# Parvo in older dogs



## holleegee (Mar 3, 2005)

My mother in law called last night and said her almost 2 year old yorkie was at the vet with parvo. She had the parvo shot as a puppy but still got parvo. I have a dog that lives with her and I'm worried because she has now been exposed. She also had the shot as a puppy (she is a 4 year old cocker spaniel.) I checked my dogs shot records and she only gets the rabies shot each year not a parvo booster (I'm not sure there is such a thing.) Is there something else she should be getting each year? 

I'm waiting for my vet to call back but thought you guys would know.


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## NCGirl (Jan 5, 2006)

I don't think parvo is normally fatal in adult dogs though it can cause a very sick dog. I would get the dog out of there right now and watch her very closely and get her to the vet ASAP if she starts to get listless. I hope one of the vets on the board can answer in more detail.

I hope she is alright.


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## holleegee (Mar 3, 2005)

I just got off of the phone from the vet and my dogs had the DHLPPC booster earlier this year so they should be fine. that is a relief.


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## dragonfly1113 (Nov 29, 2006)

puppies are suppose to get a series of parvo shots. Usually dogs over one dont get it. My dog had her first two parvo shots and I tried to give her her third one and she jerked and most of the shot was spilled. I thought no big deal until a month later my dog had parvo and cost me $400 to save her. It can kill an older dog just as easily as it can a younger one. If your dog had all of its shots it should be okay.


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## Idahoe (Feb 4, 2006)

Dogs can get parvovirus boosters yearly, and are considered "safer" after the third vaccination, or at around 12 wks of age (this info from a breeder I spoke to).

It must be pretty rare for an older dog to get parvo, and I heard too that an older dog or pup has more reserve to fight the virus. However, that is still not written in stone. I lost an 8 wk old pup to parvo this fall . . . her sister came down with it first, was actually "sicker", but rallied on day 4. Bella received the same treatment, I even began it earlier in terms of IV lactated ringers, penicillin and Reglan, but even so, in a two hour time span, Bella went unresponsive and died in my arms. Some make it, some don't, and those who DO make it can carry parvovirus, so the survivor may infect future puppies if they come on your property, or YOU may infect someone else's puppies just by handling them hours after petting your own dog.

Just b/c dogs may get parvo even after a full vaccination schedule, DON'T avoid vaccinating. I'll not be able to have puppies on my property, probably not ever again, unless they complete all three vacs. I can't allow my surviving dog around any unvaccinated puppies/dogs. Not worth it, and the heartbreak is forever, especially when it could have been prevented (or mostly prevented).

Your dog is in my prayers!


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## dragonfly1113 (Nov 29, 2006)

My vet told me that you bleach everything down and the area that your dog stays in and also the virus also can only live a few months once it has been introduced to your property. I always heard that it can last 7 years, ect. but the vet said no. I still dont know if I believe him or not. He also told me that my dog was no threat to anyone else's dogs or puppies. I dont know.


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## frogmammy (Dec 8, 2004)

Bleach is your friend! I do breed rescue (mostly pups) as I can and it's not unusual to get a pup in that has parvo...unwanted, but not unusual!

The worst time was when I got a 2 1/2 month old rescue pup in that I had *understood* to be from a home...I would NOT have taken a rescue in from another situation because I had my OWN new pup that was about the same age. So, I get the rescue here from Indiana and THEN find out that it had spent two weeks in the pound! :flame: 

The next day the pup is acting a bit "off" and my old girl, Puph (AKA, Dr Dog) won't have a THING to do with it. Off to the vet, posthaste! They test, yep it's parvo. They get to keep the pup and I come home, call rescue to get them to tell all the other foster parents that we have parvo, so they can get their pups tested, and call the pound to tell them they have parvo. Then get my trusty sprayer out and spray down the ENTIRE house and yard with bleach water...everything and I mean EVERYTHING three foot and under is sprayed...walls, floors, furiture, draperies, grass, trees, bushes, EVERYTHING.

Two days later my vet calls and says that we caught it early enough that the pup can come home...he worries that if it stays at the clinic it might catch something else, in it's weakened condition. Have to just watch the pup and be aware...and have to isolate it for 10 weeks! YIKES!

Pup gets a room in the basement for the duration, well away from the other dogs. Each time we feed or play with the dog we change clothes and spray ourselves with bleach water..we also mop the floor in the room and wherever we walk with bleach water EVERY time we interact with the pup.

My young pup didn't get parvo even though it hadn't completed its shots, nor did any of my big dogs. The young pup lived through its unusual start and went on to a forever home where, from last messages, it had acquired its CDX and BH and is working toward more titles.

Parvo isn't the end, but care/prevention must be agressive.

Mon


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