I had my first bout of giardia here a couple mos ago also. As I recall, my vet said they can continue to see positive fecals come back for quite some time once a pup gets it. Another vet (who bought one of the pups) said it's been a big debate on whether to treat the asymptomatic dogs or not. He had a recurrence at ~3 to 4 mos as well but it sounds like it cleared up well. I did end up doing a 6 day Panacur on all my adult dogs (since I figure at least one must have been the carrier) despite being asymptomatic. I also treated my next litter at the same time (they were 6 wks), and they never tested positive for giardia but did pick up some other bacteria that was a 48 hr type bug. I think spring litters are the pits for all of this, personally!
Thank you so much to everyone for your suggestions- I'm very appreciative!
We aren't a multi-dog household so no chance of transfer unless I'm infected. We've also started taking him to a completely different location to do his business. I do have him on a doubled up dose of Dogzymes Digestive Enhancer but I'll look into trying the diatomaceous earth, Kocci Free and bathing after treatment. There was some research done on wild oil of oregano and giardia so I've been giving him that as a last resort. He was completely asymptomatic until he was diagnosed and ever since the first treatment, he's had stool issues. He's also become picky with his food and I'm not sure if it's from the giardia or teething.
Here are a few websites that might help. Probiotics are important because most of the wormers or drugs used to treat Giardia will strip the gut of good bacteria. Make sure no mud puddles or standing water to drink from. Lots of fluids to avoid dehydration.
Good luck to you and your little one.
The Vets I work for learned at Las Vegas that you should bath dog on last day and day after to get rid of any left oocysts. We have been seeing a lot of resistant giardia lately.
He was completely asymptomatic until he was diagnosed and ever since the first treatment, he's had stool issues. He's also become picky with his food and I'm not sure if it's from the giardia or teething.
If a dog's stool shows giardia but has no symptoms there is no reason to treat, many dogs are carriers and only have symptoms when their immune system is young. It may be possible that the stool issues you are seeing are being caused by the antibiotics. His lack of appetite could also be from his medication or the self treatment your giving him.
