I am looking for advice, I have a dog that keeps becoming infected with Giardia. We tried fenbendazole, we have tried Metronidazole. The Metro works but here we are a few month later with a positive fecal. I know it has to be on my property. Any way to boost the dogs immunity to the Giardia? Is there an alternative medication available that you have tried?

Last summer one of my vets mentioned that there was a very resistant strain of giardia going around and they were doing extra tests to look for it. I don't know what the treatment was since it did not turn out to be my dog's problem. Sorry I can't be of more help. I live in upstate NY.

There is a product from Naturesfarmacy.com called immuno guard that boosts the immune system and gut to help shed the girardia cysts. You can put the kennel on it for 3 weeks spring and fall and it seems to work. I would treat the dog first and then use the immuno guard.

When we lived in NY we had a pond that had other wild life in it. My dogs would suffer on occasion from Giardia. I started GiardiaVax, a shot, and they never got the runs after swimming again.

Have you checked her thyroid?

We had a bitch that had similar recurring issues and our vet suggested checking her thyroid. It was low. Since we have her on medication, very few infections. It's worth a check.

Mike

I know that vets look under a microscope to tell. It their a way to tell by looking at the puppy stool to see if it is coccidia or giardia. My vet keeps saying Coccidia with albon for 10 days. It just does not seem to be helping. I am curious to see how many breeders use the giardia vacc and what they think.
TIA

my case of giardia was confirmed by antech, first time it was picked up in the usual fecal lab test, this time we performed the Giardia ELISA test. I will talk to my vet about the vac, thanks!

The next time I have a problem with giardia, I'm going to try Albendazole, which was recommended to me recently.

We only treat for symptoms anymore since giardia is so widespread and we all shed it at one time or another.

Unless the dog is actually showing symptoms, we ignore it. You aren't going to get rid of it. Once it's in your system and environment, you have it forever.

When the dog is having symptoms, we do 7 days of panacur, 7 days off, then another 5 days on.

Usually the dog builds up an immunity and only suffers symptoms if it's under stress or ill. That's when we treat.

I don't like to since I don't want the giardia to become resistant. Usually doing the protocol for panacur for 7 days on, 7 days off, and then another 5 days has worked best for us.

My vet went to a symposium on giardia and they recommended this. I've done it for years and it works for us.

When I asked my vet about the giardia vax, he laughed. That said enough about it to me. ;-) Apparently it doesn't keep the animal from getting giardia, just shedding it.

You may want to try Forti-Flora,a product made by Purina that your vet can order for you. It has been found to help with the treatment of resistant giardia.