Dogs And Parvo - Important To Identify Symptoms Early, Days Count

[VocalNeal]

If your dog is acting quite, strangely, aloof or reclusive. Like lying in an unusual corner or place. It may not be but it is likely to be Parvo. So it maybe worth a check. There is a simple stool test not unlike a human pregnancy test. But your dog may pass the first test, only to fail a day later. The quite, aloof stage is quickly and I mean quickly followed by vomiting, quickly followed by diarrhea. From experience once the diarrhea sets in the disease is in the advanced stage.

We have just lost one dog now his sister is displaying similar symptoms (I know it sounds obvious which is why we were paying special attention). She, like he, had had all the correct shots but... We though he was unlucky and she was moping because her brother died, but obviously not.

Hopefully this time because we were looking for symptoms we have caught it early enough. She is now on immunoglobulin treatment, as the vet had two doses left over from her brother's treatment.

Three are required. For average dog 3400 baht per shot.

So AGAIN quite, strange, aloof or reclusive.

This is simply for information so any messages of condolence are unnecessary

Edited April 6, 2012 by VocalNeal

[Nienke]

Sorry to hear/read about your loss and the other sick dog.

How old are/were they?

[a10ams]

Good information OP.

Three years ago our six month old Bulldog showed these symptoms. He was taken to the vet right away and Parvo was confirmed. He had previously had every innoculation available.

Luckily he was one of the small percentage that survive this horrible disease. He made a 100% recovery in no time.

Early recognition is definately a big player in aiding recovery, as is the dog's will to live.

Google some American sites and see how much people have spent on vet fees trying to cure their pets. Some frightening numbers!

[VocalNeal]

Sorry to hear/read about your loss and the other sick dog.

How old are/were they?

7 months old. Brother and sister. There are no at least 9 dogs in our area all with links to the same veterinary clinic.

[doggie888888]

Sorry to hear about your dogs and thanks for the warning. I am no vet and just assume if I keep shots and boosters up to date, then no worries.

So now that I see that your dogs have been given proper shots and still developed parvo, I suppose I'd want to know if the vet who applied the shots gave them bogus shots, or there is a strain of drug-resistant parvo around or that it is just plain bad luck (and if so, what are the chances of getting it after immunisation?).

As an analogy, I just don't expect my dogs to get rabies if they have been given shots for it. Ditto for parvo?

[bina]

if they havent fiished their shots, then they can still get parvo; also, many pups in thailand unfortunately, seem to get parvo, it takes time to show, so might have been exposed previous to the shot (and vet offices are great places to get parvo from; here, a dog with parvo isnt allowed in to the vet until end of day, and in separate room, etc. parvo is also very hardy and stays in ground, in cracks, everywhere and can stay for years which is why when u have had a dog that died of parvo, most likely new pups will also get it unless a full cleaning is done (chlorine bleach if i remember correctly does a decent job). and in thailand like in israel, because many dog owners dont vaccinate except for rabies, parvo is prevalent.

people here also dont tend to vaccinate against anything but get only the county rabies shot, and we see a lot of parvo here also. pups are also taken too young from the mother, in the critical period for developing immunity. also some parvo vaccines dont seem to work so well (different companies). and some breeds are super sensitie to parv )dobies and rotties , and from my experience, also shar peis). my foofoo had parvo and survived, but it was a hard few weeks of antibiotics,LIQUIDS SQ(under the skin) and the parvo makes dogs super sensitive to under the skin also, hurting them more then shoudl in a normal healthier dog).... and a month of recupe and eating only my home cooked foods etc. he was lucky since i caught it in time, and could nurse at home. he is a tough little dog, raised on a goats teat from age 4 weeks, but til this day has a slightly sensitive stomach since his stomach lineing had sloughed off. (parvo is like cholera in some ways in humans that the stomach linings/intestinal linings slough off, etc.)

i know that nienke is against vaccines for young pups, but not sure how to prevent exposure to young pups apart from not going anywhere with them until they are much older and less sensitive. not to mention tracking the virus in to the house if u have been in areas that have had an epidemic of parvo.

as far as rabies vaccines; we have had several documented cases here in north israelin the past year of vaccinated dogs carrying rabies after being exposed to rabid foxes/jackals . just like any vaccines there are faulty ones. my daughter had whooping cough and apparently the vaccine she received was not an effective one, since her age group, there were many out breaks of whooping cough. for rabies, blood titers can be taken to check the levels which is what i think the american vets now do. here, it is yearly vaccines no matter what, since here reabies is prevalant especially in the countrysides. same as thailand.

bina