Giardia and my Cobberdog
What is Giardia?
Giardia is a protozoan parasite found in the small intestines of many animals, including dogs and cats. Giardia are microscopic, so you will not see the parasites in your Cobberdog’s stool. It is present in the environment on sidewalks, grass, standing water, even running water can contain it, and is commonly known as Beaver fever in people, when, say you go camping and forget to boil the water from the stream before drinking it. Humans do get Giardia, but generally not the same strain as dogs. Animal-to-human transmission of Giardia, while possible, is extremely rare and only responsible for a small number of human cases. Giardia is quite common, the majority of dogs and cats worldwide have Giardia residing in their gastrointestinal tract. Giardia is so common that many practicing veterinarians consider it a part of the normal gut environment. Infection happens when your puppy ingests cysts (fecal-oral route). This can happen by your Cobberdog ingesting feces, self grooming, licking other dogs, drinking contaminated water, step in feces, then step in food, then eat food. Fortunately, a majority of animals with Giardia are asymptomatic. For those that have symptoms, diarrhea is the most common clinical sign. Rarely, vomiting, anorexia, lethargy, and dehydration can occur. Clinical signs are generally self limiting in nature, and very few Cobberdogs need treatment.
What is the treatment for Giardia in my Cobberdog?
If your dog is asymptomatic, it is better to avoid a needless treatment for this parasite. It is a likely possibility that treatment would not be effective, and your dog will continue to have Giardia after treatment. For those dogs that require treatment, we use a combination of Metronidazole and Juru. Metronidazole is a drug only available from veterinarians and is useful with initial treatment of the parasite but we only use this drug if symptoms such as diarrhea are presenting. The reason we limit the use of this drug is so the parasite doesn’t build immunity to it, reducing it’s effectiveness, and so that we don’t upset the natural immune response the puppy would normally resist the parasite with. Since Giardia has been found to be part of the normal environment in many dogs, getting rid of it in the natural hosts would probably entail destroying the gut environment, and this causes more harm than good. A better approach, we believe, is to supply the puppy with the proper natural elements that limit the parasites ability to survive in their gut environment. This approach includes all the things you would normally do to keep your Cobberdog puppy healthy, such as good nutrition, regular exercise, probiotics, and pumpkin puree. Juru, (Vibralife before trademark dispute) is the most effective natural treatment and prevention we have found for the control of giardia. We have been using this product with much success as an alternative to drug therapy. Unfortunately, Giardia is a very difficult protozoa to eliminate from the GI tract, with half of all cases resistant to treatment. It is possible that your Cobberdog may rid itself of giardia over time, or they could also be a carrier of it, but not exhibiting symptoms. If standard, reasonable care is exercised (feces disposed of, hands washed after contact with feces, bathe dog if coat is soiled), the risk of transmission is very small. Children and immune-compromised adults should avoid contact with feces of pets. Giardia cysts are susceptible to bleach, so any affected surface can be cleaned with bleach solution.
If your Cobberdog suffers from giardia and you are looking for a natural treatment, contact us about Juru, we use it for our Cobberdogs and have it available to buy in 14oz bags for $12 plus HST.
Wishing you happiness and a healthy puppy! Luke