Parvovirus questions

[dragondawg]

Thanks to all for the information. I didn't feel the shot would be the reason the poor puppy got parvo but just wanted to ask anyway.
The breeder he got the puppy from only has the one litter and at this time none of the others are sick. She's taking them to the vet tomorrow to be checked according to her. She had told my son the puppy had a sensitive stomach and vomited easily so we think he was probably sick for a few days at least at her house. Why none of the others are sick I don't know.
The vet called him this evening and said the puppy is doing well on his IV so we're hoping that he'll recover but its still very early in the treatment.
I'm going to give him the information on the Kenic Parvo-lan128 to rid his carpets and car upholstery of the virus. I'm scared to go near his house at this time because as someone said having the shots don't guarantee my dogs are not going to get it if we walk or sit where its contaminated.

It's not usual for some litter mates to have higher levels of maternal antibodies and to be protected for a longer period of time. So yes you can have some puppies very sick with Parvo while other siblings will show no signs. Eventually as the Parvo persists in the environment the others will pick it up as the maternal protection decreases. I could even foresee a situation where the others may have mild to severe forms of the disease if constantly exposed as the maternal antibodies decrease.

[wolfsoul]

My Visa's nephew, Jasper, developed parvo after reciving his parvo shot. When he was returned to my cobreeder for a "vaccine reaction," he was exposed to my dog and her littermates. They were fine until they recieved their parvo shot, which weakened their immune systems, and they developed parvo too. My dog was the first to get sick at 4 weeks of age. This is why I do not believe in maternal antibodies -- I've heard too many cases of young puppies catching viruses. My dog's mother had her parvo vaccination that year and titered well six months before the litter. Yet the entire litter caught parvo at 4-5 weeks of age. Also, parvo tests are not accurate! The puppies in the litter that tested negative for parvo were the ones that died, even though they were treated for parvo and seperated from the other puppies.

Just keep vigilant -- clean everything! All you can do is hope and pray. It's a terrible virus but it's getting easier to treat with everything we know today. Don't worry about your dog's catching the parvo. If they've had their shots theyr are fine. Even so, after a year of age, most dogs are immune to parvo. Parvo is one vaccine that "sheds" itself from the dog after it's been given -- so dogs in contact with dogs who've just recieved a vaccine, or places that dog has been, is already exposed to the disease, and thus building an immune to it.