Parvo Puppy
I have a puppy here at Silverwalk Hounds. No one can see her - only me. Not even the dogs, especially not the dogs. She tested positive for Parvo and is in isolation in a back bedroom with her own bathroom where I wash my hands very well before going out to the rest of the pack. When I visit with her, I wear a sheet as a smock to prevent contamination. This cannot spread.
Sweet Pea on my protected lap ©Roberta Beach
I'm calling her Sweet Pea and sometimes Spitfire :). This girl has lungs which don't quit, she wants to be out with the action - she has at least 5 more days of isolation. She is only about 9 weeks old, a feminine looking wee Beagle. Sweet Pea was found on a road by a couple - I don't know where or when. She was with them for several days; then she became lethargic, lost her appetite and was vomiting - NO diarrhea. These were her only symptoms which, after my research into Parvo, makes me wonder if she had her first vaccination. Her rescuers were diligent once they saw she was very ill; they stayed up all night getting her to take some water and Gatorade. They then got her to my vet who gave her an injection, tested her and placed her in isolation. She is still at risk.
Sweet Pea should survive but many Parvo diseased puppies and dogs don't; by the time the symptoms show up, much damage has been done potentially to the heart, the bone marrow and for sure the gut/intestines. I wondered if Sweet Pea had a false positive test since she was doing so well but those are very, very rare and even though all the other dogs are vaccinated, I wouldn't want to expose them or the yards to the virus, which lives longer outside than inside and only can be killed by bleach.
I don't like to over-vaccinate my dogs; most of them are adults or seniors. Once they have been at Silverwalk for a year or two and have been fully vaccinated at least twice, I do titers each year and rabies every 3 years (I live in the county). Parvo is not a disease with which to take any chances. Sweet Pea will be fully vaccinated with the recommended rounds of parvovirus as well as her other vaccinations once she is on the road to recovery, as all puppies should. In the second link above, it's recommended to keep recovered dogs quarantined for a month after recovery. I don't know what my vet will recommend but you can appreciate from that statement the threat to your other dogs a positive Parvo dog poses.
Even isolated puppies need to play ©Roberta Beach
No one else here is at risk and I will be diligent to keep things that way as I help Sweet Pea recover and still know she is a beloved wee puppy even though alone. Please check the links above to Parvo articles. Parvo is deadly, dreaded and disastrous to dogs; don't let it happen to one of yours and if it does, being the insidious disease it is, get that dog to the vet immediately!
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