Giardia!

nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Just thought I would give the dog guys in heavy beaver infested areas a heads up that giardia is becoming an issue. Hopefully cold weather will knock it back. Friend of mine lost two dogs to it last week. He didn't realize what it was and misdiagnosed it. Another lost one also.

I brought a dog home Sunday and she was fine, today she has yellow diarrhea that she could blow through a screen door at 10'. She was eating fine yesterday evening, today she won't touch anything. Untreated, they will be blowing blood out both ends in 24 hours after the onset of the diarrhea and usually 24 hrs after the blood starts you will be digging a hole. Many folks mistake it for parvo or coccidiosis in younger dogs as it has some of the same symptoms but the treatment is considerably different.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
dwaters416 said:
How did you treat yours. I have some friends that has lost some this year also.
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You have to give them a worm/parasite regiment for 5-7 days depending on the infestation and if they are already to the passing blood stage you have to treat them with antibiotics. The wormer recommended is fenbendazole and metronidazole and the antibiotic most commonly used s tindamax. The bad thing about it is unless you have a source it is Rx only.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Just racked up #2 to it. He got dosed real good. Hope he responds as well as the female has. She is really doing well.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
Sounds a lot like HGE, Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis. Can be triggered by parasites, no real cause other than stress. I have had it kill dogs in as little as 36 hours of showing signs of being sick. Once blood shows they would be dead in less than 24 hours. The blood would be in large volumes, a jelly consistency and pungent. Dogs would also vomit. Vets blamed it on parasites, hook worms, but the dogs looked otherwise healthy. I finally wound up saving a couple. Gave them 30 ml of Pepto Bismol or the generic and penicillin. No help from the vets.

I do have one I think that has giardia now, going to start giving her fenbendazole.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
DRS said:
Sounds a lot like HGE, Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis. Can be triggered by parasites, no real cause other than stress. I have had it kill dogs in as little as 36 hours of showing signs of being sick. Once blood shows they would be dead in less than 24 hours. The blood would be in large volumes, a jelly consistency and pungent. Dogs would also vomit. Vets blamed it on parasites, hook worms, but the dogs looked otherwise healthy. I finally wound up saving a couple. Gave them 30 ml of Pepto Bismol or the generic and penicillin. No help from the vets.

I do have one I think that has giardia now, going to start giving her fenbendazole.
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Most likely that will knock it out. You may want to think about an antibacterial antibiotic for 7-10 days in case she developes a secondary infection. Depending on the severity of case she has.
 
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Soilman

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My guess is, its worse this year because it’s been so dry that it’s concentrated in what little water that’s present.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
Think I'm losing the battle. Seems to be getting worse. Has me wondering. Hope this rain helps flush the canals, before we start to lose anymore. Six year old female, that would strike from the truck.
 
nccatfisher

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
DRS said:
Think I'm losing the battle. Seems to be getting worse. Has me wondering. Hope this rain helps flush the canals, before we start to lose anymore. Six year old female, that would strike from the truck.
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I hate to hear that. Both of mine responded to treatment well and I hunted them over the weekend.
 
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DRS

Old Mossy Horns
Diarrhea seemed to be getting better. Still not eating. Must not be responding to antibiotic or could be other causes. I saw blood in her mouth yesterday and she could barely stand. Don't expect her to be alive when I go check, if she is and is no better, I think I will have to have her put down. Dang it! Never gets easier.
I have had her quit eating before, last year, so I'm thinking something else like cancer/kidney function may be at play and made her more susceptible to the effects of Giardia.
 
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Wake native

Six Pointer
DRS said:
Diarrhea seemed to be getting better. Still not eating. Must not be responding to antibiotic or could be other causes. I saw blood in her mouth yesterday and she could barely stand. Don't expect her to be alive when I go check, if she is and is no better, I think I will have to have her put down. Dang it! Never gets easier.
I have had her quit eating before, last year, so I'm thinking something else like cancer/kidney function may be at play and made her more susceptible to the effects of Giardia.
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Sorry to hear that. Did you try giving her fluids?. May buy some time.
 
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whitty

Six Pointer
Are all of these dogs coming from the same area. None of the dogs in my clubs have had any issues that I’m aware of.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
whitty said:
Are all of these dogs coming from the same area. None of the dogs in my clubs have had any issues that I’m aware of.
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Mine was from Eastern NC. I would think it is not the same area. From what I have read most healthy dogs survive with no issues. Just depends. I'm sure we have some others that have been exposed, from looking at feces but have not stopped eating and seem to be doing fine. Got my fingers crossed. Lots of canals where we hunt, due to dry weather water has been more concentrated. This could likely increase exposure. Hope some of this rain has the canals flowing again. It would also concentrate the areas beaver are using.
 
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