Giardia

[MikeWalking]

Got it once myself..one untreated bottle of water in a 4 day hike..took several weeks to hit.  Had an un*******believably painful first episode.   Woke me up out of  dead sleep like getting gut shot.  If it had been 2 steps farther to the can      I would have moved.

The first test didn't find it but since the lakes I had hiked up to were labeled as being known for it my Dr. gave me the (dirt cheap) Rx for it anyway.   That was almost as bad.  Couldn't close the windows for 2 weeks...

[dblungshot]

Thanks wraithen!  I've thought this may be a possibility as she's had a food reaction in the past (hives) but never digestional...I'll try to get back to the feed she's used too during the off season but first try the recommendations of pumpkin, rice, chicken, etc....  I normally switch her to a higher protien during chukar season and give her a more rounded simple diet during the off-season.

Another symptom is gas during the poo process...only when it's a runny one, i can hear her have false alarms (gas) prior, during, and after and she looks at me like "I thought it was coming"...it's kinda funny cause I can understand the feeling.  Look up Dumb and dumber toilet scene and see the results as this is probably most similiar as to what she's experiencing during the running stages.  My dog probably thinks I'm a complete ass by now.  I'm also exaggerating a bit to how bad it is, but I've also had a couple relaxing cocktails. 

Here's a picture of my bitch which most the time I love and sometimes I will give away!     She's the best dog I've had but also isn't perfect.  Couldn't ask for a better dog for my kids and wife.

[dblungshot]

forgive me if this a multi post as I'm having troubles uploading photo.  Heres the bitch! Ass first.

[Curly]

Nice pic!

[Mudman]

I read some of this to my wife and she had a fit!  Shes a vet. tech and deals with this alot.  The stories of thousands of dollars doesnt make any sense to her. She says more to that(Parvo?) then what is told.  Giardia is a simple fecal sample test.  Not expensive.  She thinks food allergy very strong possibility as well as other parasitic infections.  Not staying current on vaccines also could have exposed her to more serious risks.  Unless it is a food allergy which is easy fix take dog to vet. if you want to keep her alive.  Longer she is sick the more $$ it will cost.

[wraithen]

I talked to my wife about it as well. She said counting the 35 dollars they charge for a vet to see a client, it should take 50 bucks to figure out if it's giardia or not. They just run the fecal. If you're on a first name basis with the vet you shouldn't be paying much more than that. (Thats the on-base pricing.) Pumpkin will fix a lot of things sometimes, it's like a miracle drug for some simple stuff! Keep in mind that sometimes dogs are also allergic to the chicken and although it is rare, some have shown to be allergic to the rice somehow.

[dblungshot]

I'm gonna call the vet monday and take a *censored* bag in and see how much they'll charge for a test.  What's the specific test called?  Just for giardia or for all parasites?  I don't think it's necessary to take my dog in, get charged the extra $ for them to tell me she looks fine (unless someone can convince me otherwise).  Her gums look fine but her teeth may need a brush.  She also has a large vulva which I've heard too many times, but most vets don't comment on that.  It's people passing by asking if she's a male dog because of her balls.  In the chukar motel one hunting buddy calls her the super chonch along with other names which she wags her tail about.

By the way:
This am the stools looked perfect...saw a piece of apple one of my boys threw on the ground from dinner last night.

[Shannon]

Sorry to hear Reign is still sick.
For the people who couldn't understand the cost in treating the dog, the fecal test is the cheap part. I'm the unfortunate person that has $2,300 tied up in getting my pup rid of Giardia. He has had many standard fecal test, one expensive test that supposedly test for everything that cost me two hundred something, and more drugs than you can imagine. He's ate special dog food that cost $4 a pound and he eats a bunch. The list goes on and on. Some of the drugs are human grade and cost $100+ for a two week dose. Some of the drugs worked while he was on them but the symptoms came right back when the drugs were gone. The food changes did nothing. The fecal test don't really mean anything because sometimes they are positive and sometimes they are not. You can test the dog 5 times in one day and get 3 that show Giardia and two that don't. Out of all the test, he has only tested positive for Giardia and that is only a few times out of a bunch of test. The last vet wanted to operate on him to remove an inch of intestine to confirm its only Giardia he has. I couldn't see doing that on a perfectly healthy dog that his only symptom is chronic diarhea. Long story short, I found a human grade supplement called Para-Gard that has cured him from the second day he has been on it. I'm not sure if he's cured or it just masks the diarhea but we will find out when the supplement runs out. If it doesn't he will take the supplement for good. Not fun thats for sure. It started when he was 6 month's old and he's 14 months now.
Good luck with reign. Let me know how it goes.

[wraithen]

Id be curious to find out what that supplement does in dogs. I'm guessing there is something physical that is wrong with the dog in question here. I can't imagine giardia being so difficult to treat. That would be really hard for me. While I can't imagine your pain with the dog food, I can for the drugs. Working dogs out eat my 150 lb mastiff, but my vet bills add up pretty quickly, especially if it's human grade and even more so for things that are done by weight.

[Shannon]

The dog has had x-rays of his stomach and sent off to a radiologist. He gave him an all is OK. If you research Giardia in dogs he's pretty consistant with a lot of dogs. It's extremely hard to get rid of for good in a lot of dogs. A lot of people think they just get over it by themselves but it can take up to a year. I don't know if that's whats happening with my dog or if the supplement is working. I've never had a dog get it before and all of my dogs have ate and drank some pretty nasty stuff. The one thing this pup did, that probably contributed to his problems, is he ate coyote crap like it was dessert. He ate crap in Saskatchewan, Montana, Oregon, and Idaho last year so who knows what strain of God knows what he picked up. He out grew that stage.
Good luck to everyone that is dealing with this. It's a royal pain in the ass.

[dblungshot]

Thanks Shannon.
I don't think it's as bad as charlie's case...reign is actually getting fatter.  The stools are on/off.  I'm gonna play around a bit with the different suggestions and see what pans out. 

[Mudman]

Giardia can be hard to get rid of because the animals keep reinfecting itself.  Shannons dog sounds like a parvo dog?  Maybe a different vet. might be a good idea?

[Raghorn]

I had Giardia once from drinking in a mountain stream. I (and my doctor) thought I had a flu for more than a month. Finally got some medicine that worked. Had one night of misery with getting up and out of the tent every 45 to 60 minutes to run out in the wet snow and rain to do the business. My brother got up before daybreak to go find an elk but I just lay in bed. Finally just after daylight I decided that I could be sick in the woods as well as in the tent so I dragged out. About an hour later I had my bull down and tag filled. A fine and pleasant misery!