Giardia in puppy

D

dream2012

Forums Regular
I have been touch with a breeder and I am planning to visit the puppy this week. She informed me that one of her pups has Guardia and the new owner notified her of this a few days ago. She was giving me a heads up should my pup shown signs. I am familiar with this condition but am concerned about this condition in a young 12-week old pup? Is this a serious condition in a puppy who is probably immunosuppressed? Should I ask her to take a stoop sample to her vet? She said I should take a sample when I take the dog for his vet visit and I am thinking she should take care of this. I am paying over $1000 for the puppy if all goes well and now I am having second thoughts. While I appreciate her honesty,i feel she should take care of this prior to my taking possession of the puppy. She has started a him on panicur, Which is a good thing, but I am thinking this might be a start of more problems.

Also, she is having a flea problem that she never had before and says the Frontline is not working so she is using advantix on her dogs. Not familiar with this. I have only used frontline on my previous shelties. Your thoughts on the Giardia issue and the flea issue. Should I pursue this? I am super excited about visiting the puppy and meeting the breeder but am not having second thoughts.
 
I don't think I'd worry about the giardia as the other pup may've picked up giardia in it's new home. As she has already started your pup on Panicur there's probably no point getting a faecal sample. However, maybe someone on the forum who's had more experience with it can advise you.

I definitely wouldn't worry about the flea issue though. It's warm weather and when you go to a lot of dog shows/trials you're always exposed to fleas.
We've seen a big problem with Frontline-resistant fleas in Australia for about 3-5years (even though Frontline say there is no resistance), so it doesn't surprise me if you're now seeing it in US. I had my one and only flea infestation in the house when all the animals were on Frontline and my poor male recently had acral dermatitis from a flea allergy, even though I'd used Frontline Plus (for the tick component). Advantage and Comfortis were the two brands recommended by my vets because they also kill fleas in the environment.
 
Giardia is not all that uncommon in puppies. My (now) 8 month old had a case of it when we brought him home at 4 months. Honestly, I think just about every puppy on this forum has had to deal with it at one time or another. As long as the puppy is receiving medicine for it, all should be fine.

As for the fleas, I tried using the new Seresto collar on my dogs this year. It prevents both fleas and ticks and we have both in my area. You can put one on a puppy as young as 12 weeks. So far we have not seen a single flea or tick on our dogs and they've been wearing their collars since early spring. It's worked better than Frontline and other topicals I've tried - and no oily mess on the fur. I hope it stays as effective when the weather starts to chill down and those pests are looking to move inside where it's warm.
 
I agree with the others. Giarida and coccidia are very common in young puppies because their immune systems aren't developed enough to fight them off. They can get it from their mother (whose immune system is strong so she does not show symptoms) or the environment. A course of panacur and sometimes, metronidazole (flagl) will usually cure it.

I would, however, have your vet test a stool sample to be sure it's out of the puppy's system and doesn't need retreatment. Your vet won't do anything more than give you another round of panacur, so your breeder is doing everything she can to prevent it.

I'd be more worried about the fleas. They're impossible to get out of your house in warm weather once you get them inside. I would not use a chemical preventative on such a small puppy, and I'm not familiar with the collars. You might ask your vet what you can do to get rid of the fleas, or ask your breeder to bathe the puppy in original Dawn dishwashing liquid the day you pick him up. That will kill the fleas on him.
 
Thank you, everyone, for your prompt replies. Much appreciated.

I was rethinking the purchase aver mulling over this information last night. The excitement and joy of getting a new puppy is overshadowed by this information and having to deal with treating and paying for treatment for a pre-existing problem. I am paying just over 1000 for the puppy and I guess I was not expecting this. I know worms are common in puppies but this is a bit more serious.

Also, how reliable are the sheltie growth charts. This guy is measuring 11" at the withers and might go oversize. I have seen shelties that look like collies and some that mature later. Thoughts on this size at 12 weeks?

The dam the granddaughter is from the breeder's top producing bitch and the sire is from a well known sheltie line, Barwoods. The sire has had testing done, but the dam has only had the eyes checked by an ophthalmologist. The breeder says all the hips in the line have been "good"range. I believe Vwd is clear by parentage.
 
lots of icky

Kaleigh and Savannah came from a working farm. They treat all their puppies for parasites, worms, coccidia, etc. Giardia is very prevalent in most of the streams and lakes here, so we treat for that here as well. Both Kaleigh and Savannah came with medicine that I showed my Vet, and he agreed that since they have a farm with a variety of animals it made sense to be on the offensive and take a preventative stance. Because of the exposure. My point being, it was strong stuff, can't remember what it was-sorry, but the Vet (and mind you he is holistic) said, ok, that will KILL anything that they might contract. He said obviously they are proactive and want to make sure nothing is passed. In our region, lots of that stuff is "breeding" in the soils and water, so it isn't about being careless. It is just the reality, that you step up and deal with.

Flea infestation is serious, and you MUST conquer it, otherwise they will take over. In our arid climate, I didn't have issues, but we moved to PNW briefly, and my 1st sheltie suffered terribly, she was highly allergic to flea bites, and it took an all out war to keep them at bay. I was GLAD to leave the humidity and come home to dry climes where it wasn't much of an issue. She was grateful too. Fleas, ticks, flies, and mosquitos in my mind should be DESTROYED and EJECTED off the planet permanently. I hate them all!
 
Thank you! I like the breeder and we've had nice conversations over the phone, I know this is no reflection on her. My one dog with giardia was given flagyl. He recovered in a few weeks,i believe. He was the only dog I had that had Guardia. Always thought he contracted through a nursing home where we used to volunteer. Who knows, but the Flagyl did clear him.

I do try to minimize drugs for myself and my dog. Knowing what I know now, I probably would not treat him with Flagyl, even if the vet suggests that. I will see if this panicur works and maybe this will be all he needs!

I Will post the size question in another forum. Again, thank you all for your comments. Always appreciated!
 
Shelby had giardia, coccidia, and worms when we brought her home at 13 weeks. Our breeder had a lot of dogs and said that she had Taken a stool sample to her vet and was already treating all the dogs knowing they would all eventually get it, and it was too hard to figure out which dogs sample she took.

When we took her to our vet the following day we gave him the information from the breeders vet and our vet added additional medications (I can't remember what). He said it was nothing to be concerned about and that it is very common in puppies. Other than loose, mucous, stools she was fine. After a few days she was better.

Shelby did (and still does) eat anything, so I am not surprised she had these issues. Actually I am surprised we haven't had more GI issues with all the things she finds to eat in the yard.

As for fleas I have no suggestions. Fortunately we never had an issue. We used to use Frontline, but there have been some reports of resistance not to far from here in NJ. So we just switched to Bravecto.
 
Calliesmom said:
Frontline stopped working here about 6 years ago. we switched to Comfortis then.
Click to expand...

I used frontline for my inside cat for several years. About 3 years ago it stopped working and my home exploded with fleas. It took me 3 months to get rid of them after finding out the frontline was not working. We use Advantage Multi® for both my cat and dog now. We have even taken Cleo around other dogs with flea problems and not had any issues ourselves.
 
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