After battling along for 5 days with both dogs having upset stomachs (again) we went to the vets last night and she thinks could be giardia so tests going off etc. It looks like continued boiled chicken and rice although I am also using Royal Canin Sensitivity Control tinned food.

oh dear, must be a lot of that going around?!?!?
Hope they get better soon....

Be carefull if the test is negative... You can have a false negative because of the livecycle the parasite makes.
I deworm all my dogs with panacur anyway because that is the only effective medicine and doesn't harm the dog if you use it anyway.

Had giardia with 2 dogs here, 2 years in a row. Since then I use panacur on all the pups to be on the safe side and it doesn't hurt them.

Oh no, not more Giardia.

I came across an 11 week old Huskamute pup today on the walk on our hill and I advised they take it else where. The place just stinks of Giardia and everywhere you go is Diarrhea.

I think the weather may well be having something to do with it.

And as Karen says, do not rely on a fecal test to get your answer. Either administer fenbendazole (Panacure) or Metronidazol. Neither are 100% effective in all dogs but should certainly help to get your little one back on track.

Good luck.

Panacur is the more effective one, especially in a 3 or even 5 day treatment.
Metronidazol is just for the rest of the bacteria in the intestines, not a 100% cure for giardia.

I believe that some dogs can carry Giardia and not have any symptoms, so can test positive but with no nasty side effects

Many thanks for the info. and advise. I've been using Drontal Plus as a wormer so I'll go to Panacur and use it as you suggest. My older dog has been put on Metronidazole but not Elkie yet as her symptoms weren't as bad.

The walks I take mine on are all very rural and of course they sniff (and Elkie tastes anything as well!) everything and are particularly partial to anything foxy. It's very difficult to protect them isn't it? Thanks again

Yes when my dogs had it my vet suggested a 5 day treatment of panacur 10% in liquid form.
It cleared it up on about the third try. So will only take you 15 days

15 days?

Always use tablet form and never took more than a week. Only extreme forms can take longer.

Yeah
After the first treatment they were fine and then within a couple of days it started again so I took them back to the vets and he said to just do the 5 day course again.

I repeated the panacur always after 3 weeks.
Frustrating when it comes back within a couple of days... Giardia sure is nasty!
Ohni en Kal-le both had it, so when Magu started to get diarrhea again I didn't even do the test but started panacur again.
When Tolinka, Qimu and Iati came I gave it them the minute they were in the house

it's not just from foxes, any animal can carry it. I think in most cases it is where an infected animal defecates in/near water and then other animals drink the water and get infected that way.

I think that is how Tala got it, from drinking out of an old flower pot that was near the bird feeder, it's now been removed!

also from feces. So if they play in the grass, eat grass and a dog has been there ( or any animal or human! ) that is infected, they can get it.

Maybe this is something we should put up on our health website.
Sounds quite popular to me

Definetely - a good idea. The dog pooh sounds as if that could be it for me. Elkie sniffs every bit of pooh and inspects it minutely! Steffi has never done this and so in the 7 years we've had her she's never had it. I'm going down to get some panacur in a minute and when I talk to the vet when the test comes back I'll ask her about having a course of it as I'm not sure the receptionist will sell it to me in bulk! Thanks again.

Yep, it looks like Jasper has Giardia and I think I'm getting it too... joy. Also, Vixen seems a bit lethargic today and isn't much interested in her food but so far no diarrhea from her yet... I'm going to get them started on Panacur tomorrow and treat all the living creatures in the household at the same time: cats / dogs / humans. Then I'm going to scrub every inch of the house with bleach. We'll nip this thing in the bud, no point treating one animal for another one to then get sick 2 weeks later. Horrible bug!!

Get well soon all those who are in the same boat! What a PITA!

A couple of years ago nobody ever heard of Giardia, not even the vets. When Ohni got it, we (my colleges at the practice) had to search to internet what we had to do. Within a couple of years it has become a parasite that you find all over Europe. No idea about the States, but I guess it is not much better over there.

It is a zoonosis, so owners can get it from their dogs, and the pets from their owners
So wash your hands carefully after cleaning the kennels or garden after your dog. Wash the dog-blankets and stuff they play with.
There is no way you can get it all out of your place so don't go crazy over it I have a rather big garden and there is no way I can disinfect my garden

If people get it, they usually get a big metronidazol treatment. I just had a huge (1500mg a day) one for 3 weeks for a parasite ( not giardia ) and it's no fun!

Oh Debby, you poor thing This is no fun is it. If it turns out that's what Elkie and Steffi have and then my kids get it I shall go mental!!!!!They are no good at hand washing at the best of times. It will be a nightmare. Good Luck Debby. I've just got a bulk supply of panacur and starting now - my vet said it won't harm them anyway even if the test is negative.

for anyone who wants to buy panacur in bulk.
The best price I can get it for is at canine chemist

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and they do next day deliver if you need it.

Gosh, that is so much cheaper than the vets have charged me! Thanks Jennie, that is worth knowing for the future. I wish I had been a vet

I have great respect for my vet practice and it was a bit of a glib comment as I was never clever enough to have been a vet anyway. Definetely no offence meant Karen! I think I was a bit shell shocked that I had to pay £200 for one visit, a test and some drugs. All I can say is it's a good job we love our pets!

I was not offended

It just that people always complain about the costs for a vet and don't see why some things cost more. It is not like a vet makes a big jackpot income.
But I would be shell shocked as well with a 200 bill!!

Did you really have to pay consult the get panacur? Because in the NL it is a "over the counter product" and most vets give it if you ask for it without needing consult
Only if you get the dog checked out and tested, yes...then the consult costs come in.

Just had a discussion on a Dutch forum with a bunch of people who thought that a vet was neglectful when he described panacur without testing but exactly at the same time complain about the costs of a vet... Just decide what you want people!
My colleges would be happy tot test every dog for giardia before giving out a thing like panacur.... "JACKPOT!! "

Just for information. My vet charges £25 for a consultation and if you require a feaces sample tested then that is £80 which is for a full test.
If vet recommends Panacur which is what I use then you can go online as Jenny says and buy it from one of the animal chemists for a lot cheaper. The more you buy the cheaper it is. Canine Chemists is a good one to buy from. I am lucky as I have known my vet a very long time and he knows all our dogs and I get good discounts for everything. I also pay £80 for the full hip xray and score but down south around the London area it can be as much as over £200. Vaccinations too also vary tremendously from vet to vet.

I quite understand Karen. Thanks for the info Lynn.
I didn't pay a consult for the panacur - I went into the surgery to ask for it but the receptionist couln't give it to me because of the amount I asked for. As luck would have it my vet saw me in passing and came to see what I wanted and OK'd it - she just said that I hadn't had confirmation of giardia yet but if that what was what I wanted to do it was fine. I paid £49 for the panacur.

Panacur - Powders, Pastes or Liquids?

I am having problems understanding the dosing. How much and how often would I administer Panacur for a 25-30 kg dog for the treatment of Giardia?

Also, when working out dosage amounts from dogs weights, should this be done at the dogs current weight or his / her ideal weight?

We use panacur 10% liquid.
It should be done on their actual weight and my vet always tells me to give them a tad more than they are supposed to have as they end up spiting a whole load of it out, it tastes nasty......
If you take your dog to the vets to be weighed, he/she can work out your correct doseage if you are not sure.

I've been given powder in sachets which I mix with their food - they are taking it OK. Both have one and a quarter sachets a day based on their actual weight and they are having it for seven days.

ok, have stuck some info on the health database

Had a big husky-club show here in the Netherlands last week. All 9 pups from my friend who had his dogs on the right from me turn out to be infected. Qimu's little sister is also sick and probably is infected. There were over 94 contestants present, not counting the dogs who were at the location but not being showed.
It was at a big horse-riding place, so it must have been in the feces of the horses or something this time.
Glad I already de-worm my pups with panacur...