My puppy has giardia and eats poop. Will she get reinfected?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The risk of contracting Giardia from your dog is pretty slim, but elderly, very young, or immunocompromised individuals are at a higher risk. If Kiddo is fully vaccinated, fully treated with an anti-parasitic agent, and house trained, it should not be a concern for Kiddo to reinfect herself. You do not need to steam/bleach/etc your home continuously after treatment. I am happy to answer any other questions you may have and wish you luck with your puppy!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Luna. I recommend having her stool tested again to ensure the infection is resolved before taking her to public places. Be sure to clean your yard thoroughly to avoid reinfection. I hope this information helps!

Hello, it can be challenging to rid giardiasis from a household especially when multiple dogs are affected. The best recommendation would be to treat all 3 dogs, at the same time, until you have 2 negative fecal samples. You should retest the fecals 10 days after initiating treatment for giardiasis and 10 days in-between testings. However, the most important part of this is to reduce environmental contamination, because as though you may successfully rid your dogs of giardia, they can become re-infected at any point. Treating the environment means you have to pick up their stools immediately after they defecate and you must wash the areas where they defecate with water and bleach. Most infections occur via a fecal to oral transmission. So at some point your puppy may have been exposed to giardia, then came to your house and started shedding the giardia onto your environment exposing your other dogs as well. Please wear gloves and wash your hands after cleaning as giardia can also infect humans. Best of luck and hope this helps.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Mia. Giardia is spread through a fecal oral route. Typically good hygiene and washing your hands thoroughly prohibits this from occurring. I would not let her lick your mouth. Scoop the feces in the yard frequently and wash your hands afterwards. She should stay home from doggie daycare until the infection is resolved. I hope this information helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Your dog can get it if your dog eats her stool or drinks water contaminated by the puppies stool. So your dog should be walked in a separate area from the puppy. As long as you prevent that you should be fine. Though it might be best to not bring your dog until the puppy has a confirmed negative stool. People can also get giardia so be careful. Good luck!

Giardia is transmitted through contact with an infected dog's poop, so it would be a good idea to give her rear end a quick wash before any outings with other dogs to make sure everything is clean. If she has an accident during the play date, make sure to clean it up and disinfect the area. There is no risk of transmission from casual contact, playing together, sniffing noses, etc. so it should still be fine for her to get out and socialize as long as you take appropriate precautions :)

I am sorry to hear about your issue! I would also recommend bathing your cats, as the spores can cling to the fur and cause reinfection, especially with cats grooming themselves. Also washing any of their bedding. You can read more about Giardia and treatment at https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&species=All&id=4952529