thanks Azz, I think it's something we all ought to read up about, it's getting pretty rife, and it can cause havoc inside your poor dog, especially as it's so very hard to diagnose, but thankfully, the vets are well clued up on it now, purely because it IS getting so rife!

How scary! I'm so glad you have a result and you can now deal with it.
xxx

Thank goodness for that........it's the not knowing that is so awful isn't it. Big sighs of relief all round that a diagnosis was so quick in coming.

Fortunately we don't have that particular fertiliser problem round here.........but they are very fond of spreading chicken/turkey poo, and Jimmi is exceptionally fond of eating it. Several fields are out of bounds at present.

Anyway old bean, I am delighted for you and hope that Zena is soon back to normality.

So pleasd you have a definitely answer, H, and you can now treat and manage accordingly! Brilliant news! Hope Zena is well on the mend now with the appropriate treatment.

I vowed I would never publically post on Dogsey again, but for the sake of all dogs I am breaking my vow.

Giardia is a killer, it is deadly serious - literally. And it is reaching epidemic proportions in this kingdom because of the disgusting modern practice of spreading human sewage sludge on arable fields as a cheap alternative to artificial nitrogen fertilisers, which are becoming more and more expensive as the price of oil rockets. Farmers can buy for a fraction of what chemical fertilisers cost human sewage sludge which probably does almost as good a job, if not as good. We have to dispose of the sludge that accumulates at the bottom of sewage farms somehow, somewhere. No-one wants to go back to the bad old days of dumping it out at sea, so the obvious solution was using it on the land to restore nitrogen levels to the arable fields. Sounds good on paper ... but it's bad, very bad, because in that sludge that is spread on the fields is not only human waste, but everything and anything that we can and do flush down our loos and pour down our drains. Battery acid, oil, petrol, factory waste of all sorts and types, legal and illegal, all the chemicals that are contained in human waste, oestrogen, anti biotics, illegal narcotics, you name it, it's in there ... and this all goes out onto our fields when they spread HSS - human sewage sludge.

And contained amongst this chemical cocktail is of course horrible nasties such as e coli, stappylococcus aureus, C-Difficile, Giardia, Cryptosporidium ... we all remember the e coli outbreak at a petting farm, cryptosporidium in Pitsford reservoir in Northants (supposedly caused by a rabbit ... no it was not, it was caused by human sewage spread on nearby fields!) - and the e coli outbreak from those bean sprouts, supposedly from seeds obtained from Egypt? The word on the "scientific street" is that it was caused by the use of human sewage sludge.

I would urge anyone whose dogs have any or all of the following symptoms to at least discuss with their vet the possibility of giardia or a similar infection, rather than just assume it is food sensitivity or indeterminate colitis, or whatever:-

Vomiting of yellow bile

Diarrhoea, or constipation, with or without mucous and/or blood which does not clear up, or comes and goes and comes again

General aura of unwellness, undue clinginess, rictus

Noxious gaseous emissions from both ends ... like nothing else ... and malodorous faeces, again like nothing you have ever smelt!

Slimey faeces, mucousy, could be bloody

Pink foamy vomit ... this is most probably stomach lining and is frequently seen with chronic giardia when a dog has had several bouts of giardia, treated or untreated

Severe halitosis

The more "natural" breeds - such as GSDs, northern breeds, wolf crosses - seem to suffer far worse with in particular giardia. A heavy coat, in particular hairy feet, seems to be a real problem, possibly because the dogs pick up human sewage sludge on their feet and then groom - this is a particularly easy way for dogs to get giardia, but I guess it would apply to any of the nasties that can be caught or contracted from HSS.

This is not intended to frighten anyone, it is just a warning to be on the look out ... the treatment of giardia for example is straightforward ... Panacur oral suspension, which can be purchased from Pets at Home, Pet City, any good pet shop ... and just follow the instructions for giardia treatment. If it works, then that is diagnostic in itself vets say ... although dogs can present with similar symptoms to those described if they have a heavy worm burden, there is nothing to compare with the difference in the dog after the first day or two of dosing for giardia with Panacur, it is like a miracle. By the time you have completed the course - which should be for at least 5 days - your dog will be his old self.

At least now you have a diagnosis and can get Zena mended. Bless her, she must be feeling really under the weather.

Now you have Zena sort of sorted, you can get on with the other stressy stuff.

Hugs to Zena and maybe a small glass of wine for you

xxx

Glad you broke your vow Gnasher...........that is a very informative and useful post.

Glad you have a diagnosis, now your beautiful girl can be treated xx

Hope Zena's feeling better soon xx

So glad you know whats going on now, pretty scary stuff though! x

Well done for this fantastic, informative post Gnasher!

I would add, I never had the yellow vomit on this particular occasion, although looking back, I have seen it now and again, probably when I had let it run its course. Another symptom that could be associated, is the lack of appetite and then when you do feed, up it comes, because the stomach has rejected it due to the inflammation, coz these little critters attach themselves and suck from the upper intestines and the stomach lining, hence the pink, frothy vomit.

Bright yellow diarrhea is another classic symptom, although this time around, Zena had very small, hard poo one minute, and then coming out like a hosepipe the next, then back to small, hard.

THE most valuable thing I have learned from researching it all again this time around, is the fact that if you feed your dog 1/4 teaspoonful of crushed up pumpkin seeds (not the shop bought salted, roasted ones, ONLY the natural dried ones you can crush) you will never have this critter or any other worm using your dog as a host, it will keep them free of most worms, especially giardia. Sulphur they hate too, they would never live in a host where there's sulphur.

I actually found a really, nutritional dog food, rated 5 stars on a lot of dog food review sites, which actually contains pumpkin seeds! They do a raw version, comes in a pouch, but it's not actually a food you can feed all the time, it's just a special treat or a handy travelling food. This is Nature's Variety Freeze dried raw, worth a look!

Thanks all, and just as Nikki said, since giving her the very first dose yesterday lunchtime, she is back on form, no depression, no body stiffness, no sickness, nothing, so I agree with Nikki, this Panacur treatment if done properly really is a miracle cure! My vet explained to me yesterday, it's so safe, she could give me 20 packets each day for a month without causing any problems, and our current daily dose which is higher than necessary, is 3 packs!

All I have to do now, is to try and restore Zena's digestive system back to good working order by way of anything I can get my hands on to help it on its way.

Thanks to all for your genuine concern, and hopefully, you will all know what to look out for should you ever have the problems that I have.