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Comment by Bev Levy on July 3, 2009 at 12:20pm

Good luck! Our doberman manages to create a "lake" of poo a couple of times a year in her crate. Not Giardia but very delicate tummy(3 surgeries) so I know how you feel. At least you have a very sympathetic audience! But thats all we can do.

Comment by Susan Stanton on July 3, 2009 at 12:15pm

Melissa sums it all up very well, as does everyone else. Just as an added piece -- I, too, have had Giardia (as did my Bertie, although our problems were not related), and let me tell you, you are MISERABLE. I have never felt so nauseated or awful in my life. So I feel for your little one, but the meds will help quickly. Melissa is right, too -- the meds tend to only wipe out the parasite at once stage of its life, so you may have to go back for a second dose, if the GI problems come back. But it sounds like she's getting the best of care from you! Good luck!

Comment by Melissa on July 3, 2009 at 11:23am

I just went through this with Oscar, it was terrible and I'm so sorry that you and Lyla are going through this. Oscar was in the hospital for 2 nights because he was so dehydrated and could not stop going to the bathroom. You need to bleach all of her toys, wash her bed and anything she sleeps on. Whenever she goes to the bathroom make sure to spray it down with bleach/water and then remove it from the yard. Bleach will kill the parasite after about a minute. It is so easy for them to reinfect themselves. I was told by the vet to wipe the dogs bottom after he goes to the bathroom to protect against this. Also it may take one than one course of the medication to clear up the issue. We had treated Oscar for the parasite before he started getting the symptoms; his stool sample that we took at this annual visit came back positive for the giardia. We had him on the pancur syrup for 5 days and then a few weeks later it was back and bad as ever. I can tell you I know exactly how you feel. After a full course of what the vet called a "giardia does" of antibiotics and another 5 days of the pancur he seems much better. Be careful if you have other animals in the house b/c the infected pet can shed the parasite it can stick to their fur(thus the baths are helpful). You might want to keep the dogs separate as possible while Layla is being treated. Some vets choose to treat all dogs in the home for the parasite b/c it is easily spread in situations where animals are kept together. Also wash wash wash your hands all the time b/c people can get this parasite and from what Oscar could tell me it made him feel terrible and I would never want anyone or any pet to have to go through that. I am sending love and positive thoughts to you and Layla and I hope that you can take care of the issue quickly and never have to go through it again.

Comment by Liz & Lily on July 3, 2009 at 10:31am

Poor baby- my puppy Lily just got diagnosed with Giardia on Monday. Lily didn't have all of those horrible symptoms, just vomiting once every 4-5 days for a couple of weeks. My old vet thought it was an infection, so she gave her an anti-nausea shot and antibiotics. When her vomiting persisted I got a second opinion with my new vet who got a fecal sample that came back with Giardia. She is on a nine day treatment of Panacure right now. Lyla, like Lily, will be better in no time. Just make sure to wash your hands really well whenever you clean up after her, because it can transmit to humans!

Comment by Sam Tsang on July 3, 2009 at 9:40am

Make sure Lyla is hydrated, here's more detail. Get well soon!

Comment by Beth on July 3, 2009 at 8:49am

Poor Lyla! I've never dealt with this, but Jack too will drink any standing water he finds. We have to keep him on a short leash to keep him out of puddles on the road. He licks our deck and railings after it rains. He's picked up mild diarrhea a few times from drinking what he should not, but never gotten that sick. Poor girl.

Comment by Amanda on July 3, 2009 at 7:45am

Poor Lyla. I've never had experience with Giardia, but Dax came to me with Coccidia, which has very similar symptoms. Waking up to my new cute little puppy vomiting and stepping in his own diarrhea scared the hell out of me. I called three of my family members at 4 in the morning and woke them up. Lol. I think if you already took her to the vet you should be fine. Get her drugged up so she (and you) can get some sleep and she'll be better in a couple days.

Good luck!