Ttiffany20191 Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I have a 9 year old BC who has had Giardia 3 times now. She has been treated with Metronidazole 500mg bid for 10 days. It gets rid of it but then 2-3 months later she is sick again and worse than the last time. The vet bills are killing me. She is my service dog. I'm almost 100% sure the apartment complex grounds are infected with it as I see diarrhea everywhere. I've bought her booties, try to watch her like a hawk so she doesn't eat anything off the ground but it isn't helping. I read you can give Safegaurd/Panacur..I bought some liquid suspension and was wondering if anyone can help me with the dosing and frequency. I'd be sooooo grateful!! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 1 cc / 4 lbs of body weight for 7 days. That's using a 10% suspension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 You can order 1000 ml bottles of double strength with banana flavoring from Avenue Vet out of Iowa. I think the last bottle I order was $69.00 so substantially cheaper then buying the goat/cattle wormer and since it's double strength you only give 1 cc / 8 lbs, they send it with the dog dosage on the bottle for you. They will lick it off the syringe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttiffany20191 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 THANK YOU!! Very much appreciate it..I will have to look for that banana flavored one. I just ordered the 10% suspension but I'm sure I will need more in the future...again thank you a bunch... Can you mix it with their food? I ordered a syringe as well but was wondering if I could just mix it in her food. Sounds like it may not taste that great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 It doesn't taste good at all, and even the banana flavored one isn't tasty to many dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I have a friend with a young pup suffering from the same. They aren't finding the answer and they have used liquid panacure and anything else they can think of. They are getting ready to do a endoscopy on the poor pup. If you find more information out or you find liquid p. helps please update. I'm wondering if there is a new strain out there (if that is possible) that isn't responding to treatmeant. Although the dog gets better then worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Tiffany and Kristen, if the dogs afflicted have not been tested for clostridia perfingens, please ask for it. All it requires is a fresh fecal sample. My departed Buzz had several episodes of nasty diarrhea, accompanied by lethargy, lack of appetite and fever. My vet was just about to order an endoscopy, and I asked if there was any other less invasive, (and less expensive and risky) test that we hadn't done yet. He thought about it, looked something up and said why, yes, there is. Clostridia perfingens colonizes the gut, when it dies off a toxin is released that makes a dog pretty darn sick. It doesn't ever die out completely, and can be 'awakened' by various things - stress, change in diet, and some other things I can't remember, it's been several years. C. perfingens is also one of those bugs that is found in soil, on skin, etc. I can't put in a link, but you can google it and find a lot of info. It's also a problem in humans when it takes hold. Treatment is something I can't remember plus supporting gut health and minimizing stress. Buzz got doggy probiotics plus the medicine, and that seemed to help a lot. He still had episodes, but they were far fewer and we could treat them more effectively. ETA - Kristen, your description of the dog getting better then worse fits Buzz's situation perfectly. Hope this helps, Ruth and SuperGibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Meier Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I will put a little water on the bottom of the food dish, put the food in and then drizzle the panacur over the food. The water prevents it from sticking to the bottom. I have only one dog that refuses it that way and it did take a little time to get everyone on board. I'm also told that you can mix a sweetener into it to help make it taste better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I was wondering somewhat similarly to what Ruth posted, in that there are "things" present in many dogs that do not adversely affect the dogs when healthy but when the dog is compromised in some way, can thrive and have a negative effect on the animal. We had a dog who for whatever reason had a compromised immune system. He would get recurring urinary tract infections that we would treat, and within a few months, he would have symptoms of infection again. If he got a wound, it would usually infect. He had been a normal, totally healthy dog in his youth but for whatever reason, in his later maturity, he could never be totally rid of whatever was causing his bladder/kidney infections and could not fight off the infectious agents in normal, small wounds. I'm wondering if, as Ruth suggests, you might be able to find another contributing factor, like C. perfringens or even an issue with immune function. Very best wishes - this must be very worrisome and is certainly not pleasant at best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttiffany20191 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I don't know if it is a bad strain like you mentioned, we aren't getting rid of all the cysts, or she is getting reinfected from the environment. What I have noticed is that with every bout she gets sicker much faster. I'm going to try giving her the 7 day course of liquid Safegaurd as she just finished the metro. She isn't showing symptoms after the antibiotics but that is how it always goes and within 2-3 months she is sick again. I'm going to try and give this to her every month for 3 days and see if it helps. Like I mentioned I bought her booties, I've bought her Forti flora-probiotics and switched her to grain free/limited ingredient diet. I can't save the money fast enough to keep taking her to the vet for X-rays,fecals,cerenia,fluids,etc,etc..I live outside of a big city and vet prices are extremely inflated here. Thank you for the suggestion about C. perfingens. I will look into that if this doesn't work. I appreciate all of your help and feedback. Going to try tonight to mix this Safegaurd with some wet food and see if she will take it that way. If not I will just use the syringe to give it to her. Very frustrating and worrisome. Just want her feeling better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttiffany20191 Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Sue, I have read that Giardia is like that..a significant population actually carry this parasite without issue but when they get stressed or their immune system is taxed it can rear its head. M sure there are other bugs out there like that too. Great info..thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I squirt the fenbendazole directly on my dogs' food. I add water to their food anyway. Never had anyone refuse out that way, not even my picky eater. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Okay, so you are doing fecals and finding significant numbers of Giardia in those? Just wondering because there could be something else that is actually causing the problems and wanted to be sure that there was not an assumption that it was Giardia versus having tests indicating that Giardia was present in significant numbers. I feel for you, having had a dog with severe gastro-intestinal issues, the first of which we were aware of being Giardia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttiffany20191 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 She showed them on her first test. The vet said it can be hard to find on a test. So first showed it but the 2nd two tests didn't. She said that isn't unusual but if this doesn't work I'm going to ask her to test for what you mentioned. I don't know if dogs can get colitis like humans? I just don't have any clear answers even from the vet unfortunately..These last two vet visits she was sort of perplexed as to what was going on and why she kept getting sick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttiffany20191 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Knock on wood she didn't refuse it tonight..ate everything happily..you all have been such a huge help. Really,really appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttiffany20191 Posted January 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Sue, did you ever find out what was causing his issues? Sounds like Casey...pretty healthy up until recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 5 weeks of metronidizole (sp?) and 2 rounds of panacur later we now have done 2 doses of Tylan and all signs of loose stools are gone. Giardia was the diagnosis but the panacur and met didnt really touch it. This was a bugger to get rid of in my pup, I've never dealt with it and I never want to again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I don't know if dogs can get colitis like humans? Yes, they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Yes, Giardia can be hard to detect. My dog, as an infected pup, sadly had such a load that it was easy to detect. His problem was Vitamin B12 malabsorption, which would not be your dog's issue as it manifests itself in young dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 This young pup is testing positive then negative then positive again. Her other dogs will sometimes test positive but no symptoms, but not all of them or even the same ones. She has him separated now to try and keep any re infestations from contact of other dogs or contaminates. I will forward all the ideas. He was tested for the b-12 malabsorbsion but that wasn't it. Still getting b-12 as it seemed to help. 5 weeka of met. Is not normal treatment journey? Do you think c.perfinges could be the compromising issue causing him to keep the gairdia infection going? she has done anything and everything she can think of. They are at a speciality vet now. I hope something might help that has been suggested. I think he's only about 8 months old. Very skinny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 In humans it possible to continue to have symptoms even after the giardia infection has cleared. I think this is maybe what happened to my dog. After completing her antibiotic course (which will have killed the 'good' bacteria in her gut as well as the bad) I put her on high dose probiotics, but even then it took a couple of months to see a good response to these. one additional thing you may consider testing for is exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). I had another dog with this, she lost a lot of weight, her coat was very thin, dry and course and she had a tendency to intermittent vomiting and diarrhoea especially if she was given any fat in her diet. She was diagnosed with EPI at about age 4. After this, She required supplements with all her meals, but on these lived a healthy life till 15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'd switch antibiotics, met wasn't working, Tylan worked here in 2 doses. I also did the whole GI gut panel, no b12 or pancreas issues, just prolonged Guardia that we couldn't get ahold of. And yes, very skinny, no other symptoms or issues. Now after dose 3 of Tylan I'm wondering.."don't you have to go"! So used to him and his system being out of whack! Oh, also get them on a good probiotic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Kristen, I'm not a vet, I can't say if C. perfingens is a player in your friend's dog's troubles. I can say that it's a relatively easy/inexpensive thing to check for. If it's involved, it's also a relatively easy/inexpensive thing to treat. At least it was 7 years ago. Ruth and SuperGibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 Thanks guys, I will pass this on to her. Thanks Ruth and Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted January 10, 2015 Report Share Posted January 10, 2015 His problem was Vitamin B12 malabsorption, which would not be your dog's issue as it manifests itself in young dogs. Not necessarily, Sue. My dog didn't have a problem with it until she was probably about 9 or 10 years old. Of course, there may have been subclinical malabsorption that wasn't causing symptoms yet, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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