There has been an increase in the number of cases of the giardia parasite in puppies in recent months with more and more people who have just purchased a puppy reaching out to ask what they are able to do about puppy giardia from breeder.
With the giardia parasite often causing a number of problems in puppies that usually result in expensive veterinarian bills it is easy to understand why so many people who are reaching out about their new puppy having giardia are wanting advice on what they are able to do.
Unfortunately, if you are trying to get the breeder to pay for your veterinarian bills then the odds are definitely stacked against you but you will need to seek independent legal advice in your local area as the laws change from location to location.
For the most part though, the majority of backyard breeders work on a sold as seen system and they will not claim that their puppies have been treat for parasites prior to sale so it is usually considered a case of buyer beware.
The more established breeders may offer you documents with your puppy to show that it has had various jabs as well as treatments against common problems such as giardia.
The majority of these breeders focus on pedigree puppies though and the prices for these pups are much higher than that of a backyard breeder with the costs of the various treatments the pup usually goes through prior to sale usually being factored in.
Is Giardia Common In Puppies From Breeders?
Giardia is common in puppies and with many backyard breeders keeping multiple litters in close proximity to each other, parasite infections like giardia can spread quickly.
This can result in a puppy from certain breeders having a much higher chance of having giardia than puppies from other breeders who take precautions to prevent the infection and it spreading in their litters.
It is also very difficult to prove that your puppy had giardia when you purchased it from the breeder too as giardia is commonly found on multiple surfaces as well as in soil.
It is just as easy for the breeder to claim that the puppy ended up with the giardia parasite infection after they sold the puppy to you as it is for you to claim that the puppy already had giardia when you purchased it.
On top of this, the main symptom of a giardia infection is diarrhea and there are a number of common causes of diarrhea in puppies too.
This can result in many people thinking that their puppy has giardia when in fact, the diarrhea is due to something totally different with the puppies gut bacteria adjusting to the food that you feed it rather than the food the breeder fed it being a very common cause of initial diarrhea in a new puppy.
This is why many of the reputable puppy breeders out there will offer you a bag of the puppy food that they use for their puppies.
It is not out of goodwill, it is to ensure that any diarrhea due to the normal process of the puppies gut bacteria having to adjust does not result in them getting angry phone calls from their customers about diarrhea in the puppy they just purchased.
The more reputable breeders have all of their puppies checked for common conditions such as giardia prior to selling them too.
The majority of the time, some simply medication from the veterinarian is able to treat a giardia breakout anyway with there being various products available to reduce the chances of the giardia bacteria being on the surfaces around the puppies if the breeders cleans correctly.
If you do suspect that your puppy does have giardia then booking a short video call with a veterinarian is highly recommended as they will be able to confirm the diagnosis for you.
The vet will be in the best position to recommend the best course of treatment for moving forward too while also being able to take the specific situation and circumstances of your pet puppy into account when recommending a plan to move forward.
How Long Does It Take For Giardia To Show Up In Puppies?
The symptoms of giardia in puppies will usually show up within five to twelve days in most puppies.
The wide timeframe is due to there being a number of different factors involved in how quickly your puppy will start to show symptoms making it hard to pinpoint exactly when your puppy became infected with giardia.
This is why it is so hard to actually prove that your puppy had giardia from the breeder and the burden of the veterinarian bills usually falling on you as the puppy owner.
We always recommend that our readers get a good pet insurance policy for their new puppies as soon as they take ownership of them.
This can drastically reduce the costs for treatment of severe cases of giardia in your puppy while also removing the stress associated with having to try and find potentially thousands of dollars for the treatment.
Some of the high-end puppy breeders will offer you a transitional period where your puppy will still be covered under their insurance policy for a week after purchasing it.
This is usually specific to conditions like giardia but the breeders who offer this are usually the ones that have all of the documentation to prove that the puppy does not have giardia at the point of sale anyway drastically reducing the chances of you having to use their insurance and thus, keeping their premiums as low as possible.
How Long Does It Take For Giardia To Go Away In Puppies?
Provided you get the correct medicine from a veterinarian, most cases of giardia will be treat within two weeks of beginning the treatment plan.
Some of the less serious infections can be treat in as little as four days though where as the severe cases of giardia may end up having secondary effects that can take months to fully treat.
This is why we always recommend that if you do suspect your puppy has giardia be it from the breeder or due to picking it up after you took ownership of the puppy, you book a short video call with a veterinarian as soon as possible.
They are in a much better position to offer advice and recommendations on how you should move forward while also being able to confirm a diagnosis of giardia or explain that the symptoms may be due to something else.
We have seen some people on social media recommend various DIY treatments for giardia in puppies but we would highly discourage against them.
Not only are these DIY treatments not proven and may make the situation worse, you really do need to get a reliable treatment plan in place as quickly as possible for your puppy if it does have giardia as thing can quickly end up getting worse if it is left to develop.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over puppy giardia from breeders to an end. We hope that we were probably not able to offer you the information that you wanted but it really is difficult to prove that the case of giardia in the puppy is from the breeder. Due to this, you as the current owner of the puppy will almost always be left with the vet bills for the various treatments and veterinarian visits that your puppy may require.
