# Fingers crossed dealing with parvo



## kevinb (May 31, 2017)

Well, the family and I have a beautiful German Shepherd pup but we noticed that her appetite had pretty much vanished a few days ago, followed by lack of energy. Took her in and sure enough she was diagnosed with parvo. We now have her home and giving her a combination of antibiotics, pain management meds etc. and lactated ringers via IV. I've been a paramedic for 12 years but this is new territory and I'm certainly way outside of my comfort zone. I guess I'm just looking for any tips, advice...hell, maybe even support. My wife and I are obviously trying to save the life of our new family member but trying to keep a cool and calm face for our kids.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Puppies are temporarily immunised through mother colostrum. Passive immunity Perhaps mother was not immunised for parvo or puppy did not nurse soon enough after birth. You probably know all that. While there is no magic cure the survival rate of treated dogs is pretty good. My dog had puppies 3 months ago so I did a little research on puppy care at that time. All survived and doing well at their new homes. I do not know enough to give advice. Sounds like she is in good hands. Good luck.


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

Fingers crossed your pup pulls through...have you called the breeder to ask about shots the mother received prior to whelping? And the puppies should of at the very least gotten their first set of shots at 6 to 8 weeks of age for parvo. It also attacks the intestinal tract of the animal, so other than the IV fluids for hydration, which is very important, I wonder if your vet would be okay also giving a probiotic for intestinal to help keep some of the good flora in there? Did your vet give you any anti-emetics for the pup if there is vomiting? 

Please let us know how they do.


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

I had to give my dog gatoraid 2 large syringes every 2 hours around the clock for 3 days after the vet took care of him. apparently it is dehydration and low electrolytes of course keep them comfortable.

I hoe they pull through.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Puppies get immunity at birth from their mother. Giving parvo vaccinations early won't work as the natural immunity fights the vaccine.
It takes two vaccinations to provide protection. From memory at 8 weeks and then at 12 weeks. So, during that time, your pup is at risk. m guessing the pup had been exposed to parvo when 
What vaccinations has your pup had? Did you buy from a backyard breeder or a Pet Shop?
I'm guessing the pup was exposed at the breeder. I'd hold the breeder responsible. Litter mates sick, too?


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

The only I advice I can give on this is for after the fact.
Clean everything she has been in contact thoroughly, with bleach.
Speaking in layman's terms, you're dealing with doggie AIDS, only this kills in days, not years.
It sounds like you caught it in time and she'll make it.
The next step is to deal with the one you got her from and I'll leave that up to you.
Figure out if this was a one time accident or if this has happened before and then figure out how you want to impress upon that person the life and death implications of this.
Either way, the quicker that's done, the better off all the dogs in your area will be.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

My baby made it and she was really sick. She went to die in the woods. Took me 12 hours to find her. 

No other dogs should be allowed in your yard until after winter. It is easily carried to other areas.


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## kevinb (May 31, 2017)

So far, things seem to be getting better. She is more playful and her appetite has partly returned. No vomiting either. I've been in regular contact with the breeder and no signs of parvo there, I'm a bit stumped as their are no other dogs she has been exposed too, however, I was told the virus can last up to six years in the soil. We purchased this place a little over a year ago. I don't know if they carry it but we do have visits from coyotes on the property. I know we have a long ways to go but at least for the moment, things have improved.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

kevinb said:


> So far, things seem to be getting better. She is more playful and her appetite has partly returned. No vomiting either. I've been in regular contact with the breeder and no signs of parvo there, I'm a bit stumped as their are no other dogs she has been exposed too, however, I was told the virus can last up to six years in the soil. We purchased this place a little over a year ago. I don't know if they carry it but we do have visits from coyotes on the property. I know we have a long ways to go but at least for the moment, things have improved.


Good to hear then.
You're right though about the virus being able to survive a long time in certain environments
That's why I asked about the breeder, to eliminate the easiest and likeliest source first.
If it didn't come from there, then I would suggest a thorough cleaning of the house and yard. I guess a bleach product would be best.
Obviously if your pup survives and gets her shots in the future, SHE won't be in danger, but because it's such a nasty virus, I'd do it for the sake of anyone else too.


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I hope she pulls through,make sure she's staying hydrated


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## KED326 (Jul 24, 2018)

kevinb said:


> I don't know if they carry it but we do have visits from coyotes on the property. I know we have a long ways to go but at least for the moment, things have improved.


They definitely can carry it. You can try to figure the source forever but it won’t help the fact your pup is sick. Clean up any feces and vomits from your sick pup and don’t allow any unvaccinated dogs on your property. 
Not saying your out of the woods but eating is a very good sign. Small frequesnt meals now are important. If you can get a probiotic it will help as prior mentioned. Wet food is also great as it adds moisture to help with dehydration (great for after you pull fluids)There is recent studies saying get them to eat as soon as possible versus old ways of holding food till villi in the intestine heal. 
Supportive therapy is important with these guys. So keep warm and lots of love! Good luck


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Our pup got it because a construction worker had spent time in mexico with his dog. The dog was 1/2 a mile away but other animals brought the disease to our property. Our pup was not fully vaccinated yet.


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## 4tu (Jul 24, 2018)

It can ride in on boots and tools that is why you see bleach water trays to walk through, I've seen them in research facilities.


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Our German Shepherd pup had parvo. We took him to the vet and they treated him in hospital. He was so sick that they did not expect him to survive but he did and lived a full and mischievous life until the age of 13. 

Every year we have a parvo outbreak here because people do not vaccinate. 

Fingers and other flexible limbs crossed.


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## CountryMom22 (Nov 27, 2014)

Sounds like you are doing all you can. The advice that you have gotten is right. Parvo can live in the environment for years. A dog that has been vaccinated can also carry the disease but not be affected. A dog that has recently had the virus but recovered can still shed the virus, so it can be hard to protect a puppy if it is going anywhere out in public as you don't know who has passed that way before you. I never take a puppy out until it has had at least 2 shots, and if the first shot was given while the pup was still able to nurse off mom, I don't count that as the first shot because the maternal antibodies will interfere with the pup building its own immunity due to vaccination.

I go so far as to carry my dogs into the vet when needed as I don't want them on the floor where sick dogs have been.

The age of the puppy also makes a difference in survival rate. The older the puppy, the better. And after surviving parvo, the dog will have a lifetime protection to it, though I would still vaccinate to protect other dogs.

Good luck with the pup.


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## kevinb (May 31, 2017)

Things are certainly improving. Everyday she's more puppy like than the previous but I'm still very cautious because we're only half way in the meds. She's eating/drinking more but the vet said she would get much worse before any signs of improvement, so far, it's been nothing but good since we started treatment. Ironically, we got her 1st vaccine on a Monday, the very next day she began the symptoms but they matched up to the list of side effects but quickly began the down hill drop. As I type this, she's playing with the kids.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

kevinb said:


> Ironically, we got her 1st vaccine on a Monday,


First vaccine normally at 8 weeks takes awhile to start any amount of effectiveness and it takes the second shot to be effective, again not instantly.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

There's some nasty strains of parvo which require more frequent vaccinations than most because the standard vaccination rate isn't working. Esp in east Texas or areas where the ground is frequently wet/moist which enables the mutated parvo virus to survive longer.


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## kevinb (May 31, 2017)

Update- A day or two after my last post. Our puppy had some significant set backs and I was afraid we were quickly losing her and the battle but we kept the course with meds and IV's. We noticed improvements. We took her back to the vet yesterday (Thursday) and she was given the official green light. I'm happy to report that she is parvo free and we have a happy, healthy (needs to gain some weight) and playful German Shepherd. We'll certainly need to alter any plans should we get another puppy in the future, such as ALL vaccinations on board prior coming home. We tried as best as possible to sterilize the environment but it's not worth the risk and we're still stumped to even know where the virus came from. It's likely, in my opinion that the virus was already here, probably from the previous owners and the soil is contaminated. Either way, this has been a stressful but vital learning lesson.

I want to thank you all for your well wishes and information. We had some really rough night's with limited sleep due to keeping the schedule of meds. I took comfort in reading these in those late nights and way to early mornings. What a great forum and community. Endless thank you's!!!


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## Grey Mare (Jun 28, 2013)

That is WONDERFUL to hear! Thank you for the update, I have been coming over to your thread to see how your pup is doing. Pats to her! 

Kudo's for you for working with your vet and doing right by her!


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I am so glad she is doing well. We had some LGDs catch parvo from the stupid vaccine. I guess LGDs are especially prone to the disease. I know years ago, when I was a child and the disease first came out my dog died from parvo. There was no vaccine back in the early seventies. It is such a horrible virus. I pray your dog does well.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

Most likely parvo mutated to the point where your vaccine wasn't effective OR if you got your vaccine from the feed store, most likely they accidentally allowed the vaccine to warm up. They're supposed to be kept 100% cold at all times until the time of administering. There is a new mutated version of parvo which apparently requires more vaccination use in order to have the dog's body build up immunity. The new parvo strain is really nasty.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

If your pup reacted the day after her shots, she was already carrying Parvo. I worked in a shelter for many years, and always when we vaccinated pups that became symptomatic shortly there-after, the vet said the dog already had been exposed. Same is true for equine, I have a barn full of sick horses right now because a filly I bought came home, the next day I vaccinated her, that afternoon she became lethargic and ran a fever. We caught her up and started her on antibiotics, but she had already spread the virus (whatever it was) to my herd of young and older horses in the barn.

I sure wish people would learn to vaccinate at the start of weaning and then at regular booster time, it gives the animals being weaned that much more resistance should they come in contact with a virus.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Parvo is a modified live virus vaccine. Dogs can and do catch the disease from the vaccine once in a while. Sad but true. Some breeds are more prone to that issue than others. But, it is very important to vaccinate pups early and make sure Mom is vaccinated before the pregnancy. That way Mom's vaccine will help to protect her pups while weaning. It is just such a horrible disease. People should always make sure all their adult dogs are covered, and that will actually help protect the puppies too because it keeps disease numbers down.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Having mom vaccinated ahead of pregnancy is good policy. The problem is that her antibodies fight the vaccine, so early vaccination does no good. But those moments between weaning and the vaccination stimulating the puppies antibodies, the pup can get parvo and death is common. Even after the first shot, the pup can contract Parvo until the second shot has stimulated more antibodies.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6337780


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## CountryMom22 (Nov 27, 2014)

Glad to hear the pup survived. Parvo is a nasty thing to go through. The timing of the vaccinations is affected by whether or not the pup is still nursing. Often, the first vaccination is useless.

I never take a puppy out in public before waiting at least 2 weeks after the 2nd. shot. And it so easily transmitted that it could come in on a person who patted a dog carrying the disease but showing no signs. Now that you have been through it once, you'll never forget the signs if you see it again.

Enjoy your pup!


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