Giardia

Giardia can be tough to get rid of -- after she's done with the meds, wait a few days and get ANOTHER fecal done.

Frankly I'd bleach the balcony -- or replace the carpet entirely. 

Licking could spread it -- but it's not 'why' she licks.  It's an intestinal thing -- and can make them feel pretty crappy.  Diarreha, etc. 

They can surely GET it from dog parks.  I think you would have seen sign (major diarreha, not feeling good) if she'd had it for a long time. 

Did the vet do a urinalysis too?  Licking can be more a sign of a UTI or anal gland problems.

Should I replace (or bleach) the carpet before or after shes done with the meds? No, they didnt do a urinalysis. If she had a UTI would the antibiotics for the giardia help a UTI? Either way, I'll ask about it the vet when i go get her meds. Well I just meant the regular park since thats where we walk her most. I'm getting a bit stressed/freaked out now. I don't know if my friend washes her daughters hands when they come play with her while I'm at work. I called my mom and now shes paranoid because everyone in our family has played with the dog.

Do I need to clean the inside carpets and furniture? Should I run screaming if she licks us? Should i wash all her stuffed toys? I'm such a paranoid person.

This is a pretty decent article on giardia:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1622&articleid=739

Keep it all in perspective.  Your dog was "asymptomatic" (not showing signs of it).  They really don't know if all the different variations of giardia can be transmitted between species (to humans specifically -- humans have their own varieties of giardia).

Now -- if a child was sitting on that mat on the balcony where you'd just cleared up poop and was crawling around on hands and knees and THEN put their hands in their mouth -- POSSIBLY (not likely but possibly) they could be infected.  BUT remember they don't know for any kind of surety that it is transmittable to humans.

Mostly it's transmitted by getting fecal matter into the mouth -- that's really not likely in a normal setting.  So don't freak out.

There are a couple of types of antbiotics they use.  Fenbendazole is typically the one they try to use to kill the parasite -- but they honestly don't know if it really kills it or just makes the sign of it go away.

They also use Flagyl (metranydazole) which is a combo antibiotic and anti-inflammatory for the digestive tract when there is diarreha. 

I'd toss the old carpet on the balcony and replace it.  That's probably your best first effort.  Then you might want to wipe off the dog's feet after coming in from a walk where the dog may have picked up stuff from walking where another dog has pooped.

See if a dog poops that has giardia, and it rains and later another dog walks thru there -- and then licks their paws THEN they can get giardia.  Or drinking from a puddle that's collected where water has run across a soiled area.  Somehow they have to ingest the parasite.

Normal cleaning methods are usually sufficient.  Giardia is hard to get rid of because they don't really know WHAT gets rid of it.  So the best thing you can do is probably get a fecal done 2-3 times a year just to check on it.  Watch for diarreha and a dog to act like it's not feeling well.

Keefer had giardia, and neither of us got sick, nor did Dena. Both dogs pooped, peed, and ran around in their dog run before, during, and after his treatment with Flagy. I didn't know much about it at the time, so I didn't take any particular precautions and his cleared up with one round of meds. I have heard that it can be difficult to get rid of and that other animals can get it from contact with their poop, but that wasn't my experience.

I spoke with a vet tech when i got her meds (250mg Metronidazole taken 1/2 table twice a day). The vet tech said she since got it, she will always have it and it could flare up if her body got really stressed. And when i asked about cleaning or bleaching she said it was necessary because once they have it they cant re get it because they already have it. I'll still take the precautionary methods. she also said we would only get it if we were eating poop or if she licked her butt and then licked our mouths. We'll do another fecal after shes done with her meds. The tech also said licking privates was normal unless its excessive (which I still have no idea whats normal or excessive). I may have them check for it when we do the fecal again. The meds were only $10, which surprised me because I thought it would be a lot from other posts i read. Hopefully it clears up quickly and she gets better! I bought her hotdogs to give her meds in. She's never had one so she should be excited. =)

Cassidys Mom

Keefer had giardia, and neither of us got sick, nor did Dena. Both dogs pooped, peed, and ran around in their dog run before, during, and after his treatment with Flagy. I didn't know much about it at the time, so I didn't take any particular precautions and his cleared up with one round of meds. I have heard that it can be difficult to get rid of and that other animals can get it from contact with their poop, but that wasn't my experience.

Same here.  One of my foster had giardia and the other 5 dogs or my family were not infected.  The only precautions I took was cleaning up after the dog poop, pretty much the same for any dog with worms.

Otto and Oliver have both had it over the last few months, both asymptommatic, but it showed up on fecals done for oliver when he was getting puppy visits. I treated both with the flagyl (metranidazole) and sent in fecals, oliver was clean then but otto had it, so I treated it with another anti-protozoal (I forget what it was but it was in pill form given in two doses three weeks apart) and now they are both free of it. My vet says it is rampant in the dog parks in the area and pretty much every dog who frequents them gets it occasionally. A real pain in the butt, literally. I've cleaned my house a million times.

The one thing about Flagyl (metranydazole) is it is HORRIBLY BITTER.  So be careful the dog doesn't 'chew' the hotdog.   It can be a horrible experience for them and they'll look at you like everything coming from your hand is poison *grin*.

I usually use something really "slippery" when giving flagyl -- butter, branschweiger, etc. -- even meat babyfood works GREAT.  Scoop up some on a plastic spoon, mush the pill in, and hold the spoon ABOVE their noses so they have to lick it off and KEEP LICKING even after the pill goes into their mouth.  That way they don't accidentally bite into it. 

It has to be THE bitterest med I've ever encountered.  Even my vets both warned me - if you 'pill' them (tossng the pill to the back of the throat and just pushing it down) it can be tough because if it touches their tongue (or they bring it 'back up';) it's apparently a mega memorable and nasty taste.

It's mostly an anti-inflammatory for the gut and is very soothing. But it's ALSO an antibiotic.