We got a call from the vet saying our dog has giardia and they gave us metronidazole 100mg for him to take twice a day. It says take it until gone - but it is ALOT of medicine and with the small dosage it will be forever before he is done. Anybody's pet been on this medicine? He's so small, we are quite worried about him. Pepper is a pek-a-poo and is about 6 pounds - 3 months old.
I would call the vet back and verify the dose, but Giardia can be pretty resistant and yuckky. You can share it will him too, so be careful you dont just spread it back and forth. I have heard of a three day and a 7-10 day dose. Metronidazole can have some wicked side effects, we usually use Panacure which is a bit safer.
Metro works wonders! Metro kills the bad bacteria inside and helps to firm up everything (poop wise), calm the insides, etc. Panacur is dewormer; doesn't take care of bacterial infection - it helps to kill worms really good though. It will seem like he's on it forever but once it becomes habit in giving & you see how much more better he feels, you'll be relieved and time flown by. Usually my pup cases are 2x day for 10 days....
Panacure can be used for more than a dewormer and have done it sucessfully in shelter life for years. I looked on line to see if others did too and there are a lot of references to it... here is just one. Treatment:There are several options of treatment , some with two- or three-day protocols and others needing seven-to-10 days to complete the job. Flagyl (Metronidazole) is an old stand-by treatment for bacterial infestations that cause diarrhea and is about 60-70 percent effective in curing giardiasis. However, Flagyl has potentially serious side-effects in some animals, including vomiting, anorexia, liver toxicity, and some neurological signs, and it cannot be used in pregnant dogs. In a recent study, Panacur (Fenbendazole), which is approved for use in treating dogs with roundworm, hookworm, and whipworm, has been shown to be effective in treating canine giardiasis. Panacur is safe to use in puppies at least six weeks of age. (taken from http://www.canismajor.com/dog/giardia.html ) There are several roads to take to get to the same results, I prefer the one that has less side effects.
