Worming Puppies - Page 1

I start worming puppies at 2 weeks with "Strongid.  I worm a second time and a third time at 4 and 6 weeks.  This wormer is relatively inexpensive, and pretty hard to overdose.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1862&S=1

At 5 Weeks, I start the puppies on ALBON.It is used to treat Coccidia in dogs.  You would be best served to get this from your vet.  It isn't that expensive, and is generally considered safe.

www.peteducation.com/article.cfm

Metronixazole(flagyl) is used to treat Giardia, which can be transferred by bird feces.  As well as other animals feces.  I treat my puppies at 7 weeks with a low dose of this.

www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/metronidazole.asp

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One might ask, why I do these things.  In Florida, vets have to issue a health certificate at 8 weeks of age.  Many vets test for Coccidia and Giardia, and will not issue the certificated(IE, cannot), if the pups turn up positive for these things.  I had a litter I 'inheirited'(the bitch was given to me 4 weeks pregnant), that 1/3 of the litter had coccidia, 1/3 of the litter had giardia, and 1/3 of the litter had nothing.  None of the puppies had hooks, rounds, tapes or whips. 

Turned out the Bitch was positive for all those things----she passed them on to the puppies.

This subject should not be construed as medical advice, and one should always discuss these issues with a vet that you trust and rely on.

Moral to the story should be:  Always do a fecal test(ask your vet to send off to a reference lab, as some things like Coccidia and Giardia are almost impossible to see in a clinical setting) on your bitch PRIOR to breeding(I do it when I progesterone test my girl)

A good friend of mine had a similar situation on her farm.  A female she bought arrived with Giardia. and spread it to her puppies and some of the adult dogs. I can't tell you how upset she was unitl she found a way to keep her dogs and puppies free of this scourge. What was she supposed to do? Sterilize her farm? After some research, she decided on panacur and raw feeding.

Now all her dogs are raw fed and she feeds the puppies 1/2 kibble and 1/2 ground turkey necks. She uses the Panacur wormer as part of her worming program.She has been doing that for quite some time now and has not had any more dogs or puppies coming up with Giardia after they go home.

The scourge of Giardia has driven me crazy too!

It took almost two years to get a diagnosis of Giardia on Phanny, born In 1997.  I went to three different vets with no success. I paid for numerous false negative fecal floats. Finally, I insisted on the antigen test that finally got it diagnosed. My other dog Shadow occasionally had the same symptoms he too tested positive on the antigen test.  Then both dogs went through several ineffective courses of flagyll (metronidazole) treatment. I was saved by the wise women at Schutzhund who sent me to the feed store to get panacur paste in big tubes made for horses.

In 1999 I switched to raw feeding which is supposed to help their natural resistance.   Phanny and Shadow spent the rest of their lives free of the peiodic torment of chronic Giardia. Shadow died in 2006 and Phanny in 2008.

When I suspected that baby Pharaoh had Coccidia or Giardia, I knew what to do. I took samples of several different stools for two - three days and brought that to my vet. She was able to diagnose him as positive for Giardia from a fecal float. The treatment with Panacur C granules was so simple. I sprinkled it on his food and he ate it with no objections. It took two courses of five days of granules a week apart and then I repeated it the next month. So far, no more Giardia. He is 10 months old now.

Michele and Pharaoh