Note: (I’m not a vet so please make sure to consult with a licensed veterinary doctor if you believe your dog is ill in any fashion.)
When we adopted Maya from the Humane Society, she had been turned in with 13 other puppies. Standard practice is to test all of them for a variety of possible diseases and sickness, including Giardia. Since all the puppies lived together and some did test positive for Giardia, each puppy was treated with the following: The label says it is ‘Panacur liquid, 10%. The doses came in little syringes to be administered by squirting the liquid into her mouth. She was about 8 weeks old and 8lbs, so the dosage amount was 1.75 ml, by mouth, every 24 hours for 6 days.
A quick check on Wikipedia when looking up Panacur returns the following, letting us know it’s just one of the brand names for this medicine:
Fenbendazole (Hoechst brand names Panacur and Safe-Guard, Intervet Panacur and Panacur Rabbit) is a broad spectrum benzimidazole anthelmintic used against gastrointestinal parasites including roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, the taenia species of tapeworms, pinworms, aelurostrongylus, paragonimiasis, strongyles and strongyloides and can be administered to sheep, cattle, horses, fish, dogs, cats, rabbits and seals.
Good news is Maya never did exhibit any signs of sickness. Diarrhea is the most common symptom. It’s not uncommon for puppies to get Giardia, especially when in a kennel, and the most common source is untreated water. Remember, it’s not just the water you give them to drink you need to watch. We lived next to a park that used ‘reclaimed water’ to keep the grass green, and many neighborhood dogs got sick from it. So if your dog suddenly has diarrhea and is lethargic, grab a stool sample and head on over to your vet. It’s important to have it treated before it becomes a larger issue.
(Creative Commons photo courtesy sheesalt, Flickr)
