Giardia Protozoa (Dog Diarrhea, Vomiting & Weight Loss)

Giardia Protozoa

Giardia Protozoa is a organism that is often present in the gut of a dog or human and when the system gets stressed, this organism will rear it's ugly head. The problem is, that it is next to impossible to find in a stool check. For some dogs loose stools are just a commercial kibble sensitivity and a change in brand and high powered microencapsulated probiotics, and that fixes the problem.

Now if this loose stool issue returns even with a change in diet, then we know this is usually a parasite and the most hideous of all is the Giardia Protozoa. Most dogs with this loose stool issue end up being treated over and over with Flagyll or Metronidazole, it clears up for a while then returns. It is a very frustrating problem for both vets and owners. Giardia is a problem in the large/giant breeds in particular due to the stress their body's are under during those first few months of development. Giardia is an enormous problem with rescue dogs because they have been neglected and compromised on many levels before they get into a foster situation.

I can NOT emphasize enough that giardia tests rarely find this parasite, because of the cycle of this organism it is next to impossible to find. I personally would forget the testing and just go ahead and worm with Panacur. Right now, it is the only thing working with success but it has to be used once for 3 days, then again in 10 days. Info below

All I can do is tell you what I would do if the dog was mine - but I am not a vet, so you have to decide what to do, just what ever you do, do NOT worm this dog or put the dogs on antibiotic without backing up the digestive track with a high powered microencapsulated probiotic - not just your every day yogurt or probiotic, it will not do it in this case.

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WHAT TO DO:

You can purchase these recommended supplements in KIT #21 - GIARDIA SUPPORT

1) I would Panacur from your vet or purchase Panacur at Medi-Vet- and worm the dog for 3 days based on weight. Follow the instructions for worming. Then again in 10 days after the last worming, I'd take the 3 day dosage (3 packets, dump out on a piece of wax paper and divide it into 6 even piles and wrap in wax paper and store in a dry place. Each day put 1/2 of the dose of Panacur on the dogs food, mix in a little Eagle canned meat. The point is to try and catch this critter at the part of the cycle that it is vulnerable.

Make sure you discuss the pros and cons of Panacur with your vet or the vet at Medi-Vet in case some breeds are particularly sensitive to this wormer.

2) I would put my dog on daily double doses of BacPakPlus probiotics - It is my experience that NO other probiotic will work for this extreme problem.

3) I would use MSM, not just any brand but VitaFlex because it has been around the longest and this info on MSM and Giardia was in their research and patent information.

MSM patent (#4,616,039) research information on MSM, states"the dosage for treating Giardia to be 500 mg - 3 times a day for two weeks, then continue with 1000 mg a day to help prevent Giardia re-infestation. Once an animal/human has Giardia infestation, they may have a reoccurrence of it throughout out their life." So keep that in mind. According to the Vita-Flex label you can double this dose under stress. Contact: www.firstchoicenaturals.com OR 800-937-1104.

The following instructions from the container are for Canine use of MSM. 1/4 teaspoon = 1000 mg or 1 gram

1- 45 lb. - 1/4 teaspoon
45-90 lb. - 1/2 teaspoon
above 90 lb. - 3/4 teaspoon


Give these amounts twice a day for 10 days. If you notice any relief in your pet's symptoms, you can move down to once a day. You may choose to continue the double dose indefinitely if it takes that amount for relief of symptoms. When in doubt contact the company.

4).I would use Blackleaf daily on their food, it is natural wormer and will work on giardia in the inbetween times.

5). Nzymes granulars - to detoxify the body and restore wellness due to nutritional losses caused by Giardia and other parasites.

6). Spark of Life - trace minerals, critical to the bodies metabolism, are lost with diarrhea or chronic loose stools and these must be replaced!

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AN EXAMPLE:

Pet owner writes: "We had her stool checked again for Giardia it was negative, of course".

My Response: "From all that you are telling me, this dog has Giardia - you simply can't find it! It is so hard to find you just need to treat for it. Do this...worm her with Panacur - do it for 3 days, then in 10 days take the same dosage you have for 3 days and divide that into 10 days. This Giardia is IMPOSSIBLE to find. Everything you tell me says this is a giardia dog and you won't get relief until you get this cleared up. I know one pre-vet student that ended up taking her dog to work with her, pulling  fresh stool samples 3 times a day for several days before they actually found it - and here she is working with the vets right there in the laboratory at UC Davis and even they didn't find it! You have nothing to lose to try my suggestion because at this point nothing else is working."

Owners Response After Following My Suggestion:
 
We saw a new vet at the office and I convinced her to treat for Giardia with Panacur, per your suggestion.  Within 2 days, her stools looked better than I had seen in a long time.  Within a week, she gained 3 pounds.  She still isn't eating a lot yet , but 2 1/2 cups dry and 1 can is better than barely 1 cup dry with gravy per day.  She's gaining weight!  She's definitely feeling better.  Anyway, thanks again.  I REALLY APPRECIATE everything. - TSM

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A CLOSE LOOK AT GIARDIA

A Word About Giardia - this is a waterborne protozoa (a parasite, but not a worm) which is VERY difficult to detect. Only at certain cycles will the cysts be noticeable in the stool which makes it next to impossible to detect. To test for this you need to to have the vet go up inside the rectum with a loop and take a fresh/warm sample of stool from the dog in order to get an accurate reading. You can’t bring one in in a baggie! Even if the dog shows up as negative for Giardia, and the dog exhibits any of these symptoms, you need to discuss with your vet the necessity to treat for Giardia, in order to rule out any infestation.

• Intermittent loose stools (most dogs have this and it can happen to puppies).

• Will not gain weight

• Poor appetite

• Some dogs will eat but keep losing weight

• Graze on grass excessively

• Gassy

Anytime you have a dog that will not gain weight, is on/off their feed and/or with intermittent loose stools, gas or diarrhea, you should check for Giardia first, before you start running up vet bills looking for other health problems. Sometimes these dogs will not eat, because Giardia causes such stomach upset and severe cramping. It is because of this, they will often graze on grasses excessively.

Giardia is a very big problem, one that goes undetected by most veterinarians Carol Turkington writes, "Once an infestation of Giardia, it often reoccurs. Giardia is spread by food or water contaminated by the Giardia protozoan organism found in the intestinal tract and feces. When the cysts are ingested, the stomach acid degrades the cysts and releases the active parasite into the body. Once within the body, the parasites cling to the lining of the small intestine, reproduce, and are swept into the fecal stream. As the liquid content of the bowel dries up, the parasites form cysts, which are then passed in the feces. Once excreted, the cysts can survive in water for more than three months. The parasite is spread further by direct fecal-oral contamination, such as can occur if food is prepared without adequate hand-washing, or by ingesting the cysts in water or food."

Turkington goes on to state, "Diagnosis can be difficult because it can be easy to overlook the presence of the Giardia cysts during a routine inspection of a stool specimen. In the past, the condition has been diagnosed by examining three stool samples for the presence of the parasites. However, because the organism is shed in some stool samples and not others, the infection may not be discovered using this method. A newer, more accurate method of diagnosing the condition is the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects cysts and antigen in stool, and is approximately 90% accurate. While slightly more expensive, it only needs to be done once and is therefore less expensive overall than the earlier test."

Generally, Flagyll, Metronidazole and Panacur are often used for Giardia, and repeated again in 2 weeks if the symptoms have not subsided. In 2001, Flagyll (Metronidazole) appeared effective in only about 60% of the cases. "Currently, some vets feel the effectiveness of Flagyl (Metronidazole) is down to 40%. Known side effects of Flagyl are nausea, disorientation, yeast growth, liver failure depression, regurgitation, and nerve damage".

* I have been told by several vets, the best course is to use Panacur for 3 days and repeat it again in 10 days, taking the same 3 day dosage and dividing it up over 6 days, at half doses to get it at all stages of the cycle.

I have recently read that Flagyll and Metronidazole are only 40% effective any more, so discuss this with your vet and ask about the use of Panacur.

* www.holisticbirds.com

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This is another waterborne parasite that vets do not test for but could be at the root of your problem. Ask you vet to read about Cryptosporidiosis

http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod/dpd/parasites/cryptosporidiosis/default.htm

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FEED PROGRAM FOR GIARDIA SUPPORT

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If you have wormed with Panacur twice as directed above, and you have used BacPakPlus to restablish the flora of the gut and you still have loose stools...contact me at GrDaneLady@aol.com