Enough of the problem, what is the solution ? Who's to blame, who pays the vet bills ? What is the testing protocol ? Way to many questions, but there are answers.. First, there really are no villains..this gets filed under " stuff happens".. but it is a major pain in the rear, and even more so if you have resident pets. Giardia is probably as contagious as Parvo, but not as life threatening, although, untreated it can become that way. Dehydration is the biggest danger, and the cleaning protocol is stringent. Bleach is your friend , we buy it six gallons at a time, some suggest spraying the mixture of 1 cup per gallon of water, but we use a watering can in the garden for deeper soil penetration. In the house I shampoo the carpet daily...it's gone from a medium Rose to kind of a sickening pink gray, but we are ahead of the game on sanitation :)
The problem with this parasite is re-infection, the puppy licks their bottom or walks through it and boom, here we go again, so clean people, clean :) What to do.....First Day, get a fecal, have the Elisa, a float won't catch it. Please, don't assume the breeder will even know. We had our puppy a week with a perfect stool, so how would the breeder know, and really, getting a fecal for a litter of puppies is not the most practical thing. The puppy needs to be tested and treated in the new home. Never bring a new puppy in and mix it with your other dogs until it has been tested, simple, but I did not do that. In that sense I made a lot of my own grief. If you isolate the puppy, it's much easier and cheaper.. we didn't, so shame on us, no point in blaming a breeder. Again, keep in mind, that had I tested the pup and kept it isolated most of this would not have been a big deal, so do it right and you will not have such a hard time.
I usually have pretty good sense, no dog parks, or drinking out of streams and rivers, but I surely dropped the ball on this one. This is also the first dog I have not done a fecal on the first day, and the only one who tested positive; lesson learned....
Does this mean my dog came from a PUPPY MILL.. nah.. nor does it mean the store or breeder were " filthy" , it means your dog has a nasty parasite that needs to be treated and sometimes the seller will help with costs. Nobody can " pre-treat" your puppy for you, it's a series of treatments and tests that in a multiple puppy situation would be almost impossible to clear up, so the buck stops with you. I am attaching the sheet I got from my vet, I found it helpful and I hope you do as well.
