Morning Folks,

So we do have posts on Giardia. Thats not the part I am having issues with. I have spent the past 24 hours with a very unhappy puppy and because of last years bad season for pumpkins I am having a hard time finding plain pumpkin.

Finn was diagnoised with Giardia, vet thinks he could even have had it since the breeders, and since his runs are so bad and I can't find pumpkin I have him on plain boiled bonless skinless chicken breast and white rice. I went with white instead of brown because I seem to recall the white is more statchy. He is on panacor for 5 days ( 3 days to go ).

Is there another squash plant that works as well as pumpkin? Finding root veggies is going to be a pain but I have even checked the local organic store. We are all out of plain old pumpkin. I have decided to can the girls' jackolaterns so I have a stock of this.

This came about the vet said (we dont have very many cases in this area) if he got it here, from the standing water we have from the constant rain. Lovely if you ask me. Way to "bond" with my dog. ick.

Now the second reason for me posting this is it seems my family as bonded with his bug too. Again way to go bonding lol. That being the case I need to find out from everyone what can I use to kill the cysts in the house. You can't bomb, these things can survive months in a damp environment. Does humidity count? We have the AC on 24/7, and its dry in the house but I still need to sanitize.

The info from the vet says "bleach solution" does color safe work just as well as normal everyday bleach? I need to spray an eggshell white carpet can't use plain bleach. It also said lysol might work but there have been no studies on it.

So that is the information I have right now. This isn't fun and poor Finn is miserable because we have been keeping him in his crate unless he is teathered when the kids are sleeping or when he is out for a walk. He's not to happy with us.

Mary

yuck, sorry to hear about that, Mary.

For the normal loose poops, we always use white rice and bananas (always have some ripe bananas in the freezer - makes a nice rice/banana pudding). And, of course, you want to underfeed as opposed to overfeed while the bowel is recovering.

Once you get those dang bugs involved, though, I'd guess it could be a tougher problem. That's just wrong. Puppies and mud puddles go together.

Mary, you don't mention it in your post, but I am assuming you have the pup on Panacur or metronidazole? Panacur is apparently more effective with less side effects, but is not actually approved for treating Giardia in the US. (whoops, sorry, I missed the part about him being on panacur! That's good!)

The cysts come from feces from infected animals/people and water sources that are infected with Giardia. I would wipe down all the kids' toys, as well as clean the floors with an ammonia solution.

I think if you sprinkle the rug with borax and work it inot the carpet, then vacuum thoroughly that would take care of the stray cyst that might be on the carpet. If the pup has had an accident on the carpet, treat the area with ammonia, let it dry and then vacuum it. Other option would be to steam-clean the carpets with an ammonia solution.

Are the kids being treated also? If they are infected they can pass it through their stools. You have 1 or 2 on diapers, right? Lots of handwashing.

This is a common infection in childcare settings, also.

Thanks everyone. Definitly doing the borax and ammonia. That's going to be alot of borax. I hope panacur treats these little bugs otherwise the vet and I will be conversing. Lol. Don't officially know about the humans having the bug. Waiting for the dr to call back. Joys. Lol.

I would have hoped for more than just panacur. Though it may clear it out. I know the vets here that see many puppies and giardia treat with metronidazole (flagyl) and or panacur and or albon. Hoping yours is clear the simple way.

I would wonder if Odo Ban would clean it up....works on staph, strep, MRSA all sorts of ookies. I get it at Sams/Walmart. Smells good and is color safe.

When I need pumpkin and can't find it....other winter squash will do. Or metamucil powder. But it will be a stop gap only til the giardia is gone.

Good luck.

hmmmm metamucil huh. well right now I am soaking 3 tblspoons of kibble for one cup cooked rice. He hasn't gone since this morning. The chicken was making him go. I am thinking even though it was skinless/boneless breast meat that was really cleaned of all fat it might have been too rich for what he's eaten.

now my issue is he doesnt want to stay in his crate! but if I take him out he goes loopy. He isn't pooping so he isn't shedding cysts. I guess when he sheds the cysts he is at the last stages of things. Funny thing, dr is putting hubby and I on meds and it only takes 5 days 3 pill/day and its gone. Why can't this do this with dogs?!

Sorry to vent I am just frusterated because breeder still wont contact me back about the Giardia and so far even vet is thinking that he probably picked it up there because we almost never see it in my area. All our water ways so to speak are rivers!

Sonya how much metamucil would you give a 10 week old puppy that weighs as of last vet appt (July 6,2010) 9lb 4oz? And what is Odo Ban?

Also as a side note. I have a Large (would fit a standard female shar pai) wire cage and its got a removable tray in it. Would this be better then a travel crate we currently have him in thats small. Probably would fit a 13 inch maybe beagle comfortably. Finn right now is about the size of a mini poodle, but he is trying to jump in his crate(the travel one). Any quick recommendations of switching him because I feel so bad for him, but I am quickly loosing my patients with the barking because he is mad that he's stuck in there.

Again sorry for the vent, I am just exteremly annoyed with the breeder for not contacting me what so ever about this or any emails I have sent.

Sorry.

mary

Mary, I'm not clear on why you aren't taking him out. Are you worried about him pooping in the yard?

PS, if he's not having the runs, I would skip the metamucil. Also, you may want to consider adding a probiotic capsule daily to reestablish beneficial bacteria in his gut.

No I am taking out of the crate to play outside. Thats not the issue. I am just not letting him run around the apartment. So far the girls dont have it, but brad and I do but we are on meds for it. I will look into the probiotic capsules from the local pharmacy. Thanks Lynne.

We had the carpets disinfected, Finn has had a bath and now he's sitting at my feet. I just feel frusterated that he's got this because he is so miserable. He wants to play with the girls, and be out of his crate with the family. But when he's got the runs (not right now) and his tummy hurts (He gets really quiet and snuggly when his tummy hurts) I just feel so bad because there isn't much more i can do for him that I haven't already am doing.

Ahh, got it! Yes, I'm sure he's not happy being in the crate so much, but I think you are right to keep him crated for now. Maybe a little more outdoor time, if possible?

Good to hear that the girls don't have it, at least.

Hey Mary - I know they do make "doggie pullups" - it's possible that between increasing the frequency of outside trips to empty, and wearing the pullup in the house, you could increase his "out of crate" time.

This is also a crate training issue in general that you would likely face at some point when you have to crate pup and the girls are out and about. Pup needs to learn to soothe himself when he's in the crate. Sometimes putting a towel over the crate to block the visual aspect can be helpful. Some sort of chew toy for time in the crate can also be helpful. Might consider searching "crate toys" or just "crate" on this forum to see what folks have used with their dogs - they've been pretty creative. Some dogs have to be crated for 6-8 weeks with broken bones, for instance.

Possibly even some sort of doggie calm stuff might help ("rescue remedy?") just keep him a little mellower have to check to make sure it's ok with young pups. Also, sending the girls elsewhere to play could help for short periods.

This too shall pass (pun unintended).

Good luck.