Giardia Test for Dogs and Cats

Giardia is a tiny parasite that lives in the intestines. Its cysts contaminate soil, faeces, and water sources. Pets often become infected through contact with faeces, contaminated surfaces, or by drinking unclean water. Giardia spreads easily between animals and can also infect humans. Dogs and cats may carry Giardia without showing any signs, but they still shed cysts into the environment. When symptoms appear, they often include diarrhoea, tiredness, and weight loss.

Testing for Giardia in dogs is important. Early detection helps stop the spread of this parasite among other pets and people. Giardia can cause digestive issues and loose stools. Testing makes it easier to tell Giardia apart from other causes of gut problems. Symptoms like diarrhoea, weight loss, and fatigue are common in many conditions, so accurate testing is key.

Giardia Antigen Test for Dogs

Our Giardia Antigen Test provides a fast, reliable, and professional way to check for an active Giardia infection in dogs. This laboratory-based test detects Giardia-specific proteins (antigens) in your dog’s stool, even when the cysts cannot be seen under a microscope.

It’s particularly useful for dogs showing symptoms such as diarrhoea, soft or watery stools, mucus in the faeces, weight loss, or digestive discomfort. By accurately confirming or ruling out Giardia as the cause, this test helps you and your vet decide on the most appropriate treatment and management plan.

This screen is for a dog or cat only. The testing procedure used in our laboratory detects Giardia antigens rather than cysts, as this provides a far more reliable indication of active infection. Cysts can be difficult to detect due to their short and fragile lifecycle, making microscopy less dependable. While no diagnostic test can ever claim 100% accuracy, independent research has shown that the antigen test we use is highly accurate in terms of both specificity and sensitivity, especially when compared to traditional microscopy. For this reason, we have adopted this method as our standard testing approach at Wormcount.com.

There is a ‘use by date’ on each kit which MUST be adhered to.  The use by date will always be a minimum of 4 weeks from date of order.  Unfortunately, no refunds can be given for late submission or unused tests however please contact the office to discuss options if this occurs.

If undertaking a retest post treatment, we recommend waiting at least 3 weeks before retesting following completion of the course of treatment.  Please consider the timescales and use-by dates when ordering a kit.

This kit includes:

• One recyclable padded envelope, made with 60% recycled material
• Free tracked return 24hr postage
• One blue paper laboratory request form and test and instruction sheet with use by date
• One recyclable sample collection box in resealable write-on panelled bags
• One biodegradable second sealable bag
• One biodegradable natural wood sampling spoon