thanks in advance!!

[Zumie05]

Gary was also diagnosed with Giardia (we went to the vet for a limp and happened to also bring in a sample, and sure enough he had it) and it isn't as bad as you think.

In humans, it is awful and can be fatal. In dogs, eh. They have shorter digestive tracts so bacteria doesn't have a chance to culture as much as it could in a longer system like a humans. Some dogs have giardia and show no symptoms. Other dogs will have a bit of runny poo, maybe it will be lighter in color, and it will smell pretty abnormally nasty (Gary's symptoms).

I wouldn't worry too much unless your girl is actually acting sick.

As far as the meds go, we also got Metronidazole. 14 500mg pills, 1 pill twice a day. We finished the meds a while ago and Gary's poo no longer is "run away and hide - stinky".

We did not have to feed him a special diet or give any anti diarrhea medications though.

[Nishasmom]

She said the metronidazole was an anti-diarrhea + probiotic

Nisha drank a lot yesterday. This morning she was kinda drowsy, but she did eat.

The vet didn't sound that worried, so I didn't worry. Maybe I should be worried ?? She was vaccinated, but somehow she picked it up. We swim almost every day; how would you prevent it?

How long before you noticed a change in Gary's poop? Nisha's was watery .

[Zumie05]

Ah Gary's poop was just kinda cow pie like...SOMETIMES. Some times it was nice and firm, others really mushy. It was never consistent, that is why we decided what the heck, lets bring in a sample while we are at the vet. I'm glad I did it now.

I noticed his poo change maybe after the first day or two of being on the meds. Slowly it got darker, more firm, and less smelly.

I am pretty sure he got it from drinking out of puddles and one of the lakes that we used to go to every Thursday with my friend's corgi and my parent's dog. They all drink out of the lake and out of the puddles. We also have a pond out in the back yard and bird baths that they all drink out of too....and yes Gary was vaccinated for Giardia also.

The only way I know of picking up giardia is by drinking water that contains it or by coming into contact from other dog's contaminated poop. It's really hard though, because dogs drink water they find....in the lake, at the river, a puddle here, a puddle there.....it's really frusterating.

I'm actually afraid that Gary might have got it AGAIN, from drinking water out of the pond out back (I noticed his poo this morning was really light in color), but it's weird because the other 2 dogs here drink there also yet have never had giardia or got sick or anything.

[Nishasmom]

Yes, Nisha has been having off and on "cow pie" poop. We thought it was the food, so we switched to EVO. Well, no change so we took her to the vet, the vet did a fecal which came back neg. (for worms). But last night it was runny/watery this time they tested for Giardia.

I wonder if this could cause the weight loss we have seen in her? Maybe there is some supplement we can give our water loving dogs to help fight bacteria. I will do some research. Maybe probiotics in the food?

[Zumie05]

I read somewhere that it is okay to treat the dogs about once a month using the worm treatment by safeguard. It has something in it apparently that also kills the giardia, and is okay to use even if they don't have it (just using it as a preventative).

I thought too that his poo situation was from food, he was eating Canidae als. I thought maybe his system doesn't like chicken, turkey, or lamb. So we switched him onto a food that didn't have any of those meat sources (hes now on Evangers duck/pheasant forumula) and he still had the same poop.

Maybe now I can switch him back, since the Canidae is cheaper

[moondog]

Originally Posted by Nishasmom

The vet wants to send me home with metronidizol ??? Is that good? Also, she told me the metronidizol was an anti diarrhea medicine; wouldn't she need some sort of antibiotic?

I think you may have misunderstood the vet.....metronidazole is an antibiotic especially effective against anaerobic infections. It is anti-diarrheal in that it clears up the infection, but it IS an antibiotic, and the one most often prescribed for giardia because it's effective.

Originally Posted by Nishasmom

Also, she prescribed this Hills intestinal diet. I told the vet I didn't want to feed that so she told me to feed rice and chicken instead. How much rice and chicken should I feed, and for how long? Are there any home remedies that I should try?

Good decision! Home-cooked is a MUCH better choice for this type of thing. Mix up a 1/3 chicken to 2/3 rice ratio, and shoot for a similar calorie count that she gets from her regular food. You can add some nuked and then ground, eggshell also, that helps bind the stool and provides the calcium she needs. If she eats less because her tummy's upset, that's okay while the infection is being treated. Home-cooking IS the home remedy (along with the meds).

[Weily4Life]

1 teaspoon of finely ground egg shells contains approximately 1900 mg of calcium

[Weily4Life]

Originally Posted by moondog

Good decision! Home-cooked is a MUCH better choice for this type of thing. ... You can add some nuked and then ground, eggshell also, that helps bind the stool and provides the calcium she needs. Home-cooking IS the home remedy (along with the meds).

Egg shells are so much cheaper too, Below is a guideline for ratio:

Add the following amount of ground egg shells using the table below:

Weight of Meat 1/4 pound add 1/4 tsp Ground Egg Shells
......................1/2 pound ......1/2 tsp
......................3/4 pound .......3/4 tsp
.........................1 pound ........1 tsp
and so on...

Simply collect egg shells.

• Wash the egg shells.
• Let the egg shells dry on the stove top or in the sun.
• Once the egg shells are dry, bake them at 300° F. This helps to make the egg shells even more dry and brittle for easier grinding. In addition, this helps to get rid of the mineral oils that have been applied to the egg shells to keep them from drying out in the store.
• Add egg shells to a blender, grinder, etc. and grind. Keep grinding until there are no sharp pieces. The egg shells should become a powder although it most likely will not be a fine powder. Use a sifter or strainer to remove large and sharp pieces of egg shells.

[Nishasmom]

Thanks for the help. What about water intake; should I let her drink as much as she wants?

[Nishasmom]

I just saw her poop for the first time (my boyfriend told me she had diarrhea). It is really bad; like water coming out of her butt . The vet said not to worry, but after that, how can I not?? She really went downhill in just 1 day !

[Nishasmom]

OMG!! She is throwing up! Should I take her back?

[Ayoka]

Originally Posted by Nishasmom

OMG!! She is throwing up! Should I take her back?

My experience is that vomiting AND watery pooh are worth a trip to the vet.

Call now!

[Nishasmom]

I just picked her up...20 minutes ago

[TrinaJ]

I have never heard of this before, it sounds awful. I hope she will be okay soon.

~*sending positive thoughts your way*~

Trina