Can humans catch giardia from dogs

i volunteer at an animal shelter where i help socialize with dogs and keep them company and i was playing with a black lab puppy. later on, one of the workers came buy and told me to leave the cage cause the dog had giardia. he said humans can get it, but i wasn't sure. anyway, i immediately went and washed my hands up to the elbows, and then sanitized them with the germ killing thing.

then i changed my clothes and took a shower when i got home. i left the dirty clothes outside, and didn't bring them in the youse.

Yes, Giardia can be spread to humans. All i've ever heard of it causing was diarrhea. I wouldn't worry too much though, I've come in contact with dogs with Giardia a lot and I've never had it. If you do develop diarrhea and think you have Giardia, contact your doctor.

Giardia is a protozoan parasite that lives in the intestine of affected animals. It is unclear whether there are several species of this parasite or whether there is one species that affect several different animals, including people. These small parasites are very easy to miss on a fecal exam and may not be present in the stool of animals infected with the organism. Repeated fecal exams are sometimes necessary to identify this parasite. Not all animals in which infection can be demonstrated have clinical signs. This leads some people to believe that the parasite may not cause disease . Most vets think that there may just be other factors, like the animal's immune response to the parasite that cause some animals to develop disease and not others. Clinical signs of giardia include weight loss, inability to gain weight appropriately during growth, diarrhea, vomiting, lack of appetite and greasy appearing stools. Them most commonly used medication for giardia infection is metronidazole (Flagyl). The organisms come from the environment and live in moist to wet areas. They are susceptible to quatenary ammonium disinfectants, Lysol and dilute chlorine bleach. Keeping the dog's environment dry helps a lot.