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Puppy with Parvo

7K views 36 replies 33 participants last post by  Pat Puwal 
#1 · (Edited)
It wasn’t that long ago that I posted my interest in acquiring a puppy so that I could try my hand at training a new hunting buddy and possibly some hunt tests. I was fortunate enough to receive several replies with advice and recommendations. After some research I settled on a black lab male from a breeder in Kansas City and literally could not sleep the night before picking him up.

Once we got him home, the pup was everything I hoped he would be. He was house and crate trained within days and seemed to soak up every bit of training as we started to work through Hillman’s puppy training DVD.

On Father’s Day, my little buddy, Cash, began vomiting out of the blue. The diarrhea kicked in the next morning and I had him at the vet by 7:00 AM. A couple hours later the vet called to tell me that he had tested positive for parvo.

I couldn’t believe what she was telling me. She had warned us about parvo when we brought him in for his second round of shots. I made sure to not bring him to any public areas and to generally restrict his exposure to anywhere but our yard. I did bring him to a ranch one weekend and to some friend’s houses with vaccinated dogs, but that was really it.

The vet thought he would recover, but Cash just got worse as the week progressed. On Thursday night he started having seizures. I got thecall that next morning that he didn’t make it through the night.

I just wanted to share my story so that other new puppy owners understand how dangerous this virus can be. I just keep going over and over the places Itook him trying to figure out where he might have picked it up, which has obviously proven fruitless.

Its crazy how attached you can get to a pup in a month and a half. I really miss coming home and working with him in the evenings. The kicker with parvo, is that I will have to wait another eight or so monthsbefore I can get another puppy since my yard is now contaminated.

I’ve visited with the breeder and am hoping he will have another litter around that time. He has been very supportive and even offered to loan me a trained dog through hunting season. If he doesn’t end up with another litter in the right time frame, I will come back to this forum to seewhat is available. I would like to find a breeder who is willing to keep a puppy through his third round of vaccinations, just to try and play it as safe as possible.

Thank you for everyone’s support in getting newbie going. I’ll keep reading and soaking upinformation in anticipation of my next little buddy.
 

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#2 ·
So sorry to hear the sad news about your pup.
 
#4 ·
I am so sorry for your loss :(
 
#6 ·
So sorry to hear this Chris. I have a three month old pup and I worry about that constantly. I want to get him out in the field and water but have waited until he gets the next series of shots. My thoughts are with you. I hope you are able to acquire a new buddy soon.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I am so sorry for your loss of cash.
 
#8 ·
So very sorry for your loss.
 
#12 ·
So very sorry for your loss.
 
#15 ·
Agree! This can happen at any time. You did nothing wrong and there's nothing you could have done to prevent this. Do not beat yourself up! I'm so sorry!

I have a friend who's dog contracted parvo at 6 mo. old, after all the vaccinations, and being most diligent on the grounds which the dog was allowed to roam. Fortunately, after 10 days at the vet, she survived.

I suspect wild animals that can carry parvo - coyotes, etc. We always think of unvaccinated dogs, but I wonder if the wild critters are more the problem?
 
#16 ·
So sorry, I can't imagine how hard that would be.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I have 3 wk old pups here now. Parvo and distemper are two real worries until the full short regiment is completed. I've dealt previously with parvo in an 8 wk old pup & it scares me all the more with these pups.

Sorry for your loss.....

Just some further info I learned with my experience with previous litters and the parvo case. My tendency has been to attempt to keep the dam nursing for as long as possible to help provide some resistance. But that has a downside too. The longer the pups nurse the less effect the first puppy shots have. So there is a dilemma, wean the pups early, reduce their protection from the dam but gain earlier protection from the puppy shots or keep the pups protected longer by weaning later but delay inoculation effects.
 
#20 ·
I'm sorry for your loss also. These little pups can slip away so easily.

RIP little Cash.
 
#21 ·
So sorry, that really sucks.
My little guy, who is now six months old, stayed at the vet for 9 days.
He never tested positive for Parvo in 3 tests but my vet thinks it was Parvo.
He became ill a week after his third series of shots, you just never know and can't be to careful.
He is now healthy and happy, shows no signs of being sick. I feel extremely lucky!!!

Good Luck to you and RIP Cash
 
#22 ·
Chris

I am so sorry for your loss, that really sucks. I see your looking to the future to get another pup. I had a friend several years ago with a new young pup that he lost to it. He waited months and then brought another pup home only to have it succumb to it as well. The virus can live dormant for years as I understand. While you wait you may want to start a desinfectant routine. A 10% solution of bleach will kill the virus on contact. You can use a yard sprayer to apply to the yard and I would recommend spraying it weekly for the 8 months while you are waiting. You should also use the bleach solution around the inside of the home where you can.

As others have said don't beat yourself up. There is really no telling where your pup picked it up. It can come from our shoes or clothing after a trip to a petsmart or somewhere where an infected dog has been. Just no telling.

Because the virus is now present in your environment you may want to consider an older pup that has finished its immunizations before bringing it home.

Good luck my friend.
 
#27 ·
I am so sorry for the loss of your puppy. Unfortunately, what's listed above is VERY true. Your yard is now likely infected with virus. It will probably stay that way for some time, maybe even >1 year.

Bleach is only a good disinfectant once organic material has been removed... so, spraying dilute bleach on surfaces like grass does not have an appreciable disinfectant effect.

When I practiced in Kansas, I routinely had clients whose pups had gotten parvo out of their own back yard. Several of these were in rental homes so they didn't have a history as far as what had lived their prior. We had tons, I mean tons, of coyotes that seemed to have no fear of city limits. I think they played a HUGE factor in the amount of parvo we saw in that area.

You will have to be VERY, very diligent when you decide to get your next puppy because of your yard situation. Concrete slabs are great, because you can remove all the organic material and then thoroughly disinfect them. There was nothing that you did wrong with your pup, in fact it sounds like you followed your vet's advice perfectly.

Again, I'm so sorry for your loss, I know how devastating it is to loose one so young, but I wanted to make sure you were aware of the environmental contamination before you get a new puppy.
 
#23 ·
The only things that will kill the virus in the environment is UV light (sunlight). Bleach is ineffective in the presence of organic material. One thing that has been recommended is heavy watering of the areas the pup was in. In effect: "the solution to pollution is dilution". The virus dies quicker in the summer due to longer sunlight exposure and rain.

Inside, thoroughly clean, THEN bleach the area the pup was in.

Unfortunately, wild caninids, such as foxes and coyotes will be carriers for the virus.
 
#31 ·
The only things that will kill the virus in the environment is UV light (sunlight). Bleach is ineffective in the presence of organic material. One thing that has been recommended is heavy watering of the areas the pup was in. In effect: "the solution to pollution is dilution". The virus dies quicker in the summer due to longer sunlight exposure and rain.


Unfortunately, wild caninids, such as foxes and coyotes will be carriers for the virus.
What would be considered "organic Material" ?
 
#26 ·
Thanks everybody for the support! The post from Freezeland is what I'm worried about most at this point. I just couldn't imagine this happening again. I'm hoping that if I'm able to get a pup who is a couple weeks past his third round of shots, and able to disinfect the house/kennel as much as possible, that we will be OK. Just makes me nervous. Luckily the yard has very few trees, so it will have the benefit of full Texas sun for the next few months.
 
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