The parasite inhibits your dog’s ability to properly absorb nutrients, water, and electrolytes, which leads to diarrhea and weight loss. Giardiasis is the term for the disease caused by the infection, and, as in humans, the most common symptom is diarrhea. Giardia in dogs does not always cause problems, but when it does it is highly unpleasant. If one of your pets is diagnosed with Giardia, talk to your vet about the precautions you need to take to protect your other pets. While transmission from dogs to cats and cats to dogs is unlikely, the transmission from dog to dog is certainly a cause for concern. This is worrisome, especially if you have more than one pet in your household. Once the parasite is in your dog’s intestines, your dog can spread the parasite, even if he doesn’t show any signs of infection.

Since dogs love to put things in their mouths, this means that there are plenty of ways your dog can pick up the parasite in his environment, whether it is by chewing on a stick, eating poop, or drinking from a puddle. Your dog can get Giardia by drinking water that has been contaminated by feces or by eating something that has been contaminated by feces, like grass. Giardia has to be ingested by your dog in order for him to get the parasite. They can survive for several weeks in the environment as cysts, and when they are ingested by an unsuspecting host, they turn into trophozoites and repeat the life cycle.

Cysts are the infective stage and are shed into the feces of the infected animal. The mature parasites, or trophozoites, live in the small intestine where they multiply and eventually become cysts. The lifecycle of Giardia is composed of two stages. Each assemblage targets a specific group of animals, but all Giardia assemblages have the same life cycle and mode of transmission. There are several different “assemblages” of Giardia, which is the scientific term used to describe the many subspecies of Giardia. Giardia is a single-celled parasite that inhabits the intestines of mammals, birds, and amphibians. Here are the facts about Giardia in dogs you need to know to keep your dogs safe.

Luckily, there are many things dog owners can do to prevent their dogs from becoming infected with this unpleasant parasite. The parasite is found all over the world, including in the U.S., but my vet told me not to panic. Giardia was very common on the island where we were staying, and as I was researching what I needed to do to protect myself against the dangerous parasite I discovered that my dogs were also at risk.Īfter speaking with my vet, I realized that Giardia was not limited to foreign countries. I first heard about Giardia in dogs when I was living in the Caribbean.

A dogs purpose exposed