Neg giardia after one treatment ? (labby and others)

[sdb421]

I posted before the board crashed about our sweet new puppy (9 weeks now) who was diagnosed immediately upon coming with coccidia, giardia, campy and had some roundworms. He's been on meds for quite a while. We did 10 days of Albon, 12 days of Tylan powder, 12 days of Flagyl and 10 days of Panacur. After finishing all meds, his fecal was sent out to the lab and came back neg for everything. I was planning on having to do another course of Panacur for the giardia, per labby's recommendations, but I'm assuming since we are negative for giardia, we don't need to do it? Our vet said that we were in the clear unless we start to show symptoms again or get reinfected, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone here agrees that we don't need to treat any further?

Also, we are going to switch from Iams to Fromm Gold LB Puppy tomorrow, how do most people go about switching. We are going to do a gradual switch, but I'm curious as to how long people draw out the food change and what ratios?

Thank you!

[Meeps83]

Glad your puppy is doing better! Before assuming he's (or she? I can't remember) completely fine I'd still do the rigid handwashing and cleaning and have a stool sample tested again in a few weeks. As far as switching food....we're bad and offer different foods as variety and don't do gradual switching so I can't help you with that one...

[ZoeysMommy]

I wouldnt treat again with another round of Panacur if he is clear of all parasites. Did your vet recommend you treat again? Also, personally I would not switch his food right now, not even a slow switch. His digestive system just went thru hell and back, give it 4 to 6 more weeks, make sure he is parasite free, tummy will calm down and then change foods

[Maxx&Emma]

I agree with holding off on the food switch. I would also add a good probiotic ASAP. I do disagree and think you should treat again. To be on the safe side I would treat for the additional 5 days as Laura, (labby), explained. Hopefully she will see this and explain why she considers this so important. I am really glad your puppy is on the mend.

[Shelley]

I would also suggest treating for another five days of Panacur, just to make sure you captured the full life cycle of the Giardia, or catch a reinfection because he is so young still. Plus the Panacur will catch any roundworms that might be left in his system too, as I recall he had roundworms also?. Panacur has a very wide margin of safety, so it won't hurt him.

[Shelley]

Oh, and I would absolutely not mess with his diet right now, especially after coming off all those digestive issues. :-)

[Nancy0]

I also recommend treating with panacur again for 5 days. Niner had giardia and the only way I got rid of it was to treat a second time. My vet was ok with me treating about 2 weeks after the first treatment. Haven't had any problems since

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[Georgia]

Sam was negative after his first round of treatment and I asked my vet about continuing treatment but she said it wasn't necessary. However, at his next well puppy check he was positive for Giardia again. We treated a second time and he's never had a recurrence. If your vet will prescribe another round of meds I would probably do it. Mine wouldn't so I had to wait and see what happened. If I were you I would make sure I always bring a stool sample to well puppy visits even if your vet doesn't tell you to. Better to be sure everything is gone.

[labby]

I would treat for 5 more days to get the little hatching buggers. THEN you should be good to go and only treat for symptoms.

[bubbalover]

Agree with the comments above! Parasites are tricky to treat because you have to catch all of the life stages (GAG!) for them to be gone completely. My crew had Giardia as puppies and it took a couple rounds of treatment before they were parasite-free. I'd suggest another round of Panacur and an additional fecal to be sure you get the official all-clear.

I'd hold off until then to switch the food, and you'll also want firm, solid stools before any changeover. Given the recent intestinal issues I'd advise a very slooooow transition. I'd start with 25% Fromm, 75% Iams for 5-7 days, then 50/50 for a few days, 75/25 for a few days, then all Fromm. You'll know if the change is too fast because your pup will have loose stools (which is part of the reason why it's important for your pup to have normal stool going into the transition!). If that's the case take a step back, increase the Iams and decrease the Fromm.

You can also try adding a small amount of canned pumpkin to the kibble to add fiber and help ease the transition. Two words of caution though--be sure the pumpkin is canned, pureed pumpkin and not the pumpkin pie mix with all the spices. Also, a little pumpkin goes a looooong way, especially in a puppy belly. Start with a very small spoonful. Good luck!!!