Hi
I have just had the results back from a faecal sample from my dog and he has Giardia cysts.  This was as the result of a routine test as I prefer to worm/treat for any infestations present in my animals as opposed to routinely dosing with Drontal or whatever.  He was exhibiting no clinical signs - diarrhoea, lethargy, loss of condition etc etc - and has been prescribed a course of Panacur for 3 days.

Questions:  how common is Giardia, bearing in mind that my dog is a working dog and spends a lot of time on farms/moorland with cattle/sheep/horses present and close to water sources?  Does anyone know anything about the vaccine that is supposedly available although I believe questions exist about it's efficacy according to Bruce Fogel?  Does anyone have any experience of using natural products to treat?  I've had the suggestion of Stilton Cheese and Pumpkin seeds followed by Selenium and Vitamin E to promote the immune system.  Also, any comments about the appropriate period for re-testing as there appears to be contradictory views if you search on the web?  In other words, if you have any  knowledge on this subject, please give me a brain dump!

Many thanks.

The conventional treatment for Giardia,is, as you are doing, Panacur - quite often the vets will prescribe an antibiotic to cover any latent infection caused by the protozoa, but if your dog has no clinical symptoms I guess the vet reckons it's unnecessary.

It's an ongoing problem with any sort of dog who enjoys muddy puddles - especially flatcoats.   Sorry - don't know much about alternative treatments or the vaccine, but guess anything that boosts the immune system must  help.

Jo and the Casblaidd Flatcoats

Hi Jo
Thanks for VERY prompt response!  What worries me is, that if this is an ongoing problem, how frequently is it safe to treat with Panacur or whatever?  What have been your experiences and have you suffered any adverse effects?

Thanks. 

go to www.flatcoat.com it has some details on there,

plus humans can get it to,

my rush had in 2002 he was passing blood in his stools and lost weight so a test was done it came back giardia,the reason he got he had cancer of the spleen and bowl at the time so his system was low.beacuse of him the rest of the dogs and cat had to be test which cost me over £500 but they came back clear,

you do have to give  a different dose of wormer from panacur,the vet should give you one just 1 course will do,

do you know that 30% of puppies will have it and 50 % show dogs will have it to,it  so easy to be spead at a show when the judge gose from 1 dogs mouth to another and the cyste can laid in the dogs coat to,it makes you think that at shows the judge should wear rubber gloves each each time thay go over a dog and wear white coat like they do for cat shows to help stop cross infections,
the side affect came be lack of vit a,weight lost,dull coat,

Giardia is more common in young pups/dogs under a year but older dogs can & do get it. Evidence suggests quite a lot of dogs carry with no effects. I`ve not had any experience with it myself but my dogs & pups have been tested regularly & tests have come back negative for parasites & they`ve never had a chemical worming treatment for over 3yrs now. The vaccine is not one Shultz recomends & I wouldn`t bother with it either. It can definately be treated with herbs/homoepathy/alternatives. Some links below for suggested treatments will give you an idea to do a more detailed search. I`d probably re test every couple wks for a while after starting treatment
http://www.naturalrearing.com/_vti_bin/shtml.dll/search.htm
http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/a/+parcan.htmlhttp://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/parasites.htm[/link]
http://www.wellvet.com/paraguard.html

Christine, Spain.