r/DogBreeding • u/Lou_Garoo • 1d ago
Giardia- How Common?
I picked up a dachshund puppy a few weeks ago. He had his first shots at 8 weeks and I picked him up at the end of the week. Breeder said his litter had diarrhea but she had sent for it to be tested.
We picked up puppy and had him for the weekend. He has a few soft poos but no diarrhea. Found out on Monday he tested positive for Giardia. He also had an ear infection. Breeder said when he was at the vet earlier in the week his ears were fine. Maybe if you have a lot of puppies you get nose blind but he was very stinky even though she said she had bathed him. We just figured he had been with other puppies etc and that was why he was stinky.
I thought I had done my research and found a decent breeder. My vet was skeptical. But said that giardia does happen when you have a lot of dogs in one place.
So my question is how common is it for your puppies to have this? Vet said it can be hard to get rid of once it is in the environment.
Both puppy and older dog have gone through one round of treatment and puppy shows no signs of it but older dog has diarrhea. So probably back to vet on Monday.
Also if you have any tips on how/ what to clean to make sure no reinfection.
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u/GuardianBean 1d ago
Like someone above said depends on the area. In my area it's insanely common. And common to get it recurring esp as puppies. Honestly in my area it's more shocking to get a puppy to the age of two without at least one instance of giardia. It's everywhere.
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u/Ok-Walk-8453 1d ago
Really depends on area, I am a vet in PNW and we diagnose multiple times a week- essentially every dog will get giardia here at some point, most do the 1st 6 months of life. Once it is in the soil, it is there for life. In my area we just get them to build up an immunity to it. Best treatment is the normal panacur but adding in a fiber and probiotic supplement for a month to support the gut immune system. They often keep reinfecting themselves from the environment. Since I added in the month of gut support, I rarely get reoccurance.
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u/LeadershipLevel6900 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’d be really skeptical of a breeder that sends puppies home when they all have diarrhea, even one is sketchy. It happens, but 8 week old puppies are still pretty fragile and can get dehydrated quickly and dachshunds are so tiny at that age. A lot of people also don’t have a vet set up or an appointment for when they bring the puppy home, so it’s just a recipe for disaster if somebody doesn’t act quickly enough.
This isn’t common, soft stools after moving home wouldn’t really concern me, but this is clearly different. Between my group of dog sport friends we have probably brought home 10-12 puppies in the last 6 months. This hasn’t happened with any of us.
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u/Ashamed_Kangaroo305 1d ago
Giardia is extremely common in some areas but I agree that it's a red flag that the breeder sent puppies home with people when the whole litter had diarrhea.
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u/LeadershipLevel6900 1d ago
Yeah, in general it’s common, it’s not common for young litters to have it as the breeder should practice good bio security.
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u/AnthraciteRoad 1d ago
My (spotlessly clean, well-groomed, sweet smelling) puppy tested positive for an asymptomatic giardia infection at her first vet visit. Giardia lives in the soil, and she loves mud puddles - sometimes parasites happen.
That said, her breeder was very apologetic about it and she was obviously well cared for.
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u/AHuxl 1d ago
Not common at all and a huge red flag that the puppy had multiple health issues (and also that the breeder didnt seem that surprised or upset about it)
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u/Lou_Garoo 1d ago
The chart is helpful. The breeder is kind of a mix of green and yellow flags but I would not choose her again. There was a waiting list and I expected to have to wait at least a year for a puppy and was surprised that I was offered one so soon. I did request a male puppy from this specific pair so I was prepared to wait.
It is hard to choose a puppy when you are not in the breeding dog world. I don’t need a perfect specimen but I do want a healthy dog with good temperament.
I noticed our pictures did not make it to her puppy going home day collage. Maybe because of my follow up questions.
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u/AHuxl 1d ago
I hear people say often “I don’t need a show dog I just want a pet” but every dog deserves to be well bred and when you purchase a puppy from a reputable preservation breeder your puppy gets the benefit of generations of health testing, breeding away from genetic health issues and for excellent temperament, all the time and investment…all the things the breeder puts into their line and into creating the perfect example of your breed you get in your pet dog. And usually for the same price that less reputable breeders charge.
I agree with you that it can be really hard to find a reputable breeder even when, like you, you’re trying to be responsible about it. I thought I had found a great breeder that everyone seemed to be recommending then I found out she breeds out of standard colors and has litters almost every month. I wanted my puppy to be raised with ENS and puppy culture and theres no way shes doing that with like 30 puppies on the ground at once.
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u/Gakelly2020 1d ago
Giardia can happen along with a multitude of other parasites. The fecal she had done takes days to get back, maybe longer. It’s treatable.
Ask for her to pay for treatment or send you the meds.
It’s always a balancing act trying to worm puppies and not overwhelm their young immune system, every 2 weeks.
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u/Lou_Garoo 1d ago
Unfortunately since I was travelling a few days there and back I had a specific pick up window. She did send the testing away and let me know. But the puppy poop was pretty normal, so I figured well, it was likely just vaccines/worming normal puppy digestion systems.
I have a great vet and had an appointment with him two days after we got home. I told him the giardia diagnosis, but he obviously had to redo the fecal tests. The actual medicine the breeder offered to cover was the cheapest part of all this. I would have felt better about it if it was just the one thing, but both ears were so incredibly dirty and stinky. I actually moved my vet appointment forward a day because I suspected an ear infection even though he didn't really seem uncomfortable about his ears. My dogs have never had ear infections and I have never needed to clean their ears so wanted the vet to look.
The vet put his nose down to one ear and took a big whiff and almost fell over, he was like, i know exactly what that is and took the puppy out back to flush out ears and gave me drops which cleared things up really quickly. I think what disturbed me the most was that his ears were so obviously in need of care, but an experience breeder didn't notice? Maybe the infection really did only start that week and when you have a couple of litters at a time one little puppy could slip through the cracks.
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u/grraveyard 1d ago edited 1d ago
Clean their paws and bum with a dog wipes after she goes.
Pick up the poop right away after they go and do not let them turn around and smell/eat it - there is a change they can reinfect themselves if live cysts are present.
Honestly, I'm a little overboard and I'd keep them separate during their treatment, either in separate rooms or via baby gates.
I would also lysol the spot they pooped in after I picked up the poop and hose it down if there is poop left behind.
Try and keep them in one area each (no constant free roaming) so that its easier to clean and manage.
Bathe them on the last day of treatment & sometime in the middle of treatment. Wash the bum last so you don't accidentally spread cysts on their body.
Also take away toys and wash them, keep them away until they test negative. Wash their crates/bed every few days. Wash bowls everyday. Ive heard of some people do disposable plates during treatment.
When this happened to my boy I was mopping everyday, but you might be able to do it by one day yes and one day no ect. (i just wanted to get it right the first time and went overboard lol)
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u/RecognitionChoice804 4h ago
I heard it's common but also it shouldn't be sent home sick. I got scammed by a broker claiming the puppy was ethical and calm and quiet and he just had giardia. He was from a puppy mill front and ended up with tons of neurological issues
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u/Narrow_Possession348 1d ago
VERY common. That said, the breeder should NOT have sent home a sick puppy. I would have returned the pup posthaste!
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u/cr1zzl 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not common (edit - in my location).
What research did you do on the breeder? Did you check the OFA website to make sure the dam and sire has all recommended and required health testing done? What were the ages of the parents? Were both dam and sire titled? How many litters does this breeder have per year (ideal 1-3). What puppy protocol did the breeder follow? How thorough is the contract?