Parvo

[sinom]

I have a sick puppy at the moment, initial suspicions are he's eaten something bad and has a form of bacterial infection in his stomach / intestine.

Been to the vets, had antibiotic jab, IV drip (first day), sub-cutaneous IV (2nd day).

He's still not eating (day 3) drinking little.

He's back in the vets this morning for further treatment / observation.

During internet research I came across "PARVO virus"

The symptoms are somewhat similar !

Is this a common problem in Thailand.

plus - any advice on how to get him eating again - tasty recipes ?

[Nienke]

I have a sick puppy at the moment, initial suspicions are he's eaten something bad and has a form of bacterial infection in his stomach / intestine.

Been to the vets, had antibiotic jab, IV drip (first day), sub-cutaneous IV (2nd day).

He's still not eating (day 3) drinking little.

He's back in the vets this morning for further treatment / observation.

During internet research I came across "PARVO virus"

The symptoms are somewhat similar !

Is this a common problem in Thailand.

plus - any advice on how to get him eating again - tasty recipes ?

I'm sorry about your puppy.

Yes, parvo virus is very prevalent in Thailand.

In case your puppy isn't drinking enough and has diarrhea there's a high chance to dehydration. Therefore, IMO it is best to keep your pup at the vet on IV for a couple of days. It's important, though, to visit your puppy as much as you can, at least once a day.

For more medical details, best to contact Bambina. She's the forum vet

I wish you good luck and hope your puppy will recover soon.

Nienke

[sinom]

It's looking a bit better, he's been through various tests which confirm negative for parvo - good news - he's now been vaccinated against parvo to help build his immunity - shouldn't this be a standard vaccination for pup's in Thailand ?

He spent a few hours on IV again yesterday and when we picked him up he was defintely a bit more "perky".

He still doesn't have any appetite though ! He picked at a few pieces of chicken last night but was not interested in food or water this morning. The wife is going to try him on various tempting dishes this morning to see if it wil "kick start" his appetite, but if no success then he's going to have to go back onto IV and vitamin injections this morning. He doesn't look so dehydrated now but he has lost about a kilo this week - not too bad because he was a podgy puppy, but can't afford much more weight loss.

Is this duration normal for a bacterial infection ? - I have no experience.

Hoping he pulls out of it today, as we'll have more time over the weekend to spend with him and try and get him back to 100%

cheers

[November Rain]

He should not have been vaccinated while he was still sick. Please, please do not give him any more vaccines until he's completely recovered. The combined vaccine is available for pups, and IMO, is worth doing, as it can protect against a host of nasty diseases. The reason that it is not mandatory in Thailand, but rabies vaccine is, is that rabies can kill humans. The other diseases only affect the dogs. The law is only concerned about human deaths.

As for food, different things work with different dogs, maybe try some scrambled egg or canned fish (tuna, sardines, mackerel). I know our dogs love this. If fish is in tomato sauce, drain off the sauce. Good luck. I hope he's better soon.

[Nienke]

I second NR's remark about never ever vacinate a dog, pup, adult cat or kitten or any other living creature when the immune system is down. Even the pharmaceutical industry, the very ones who sell the vaccines, have in their guidelines NOT to vaccinate when the creature shows sings of illness!

From: Vaccines - Are They Safe for Your Dog?

Written by: Dee Blanco who is a holistic veterinarian practicing in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She is listed under Altvetmed.

Dr. Ron Schultz and the U. of Wisconsin-Madison, a veterinary immunologist, question the lack of scientific evidence to support our current practices. In his article in the 1992 edition of Current Veterinary Therapy, Dr Schultz and his co-author, Dr. Phillips, discuss the issue. Their words follow: "A practice that was started many years ago and that lacks scientific validity or verification is annual vaccinations. Almost without exception there is no immunologic requirement for annual revaccination. Immunity to viruses persists for years or for the life of the animal. Successful vaccination to most bacterial pathogens produces an immunologic memory that remains for years, allowing an animal to develop a protective anamnestic (secondary) response when exposed to virulent organisms. Only the immune response to toxins requires boosters (e.g. tetanus toxin booster, in humans, is recommended once every 7-10 years) and no toxin vaccines are currently used for dogs and cats. Furthermore, revaccination with most viral vaccines fails to stimulate an anamnestic response as a result of interference by existing antibodies (similar to maternal antibody interference). The practice of annual vaccination in our opinion should be considered of questionable efficacy unless it is used as a mechanism to provide an annual physical exam or is required by law (i.e. certain states require annual revaccination for rabies)."

There are many situations where the perfectly healthy puppy is taken at 6 weeks for his first vaccines. Maybe he has a slight fever or lack of appetite and energy for a day or so. Then he is returned 2 to 3 weeks later for more vaccines. Maybe he will show another fever or maybe a day of diarrhea. Then he is returned in 2 or 3 weeks for more vaccines. Maybe he starts to itch a bit. Often by the time the pup is 6 months old he has several problems going on. He often has loose stools and he itches, but there are no fleas. Thus begins the first stages of chronic illness brought on by the vaccines.

When a perfectly healthy individual is given viruses that cause illness, the animal is going to manifest illness-related symptoms. This healthy individual is asked to maintain a low-level stimulation of a state of distemper, a low level state of parvo, a low level state of rabies, and so on. As long as you are in a low level state of illness you are not in a high level state of health. Therefore, the vaccines provide protection by keeping the body in a diseased state of health.

[timekeeper]

I have a sick puppy at the moment, initial suspicions are he's eaten something bad and has a form of bacterial infection in his stomach / intestine.

Been to the vets, had antibiotic jab, IV drip (first day), sub-cutaneous IV (2nd day).

He's still not eating (day 3) drinking little.

He's back in the vets this morning for further treatment / observation.

During internet research I came across "PARVO virus"

The symptoms are somewhat similar !

Is this a common problem in Thailand.

plus - any advice on how to get him eating again - tasty recipes ?

to any members whose dogs get the Parvo virus, give them Tamiflu asap. its not cheap to buy, you can't get it at a pharmacys. you will have to plead your case at a hospital, lie and tell them you are travelling to Vietnam, Laos, Burma etc to get the pills as its the human medicine for HD51 bird flu. tell them you are scared to travel without it. Tamiflu stops the virus reproducing and gives the dog or cat a chance to recover and fight before its totally overwhelmed and dies. i stress you need to do it quickly before there is too much virus in the animals system. i hope that this information helps save somedays beloved family member.i hope your dog is better now and that it wasn't parvo

[November Rain]

I have a sick puppy at the moment, initial suspicions are he's eaten something bad and has a form of bacterial infection in his stomach / intestine.

Been to the vets, had antibiotic jab, IV drip (first day), sub-cutaneous IV (2nd day).

He's still not eating (day 3) drinking little.

He's back in the vets this morning for further treatment / observation.

During internet research I came across "PARVO virus"

The symptoms are somewhat similar !

Is this a common problem in Thailand.

plus - any advice on how to get him eating again - tasty recipes ?

to any members whose dogs get the Parvo virus, give them Tamiflu asap. its not cheap to buy, you can't get it at a pharmacys. you will have to plead your case at a hospital, lie and tell them you are travelling to Vietnam, Laos, Burma etc to get the pills as its the human medicine for HD51 bird flu. tell them you are scared to travel without it. Tamiflu stops the virus reproducing and gives the dog or cat a chance to recover and fight before its totally overwhelmed and dies. i stress you need to do it quickly before there is too much virus in the animals system. i hope that this information helps save somedays beloved family member.i hope your dog is better now and that it wasn't parvo

Do you have any links to research supporting this? Dosages?

Members, please remember that parvo only affects (as a dangerous killing virus) puppies & young dogs. Most adult dogs will not be affected by symptoms (but can be carriers). Overdosing a puppy or giving wrong medication can kill just as quickly as the virus. (As it can with an adult)

timekeeper, I'm not saying your advice is wrong, only that I've never heard of it & without some reading to back it up & being very sure of dosage, I would never give an unprescribed medicine to any dog. So, I'd be very interested to see the background on this.

[elfe]

i tried to get tamiflu here in the hospital in samui some yrs back when i had sick puppies but they would not give it to me. even a small clinic which tried to order it for me did not get it. maybe with your advice about lying etc should be more success i did not know it was pills, thought it was injections they would give you at the hospital. there is also another virus killer, baypamun i think is the name but this is not available at all in thailand as far as i know.

you have to give at very early stage to be successful.

for all questions about diseases in dogs, esp viral, i can recommend the yahoo group 'naph' which helped me a lot in the past with very good advice.