The Effects of Beaver Fever on Dogs

"Beaver fever" is another name for the parasite Giardiasis, also known as giardia infection. Your dog can become infected with this parasite by drinking contaminated water. Often, dogs can carry the Giardiasis parasite without any symptoms. Signs of beaver fever in dogs are most often witnessed in those with impaired immunity or in puppies. Beaver fever can also affect cats, birds, humans, deer, cattle, sheep and beavers.

  1. Gastrointestinal Symptoms

    • The Giardiasis parasite takes hold in a dog's gut, causing inflammation and gastrointestinal symptoms. When a dog with beaver fever is symptomatic, he will often suffer from diarrhea, flatulence or belching, foul-smelling pale feces, stomach pain, nausea, bloating or a loss of interest in eating. Sometimes vomiting occurs, leading to weight loss in the long term. You might see blood or mucus present in your dog's stool if she is infected with beaver fever.

    Other Symptoms

    • As a result of poor absorption of food and nutrients, your dog may be notably tired and lethargic while infected with beaver fever. Stomach pain and nausea may cause the dog to lay around and be less active or energetic than usual. The dog may become snappy, irritable or fatigued, or may lose weight and eat less food than is normal for him.

    Diagnosis and Treatment

    • Beaver fever is diagnosed through a fecal test, and several medications are generally effective in treating dogs found to be carrying the parasite. Many veterinarians use the drug metronidazole to treat beaver fever. Some of the potential side effects of this drug are vomiting, anorexia and occasionally liver damage. If your dog is pregnant at the time of beaver fever infection, metronidazole cannot be used as a treatment. Panacur, a worming medication, can treat beaver fever in dogs unsuited to metronidazole and its potential side effects. Giardiasis is difficult to treat or remove completely from your dog's system -- the parasites may remain inside the dog's intestine, undetected, after the completion of drug treatment.

    Risk Factors

    • Giardiasis infection is relatively common among dogs, although not all infected dogs will display symptoms of beaver fever. Boarding kennels are notorious as places where dogs -- particularly puppies less than one year old -- may pass the infection around. Dogs known to be infected should be quarantined away from others for 20 days or more to reduce the risk of infection. Additionally, anywhere an infected dog has passed feces should be considered infected. Maintaining a clean, uncontaminated water supply is essential to preventing the spread of beaver fever.