[beaglesgal]

Hi everyone,I have another question about giardia.. Jake has been being treated for it for 5 days now,It has helped quite a bit but for the last couple days his poop has gotten runny again at times.(mucusy and almost jelly like with a small bit of blood at times.The question I have for anyone out there who has ever had to deal with this,can you please tell how long it took it to clear up.Am I expecting too much? He finished his meds yesterday .I would really like to hear from all you puppy or dog owners who have had to deal with garidia... Thanking you all so much...

[labman]

Maybe another call to the vet? Have you reviewed my sticky on housebreaking at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post251809
Near the end it discusses cleaning up accidents.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Whew, I would contact my vet. Giagardia is a bacterial diarrehea condition correct. The main question is where did he drink the water that was contaminated. Giagardia bacterium is usually transmitted through contaminated water sources. Has your dog been to a creek, stream, river, or pond lately?? If so that may be where it contracted this condition.

[beaglesgal]

Mowerman,I have had him to a vet and he has been treated.The vet feels that he came to us with this condition.we bought him from a pet store .I don't advise anyone to ever buy a pet from a pet store,now that I have had this experience with Jake.He had worms,coccidia and now giardia.We are wondering what next when we take him back in 2 weeks.Its very frustrating.Thanks for responding to my post.

[RubyPitbull]

beaglesgal, giardia can be a very stubborn infection to clear up, even without the other medical conditions you have been helping your pup to fight off. Those additional issues just make it even more of a challenge to get him completely healthy in a reasonable period. He has been on medications for all these problems so it is going to take time for his system to clear out. If you are nearing the end of the round of meds, and his stool is not firming up, it is time to get back with the vet. Call his/her office if you haven't already. They don't charge for follow up phone calls. Tell them what is going on with his stool. They may tell you to just continue with the meds through to the end of the dosage period and see what happens, or they may suggest you bring another sample in tomorrow (Friday). It is best to get some direction and input from the vet prior to the weekend.

As an FYI, don't worry, these issues will clear up. I know it is very frustrating because it seems never ending, and it seems as if the expenses will never end, but they will. And, thankfully, when all of these problems have cleared up due to your vigilance in getting him the proper treatment, he will be fine. :)

[beaglesgal]

Thank -You to everyone for the advice I have received.Rubypitbull,Thank you for the words of encouragement because I sure do need them,When we had our last puppy(germanshepherd)he came to us healthy and very easy to train so he spoiled me.Unfortunately we had to have him put down when he was 2 because he bit a child who was in our yard(very hard time for us)It was the second time he bit and we were advised that he was an aggressive alpha dog and would likely always be that way.What a sad day that was for us! He was a beautiful dog and to this day I have guilt for giving up on him and not fighting for him.But it was a hard call to make because we certaintly did not want him biting again and possibly doing severe damage to anyone. So we did the only thing we thought we could do and put him to sleep.What made the whole situation worse was my mother was dying of cancer at the time as well and passed a month after our dog was put down.So as you can see I do appreciate your words of encouragement!

[labman]

I am very sorry to hear about the Shepherd. You made the right decision. Think how much guiltier you would feel if the dog eventually seriously injured a child. Even if you found competent help, which isn't easy, you still not have been able to save him. I find it quite upsetting when I am out in public, and encounter somebody terrified of my puppy because of negative experiences in the past. I had 2 bad experiences in 1 day the week before last. When we got on the bus, she was delighted to greet the friends she found on it. They did not share the delight. Same on the return trip.

More likely it is the one that bred an aggressive dog and sold it as a pet that should feel guilty. Actually aggressive dogs aren't even good for security work. Many of the people that are breeding dogs have no business doing so, either being clueless or more interested in the money than producing quality dogs. Those coming here with basic questions on breeding don't get much encouragement form me.

One of the best ways to make sure your dog is friendly to strangers and children is to make sure they are exposed to them and they are allowed to pet the puppy. Be careful. One sniff in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you are fighting parvo. Keep him away from places poorly cared for dogs may have eliminated.

[beaglesgal]

Thanks labman,I am curious,I thought and remember I am very much uneducated about these things,but I understood that all litters have an aggressive alpha dog and I unfortunately got it when we got our shepherd.Am I understanding you to say that a good breeder does not have aggressive dogs?. I do know that it is also in the upbringing of your puppy as well and that's why I do not allow my kids to play tug of war and to let jake chase them. I am sorry to say I did allow that with buddy,and what we thought of as fun ,he thought of an being alpha.

[labman]

You are correct that the puppies in a litter sort themselves out top, bottom and somewhere in between within each gender. That does not mean the highest ranking ones will be aggressive or the lowest ranking ones won't be. Aggression has more to do with genetics and perhaps early socialization. Like many other things it isn't completely nailed down. A few years ago I filled put a questionnaire from I think it was Penn State that was studying dog guides and other service dogs. They may still be gathering data. They are building data starting with the dogs' pedigrees, questionnaires from their foster home, and then the training schools and the working dogs' partners. Once they have all their data together we should have a much better understanding of genetics and personality. My Sheba could not serve as a dog guide because she was too sensitive to traffic. Perhaps they will be able say how likely it was that it was because I failed to get her out around traffic at first.

If you use aggressive dogs for breeding, you should expect to get more aggressive dogs. How much of that you can counter with good early socialization is hard to say. I found this on Fox yesterday, FOXNews.com - Vick's Pit Bulls Face Deadline - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News I hate to see those dogs destroyed, but the reality is that thousands more of nice dogs will be destroyed the same day for lack of homes. How much effort to save them, and how much risk should we take with them? We have many fine dogs, and football players that avoid dog fighting. Why should we have anything to do with less?

[RubyPitbull]

Labman, it is very sad indeed but all of those dogs owned by Vick need to be put down. They are not pet material. They were bred and trained for fighting. They must be destroyed.

beaglesgal, please listen to all the info that labman has provided you with. Hopefully when he sees my post, he will post his information regarding maintaining the Alpha position in your household. It is very important that you and your family provide the proper leadership to your dog. Every day should be approached as an opportunity for training and learning. Enrolling him into a good training program in your area will help you see how to apply the proper positive reinforcement techniques. He needs to understand who is in control and that any unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated. It is actually very rare for a dog to be born a true alpha. As labman stated, if a dog is aggressive, then the chances are increased if he/she is bred, that their litter will turn out predisposed to aggression. It is the same with medical conditions. Due to irresponsible breeding, GSDs in the U.S. (among many other breeds), are predisposed to hip dysplacia. So, regarding your previous GSD, unfortunately more than likely, it had more to do with not correcting his biting issues immediately and continuing to reinforce the "no bite" rule to extinguish the behavior, than his being a true alpha.