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Anyone have experience with parvo?

OUpearlgirl

OUpearlgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,081
Hi! I hadn't posted about our new puppy yet, because I just kept forgetting. Two weeks ago my boyfriend and I got a chocolate lab, Wilbur-- after Wilbur Wright.

On Thursday he was getting sick and acting fairly lathargic. L took him in to a vet where he lives (2 hours from me) and that vet said he was fairly confident he had an intestinal blockage. He sent him home with an antibiotic and advice to give him pedialite. So, Friday he was doing better. He wasn't really eating but he was playful, drinking water, etc. Saturday he was back to being lathargic and looked SO thin. So, L took him to a vet where I live. That one confirmed the diagnosis from the previous guy and sent us home with something to help his stomach. He only got worse. Sunday something yuck happened and we immediately took him to an ER. They were shocked that two vets had seen him and hadn't tested him for Parvo. Which, it turns out he has. Yesterday they gave us a 60% chance of survival. Today we were told between 80-90%. Obviously we are nervous and hopeful for the best.

Do any of you have any experience with this virus?
 
I am so sorry to hear that you and your puppy are going through this. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers.
 
First of all, I'm so relieved it sounds like your pup is going to live! You must have been terrified!

I've only known two puppies with parvo--one died and one lived.The one that lived is a coworker of mine whose puppy tested for parvo within 24 hours of picking up her puppy from the breeder and the breeder paid for all hospitalization.

How old is your pup? Usually the parvo vaccine is given around 8 weeks and again at 12 weeks and most breeders consider them at high risk for parvo until the second round.

Just bleach, bleach, bleach everything that your dog came into contact with (especially if you have other dogs, but I don't think you do).

My sister's dog just came down with an adult strain of parvo that is vaccination resistent last week and he nearly died after a week in the hospital. So strange that I keep hearing about all of these parvo outbreaks! Thank goodness Wilbur is okay!
 
He is 9 and a half weeks old. He's had the first round but obviously not the second. I think (and Doc thinks) he will make it, but she was cautiously optimistic. She thinks if he makes it through the next 24 hours that he will recover.

Every time the phone rings I am terrified it's them telling me he has passed. :(

We have contacted the breeder-- not to accuse, but we think they should know to bleach everything and possibly contact the other pups from the litter.

ETA- NEL, I hope your sister's dog is ok now! How scary.
 
I just came back to edit my post about that OUpear--I forgot to add that you should let the breeder know just in case it did originate from there. My feeling is that it hasn't since it's been 2 weeks, but just to be sure...

I'm keeping everything crossed for you and am really encouraged that the vet thinks he will be okay--usually once they start to show improvement, they recover quickly. Lots of dust to you!
 
OU- it sounds like you caught this early, if they are giving him such a high rate of survival. Parvo is very serious. I have had two pups that had it and neither survived. The second devastated me, but having experienced it I knew as soon as we got her home what it was.

Parvo is a disease that attacks the immune systems. Most symptoms include lethargy, listlessness, dehydration, lack of appetite, diarrhea, throwing up, and at the end stages confusion and loss of limb function. If it is not caught early on, the animals become dehydrated and starve/thirst to death because the throwing up and diarrhea suck all of the fluids out of them. We caught the last girl later on, and her breeder didn't realize that anything was wrong because she was apparently a quiet puppy from birth. We fortunately kept her hanging on long enough to get her back there so she could live her last day in familiar surroundings. She was our little angel for a day.

Our vet actually inserted an internal fluid pouch into her stomach, which you might ask about. It helped to keep her hydrated. Otherwise, plan on using a syringe to send fluids down his throat/mouth, and make sure he eats. Once a dog has contracted parvo they will be carriers throughout life, at least that is what I have been told. He will need to not be around young puppies unless they have been vaccinated.

I have also gathered that survivors tend to be a bit more docile as older dogs. They aren't as hyper. It is a serious sickness and takes a toll. They do live happy healthy lives though.

I mainly recommend lots of fluids, and trying to get him to eat. Our vets had us giving her rice and pieces of chicken. The first pup I had with it we did the same. Unfortunately both were caught in later stages, right after we adopted/bought. ALSO I have always known a parvo pup to have a distinct smell when sick. Be prepared for that. It will be hard, and it's very saddening to try and try and try with these pups. It sounds like your boy has a very good chance, so keep your chin up and you can vent here if you need to. Hopefully they can help you more than I can too.

((HUGS))


ETA I didn't catch that he is in the hospital. That is great that he can have round the clock care there!!! I'm going to keep you guys in my thoughts!!!
 
Dragonfly, I'm sorry about your puppies. It seems like we caught it fairly early on. His appetite wasn't great last tues-weds, but he was happy, playful, eating, drinking, etc. Since Thursday it's been quite apparant that something is wrong. I am relieved we at least know WHAT is wrong with him. I'm so glad I don't have to be trying to keep him hydrated right now.

He's had a plasma transfusion because his white blood cell count was super low, he's on an IV with all sorts of drugs to keep him hydrated and get some antibiotics in there to try to keep infection away. Dehydration and infection are the two things that kill puppies with parvo. Hopefully because of this wonderful doctor he will be ok.

As for our savings..... Yikes.

Looks like I may not be getting a ring as quickly as I'd hoped! Taking care of this guy is so worth it though, he's such a love.
 
OU - I'm glad you guys found out early and have him in for care. ((HUGS)) especially when he is a new puppy to the two of you. I wish we had been as lucky with our little "angel" cocker spaniel.

I'm sure they'll get him back on track in no time!
 
Oh, Meg! I don't know how I missed this. I feel sooo bad for you and Lane. I know how much you love the little guy. I'm glad you're in an area where he can get the kind of care he needs to recover. We'll go see him tomorrow and give him lots of love!!!
 
Thanks for all of the sweet thoughts everyone. Just talked to the vet and he is still alive.. Whew!

Since this is PS and we all love a good picture, here are a few of the little guy.

IMG_3261.jpg

I can hardly wait to see that face again!
himom.jpg
 
awww he looks like such a sweetie. i'm so glad that his prognosis is looking optimistic.
 
awww, what a cutie!!!

so sorry to hear about this and also shocked 2 vets saw him and he's a puppy and did not test for parvo! when i read about it when we got our puppy, i was terrified of it. i hope he is better soon.

also just FYI -- our vet advised us to keep our puppy off of areas where other dogs might have been, aka no outside walks, no dog parks, no grassy areas with other dog feces as that is how they can easily pick it up. so we did not take him out and put him on the ground or in grass until after he got his 2nd round of shots so about 3.5 months.
 
He looks like such a sweetie! I'm so glad to hear that his prognosis looks good, and I will continue to keep him (and you) in my thoughts and prayers.
 
What a sweetheart! :love:

Oh this is so gut-wrenching for me.
Hope your pup fully recovers.

Our beloved dogs both had parvo before we adopted them at 8-months.
They are fine now.
 
He is adorable!!!


Kenny - that's great to hear about your two! Can you share more about the recovery process and how they have been as adult dogs?

I'm terrified by parvo, but also really like to hear about those who make it and do well after.
 
dragonfly411 said:
Kenny - that's great to hear about your two! Can you share more about the recovery process and how they have been as adult dogs?
Click to expand...

They were not with us when they had Parvo.
We adopted them at 8 months, so we are their second home.
The agency said they were just recovered from Parvo when we met them (we had to pay their vet bills to adopt them).

So sorry I don't know about the recovery process or about long-term effects . . . but I found this:

http://www.dogster.com/answers/question/parvo-4461
 
Thanks Kenny!
 
Did you take your puppy to any dog parks, etc?

If not, that dog breeder is done. Her whole yard is contaminated with parvovirus and she shouldn't be breeding anymore. You are done bringing puppies home too because it lives in the soil for years once they've pooped on it.


My friend brought home a puppy with parvo. It was really touch and go for a long time, but he lived. Everyone was saying he'd be a sickly dog, but Max is super healthy!

I'm sending wishes to your puppy that he lives a long and happy life!!!
 
House Cat - This isn't entirely true. Although for the breeder it probably is. After our last parvo pup we were able to bring a pup home within a week. Sasha is happy and healthy now. We bleached the entire house, and we did quarantine her to one room until her vaccinations were done (which was fine b/c I worked all day in the room, so she wasn't alone). She was able to go into the yard with no problems, we just kept her away from the main spots where the other pup diddled. If properly cleaned and bleached, a house would be fine for new pups as well. Just speaking from experience :wavey:
 
Parvo is really horrible and a difficult disease to deal with. As others have told you, this virus is really strong and can survive for a long time. You really need to clean your whole house and anything that has come in contact with the puppy (even the bottom of your shoes). This is one reason why I don't visit pet stores that sells dogs - many pet stores have parvo issues and I don't want to bring home any diseases to my pets.
 
How is Wilbur doing now, OU? Any better?
 
Thank you all for your concern. We knew how to avoid parvo and somehow he still came into contact with it. There is absolutely no way of knowing where he got it from. It could have been so many different things and at this point I don't think it's good for me to try to figure out exactly how he got it. I'll never know. The breeder has been contacted. This was their dogs first and last litter. They called all of the other owners of the litter just to make sure they knew the warning signs. So far, the other dogs seem just fine. If and when we decide to get another puppy we will consult with our veterinarian (a new GP, not the one who missed the diagnosis) what we can do to ensure that dog doesn't get it either.

All of that being said, Wilbur is doing GREAT!!! There is a good chance I may get to bring him home tonight! I scrubbed the house top to bottom the day he got diagnosed, but I'm cleaning it like crazy again today just to be sure. He had food for the first time last night and kept it down. They gave him more this morning and they said he ate it right up! He looks much better, too. He's still very thin but his eyes don't look so sad and he has far more energy than the day before yesterday or even last night. I'm so thrilled that he responded well to treatment. I'm also incredibly relieved that he will most likely get out earlier than most-- I feel so lucky.

Thank you everyone for your words of advice, thoughts, and well wishes. It looks like this sick puppy story will have a happy ending!
 
I am SO happy to hear that Wilbur is on the road to recovery and might be coming home tonight!! YAY!

I'm sorry you had to go through this, but am really glad that it has a happy ending. At the very least you will NEVER have to worry about parvo again!
 
I'm so glad to hear that he is doing much better! :appl: :twirl:
 
Glad to hear Wilbur is doing better!!!!!!! And that you might get to bring him home!! :appl: :appl:
 
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