giardia

Question
My 5 1/2 month miniature Australian shepherd has had Guardia since her 2nd worming at nine weeks--a week after I bought her from a breeder.  After several 5 day treatments, the vet and I cannot seem to alleviate the lab-identified problem. There is no diarrhea, and the dog seems to be healthy and with a good appetite. I have been told that she may be eating her own stools and reinfecting herself.  Is this a possibility?

Answer
Yes, it is true, but it can also be brought in to the yard or home on your shoes and boots.  It's tricky to get rid of sometimes.  You can make a concerted effort to remove the possibility for re-infection by taking some or all of the steps here. First, bathe your dog completely (use gloves) especially the perianal area, then dry her thoroughly and put her in a clean crate or kennel.  Because you cannot bleach or disinfect grassy areas, it's best to limit the dog's access to any contaminated areas for at least 30 days.  If you have access to a concrete area that can be regularly disinfected during this time, where you can place a temporary kennel, that's ideal.  Try to establish a "clean area" where feces are picked up instantly and the surface is disinfected immediately.  You can try products such as Solid Gold S.E.P. to discourage her from eating her own poop.  Here's a good article on how to stop dogs from eating their own poop: http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_PoopEating.php

Completely remove any feces from areas where the dog is kept.  If there is a water source in the dog's area, that may be a source for contamination, too, so fence it off with some cheap wire fencing.  Cysts can survive in a damp environment for months.  

Clean all hard surfaces such as floors, concrete kennel runs, and crate trays, with a quaternary ammonia kennel disinfectant (such as Kennel Sol - and follow all the safety precautions on the label) which will kill the giardia cysts - do not allow your dog to walk on the area until it is completely dry.  You can steam clean any carpeted areas.  [NEVER mix quat ammonia products with bleach.]

Metronidazole is usually the drug of choice for giardia, but you may also want to ask your vet about using Panacur wormer as well, since it is known to kill giardia cysts, too.  So, if one doesn't work as well, the other may.  

Hope this helps you out.  For a more complete article on giardia: http://www.beaglesunlimited.com/health/giardiasis-diagnosis-treatment-and-preven...