Parvovirus

[paintman]

Anyone here ever dealt with a dog having parvovirus? My wife and kids talked me into getting a new puppy on Saturday. Pretty cute little guy so I gave in. He was great up until this morning. My wife called me and said to make an appointment with the vet because the dog seemed to not feel good. I called the vet and they said it may be parvo but couldn’t see him till tomorrow.
I went on with my day and got a call shortly after from rush county animal shelter that all the puppies in the litter we adopted out of had parvo. So I took him to another vet and left him to be treated so it could be done faster. But my question is, what am I going to be looking forward to that I’m sure the vet wouldn’t say yet? And my other concern is my 10 month old German shepherd that is like a family member to me. She is my buddy and protects our yard like a special forces unit. How likely is she to get it now?

 

[printcraft]

My sister got a chihuahua puppy a while back and it had parvo. Fine when she got him, then slugglish and wouldn't eat.
Treatment from the vet and monitoring and he recovered fine.

It's a happy, goofy, healthy year old now. She has other dogs and they were ok.
Clean up any poop from the puppy and the bedding. Monitor your other dog and if he starts acting weird take it to the vet.

 

[CHCRandy]

Parvo can be a deadly sickness, I aint gonna sugar coat it. The good thing is you caught it early and are seeking vet care (the only way to treat Parvo). There are no medicines specifically made to treat Parvo. It will take IV's and constant monitoring from a professional and it won't be a cheap experience. They usually keep dogs with parvo isolated and treatment can take days, maybe even weeks. Your other dog should be fine, as long as it has had its shots correctly. Just clean everything out and sterilize everything.

I never had a dog get Parvo but I went to great pains to keep my beagle pups from other dogs when they were at the age where it could be a problem. I have seen many dogs die from Parvo because the owners could not afford the treatment, or wouldn't pay. Generally a new puppy won't get Parvo until after they are weaned. The mothers milk protects the pup, but once weaned there is a 3-4 month period where the dog has not built immunity and vaccinations have not had time to build up their system to defend the sickness. You need to vaccinate a pup 3 times in 12-16 weeks of weaning, about 3-4 weeks apart. Until they have time to build immunity, it is always a chance taking them around other dogs, especially pups.

Once your pup is cured, you will never know he had parvo. Nothing you will have to do other than work a little overtime and enjoy the little guy for many years.

I want to give you kudos man. Obviously you care about the little guy. Good luck with him.

 

[paintman]

Luckily when I checked with my vet we usually use they said our German shepherd has had 3 rounds of vaccines and should be ok. I’m taking her in tomorrow just to have her looked over any way. When the other vet called, he said our new guy looked surprisingly well and he had good hopes for him to be ok but obviously couldn’t promise that. I told my kids he just didn’t feel good and had to go see the dr. They would be the ones that would be devastated. They are pretty attached to animals.

 

[femurphy77]

I got Skooter as a just barely weaned puppy, I was assured by the "parents" that she had all her shots and they would email them when the vet opened. Instead of following my gut and taking her straight to the vet the "restart" her puppy shots I held out. She contracted parvo somewhere on a trip to Oklahoma that we took her with us on as we didn't want to impose on the house sitter dealing with a new puppy. She was pretty sick puking up the yellow goo, lethargic, etc by the time we got her to the vet. Today almost 3 years later she's the most rambunctious of the tribe and has fully forgiven me for allowing her to get sick like that. Short version is it CAN be cured if caught soon enough and it sounds like you did. Hope for the best for you!

 

[NKBJ]

You bet, they can be cured!
Mid 90's rescued two starving little puppies. Went to the an elderly Texas Aggies vet. He gave them immune boosters of some sort and one survived the parvo. The other was too far gone.
And thereafter the one that survived was immune to everything, in old age nobody could believe how old he really was, incredibly healthy and strong, awesomely intelligent* and better looking than everyone else's children.


*Figured out hand signals on his own even though he was a terrible sneak.

 

[paintman]

I was actually pretty surprised when I talked to the animal shelter. They said they can’t tell me what to do but they just put them down because of cost. I’m sure they can’t treat every dog but that really sucks if anyone just took them back to put down.

 

[CHCRandy]

I was actually pretty surprised when I talked to the animal shelter. They said they can’t tell me what to do but they just put them down because of cost. I’m sure they can’t treat every dog but that really sucks if anyone just took them back to put down.

That is a shame. But honestly, they probably don't have a lot of choice. The people who returned them could have dug deep, sucked it up and gave them a chance....but many people probably can't afford that(I am not sure what Parvo costs), or refuse to spend it on a "dog". When you have a bunch of dogs (I had 25-30 beagles at a time) the chance of infecting the kennel and expense to treat them all will bankrupt the normal person. You get parvo in a kennel, and it gets costly and deadly very quickly. Imagine having 8-10 pups get parvo with each needing treatment. I hate to think what I was spending a year in vaccines, blood tests, heartworm meds, tapeworm meds, Albon, etc. If a shelter got a bad virus, it could wipe out every dog in the place.

I know it sucks to spend money on dogs, but man I have paid some pretty hefty bills for my dogs over the years. Worst one was around $4000, to have my dogs jaw reattached after he got it torn off getting hit by a truck. I must have been out of my mind, but I would do it again. He was my buddy. I miss that dog. Best of luck to you and your pup.

 

[Spear Dane]

Parvo is an expensive disease. I wish you and your friends the best. The puppy puppy is up against the wall and that's a fact. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[MarkC]

It is a terrible disease, we adopted a shelter dog who had parvo. Went back to the shelter and they offered to swap us another dog. Nope.

Worked with our vet to treat his symptom and provide supportive care, with warnings that he'd have some days better than others during recovery, and a good outcome was far from guaranteed.

Fortunately, he recovered and he was one of the smartest, friendliest, most well-behaved Shepherd mix dogs, and he was our great companion for several years. I'm glad we didn't give up.

 

[paintman]

Well he is back from the vet. Only cost $400 so it was well worth it. And he has decided he likes to lay with me for belly rubs.

 

[CHCRandy]

View attachment 74131

Well he is back from the vet. Only cost $400 so it was well worth it. And he has decided he likes to lay with me for belly rubs.

That's great! He will forever be bonded to you. Happy for you and your billfold....$400 a small price to pay for many years of joy. They tug at our shoestrings as pups and heartstrings when older. Enjoy him.

Edit. Is he a Collie? Smart looking little guy?

 

[paintman]

Yes he is. So far he has picked up on things pretty fast. In a few weeks he will get to hang out with his new boss/ my German shepherd. That’s another hurdle to get over. She loves to play so he better be ready.