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Expert
Posts: 1549
  
Location: Southwest Louisiana | So we got a puppy - a Jack Russel/Rat terrier mix. Took him to the vet last monday to have hirst first round of shots. By the following Saturday night, he was very lethargic, vomiting, diarrhea, not eating or drinking. Brought him to the emergency 24/hour vet early Sunday morning. Tested positive for Parvo, they kept him all day Sunday and Sunday night. Gave him an IV, meds, the whole works.
We picked him up yesterday morning, he seemed a lot better. I have bleached everything in the house (he stays inside), threw away his bed and got a new one, etc. He was fine all day, though we didn't let the kids play with him or run around too much. He was eating and drinking normally, having normal bowel movements.
Now this morning I woke up to him having diarrhea again, not eating anything, barely drinking. Is this normal or is he relapsing? I called my regular vet, but he's on lunch break and is going to call me back.
?And the ER vet said he had to have contracted parvo 5-7 days ago. The only place this dog has been is the regular vet's office. We've never had puppies at this property, only older dogs with all of their vacs, so he didn't get it here. Does this mean he got it from the vet's office, or from the actual vaccination? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| You will have to ask the vet who vaccinated him if the vaccine was a live vaccine. If it is a killed vaccine, he couldn't get it from the vaccine.
If it is a live vaccine, they may exhibit the symptoms of the disease, but I am not sure they can actually get the disease from the vaccine.
My guess is he picked it up from the vet clinic, parvovirus is horribly contagious, can be tracked from one place to another by dirt.
Prayers your dog makes it through |
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 Expert
Posts: 1898
| I am so sorry. I just went through this in January. My pup stayed at the vet for almost a week on IVs. Every time they thought he was getting better he would crash again, this went on every other day for 8 days. I would definitely try to wait on the your vet, if he continues to decline I would take him to the ER. They dehydrate so quickly when they aren't drinking with diarrhea.
Parvo is one of those viruses that is EVERYWHERE and it is all but impossible to get rid of. Vaccinated dogs can still be carriers and shed the virus in their poop. Parvo is easily spread. My pup had been no where other than my house and the breeder. It just happens and it sucks. The good news is if your pup comes through this he will never get parvo again. |
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Expert
Posts: 1898
| I wanted to add that even after washing everything and bleaching everything you can still spread the virus to other dogs out side your home. You puppy will still come home with the live virus on his fur and will remain contagious for 4 to 6 months. Cold months increase the amount of time the virus is actively spread because the cold only slows it down and it reactivates when the days get warm. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | I'm honestly surprised the vet didn't keep him longer. My mini aussie pup had parvo and was in the clinic for 5 days, and cost me $513.40 for the treatment. Never had issues with diaherra or any vomit when I brought her home the 5th day. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | The virus can be in their system for a couple weeks even without showing signs. The vaccines lower their immunity so it may have popped up that way. At our clinic, we cannot hospitalize because we don't have that type of quarantine setup, but we do send them home with an IV fluid bag with antibiotics and Vit B and have the owners fill a golf ball size lump under the skin every few hours for the hydration. Unless the pup has been sick for a few days, we've always had success this way. But it takes longer than a day! We usually have them going for a week or so. Even if they get to feeling a bit better, we advise to keep giving fluids until they are fully eating/drinking on their own for at LEAST a day. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
Location: Kansas | Have you checked with the breeder to see if they have any issues with parvo, on their property? Hope your pup pulls thru. |
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Veteran
Posts: 143
Location: TX | When my puppy had it. The vet prescribed tamaflu. Suppose to help with the symptoms.
I requested IV fluids. We treated him that way for a week. He made it through.
I was going to ask...when you were bleaching did you remember to bleach your shoes. People forget that they walk through everything. If you take a bucket or pan of some sort and put bleach and water in it. Set your shoes in. This will help keep the spreading of germs.
I have heard that puppies that get parvo. The mamma is the carrier and then the pups get it. Although I do not believe that is the sole reason some will get it and some never do.
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Expert
Posts: 1549
Location: Southwest Louisiana | Just to update - he made it. The vet gave him another shot of something he's come up with in his 30 years of experience, and gave me some fluid to keep giving him. Two days after posting this it's like the dog came back from the dead. He was chewing on all of my shoes, chasing the kids, barking at the cats. He's been great since then. The vet also told me they don't quarintine for parvo. He said it puts their clinic at too much of a risk with all the other dogs coming in. They recommended a vet a little further away that did, but he said it's very expensive. But this pup is fine now. Thanks for the advice and concern. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 891
| Rocket'sMagicGirl - 2016-03-07 2:21 PM
Just to update - he made it. The vet gave him another shot of something he's come up with in his 30 years of experience, and gave me some fluid to keep giving him. Two days after posting this it's like the dog came back from the dead. He was chewing on all of my shoes, chasing the kids, barking at the cats. He's been great since then. The vet also told me they don't quarintine for parvo. He said it puts their clinic at too much of a risk with all the other dogs coming in. They recommended a vet a little further away that did, but he said it's very expensive. But this pup is fine now. Thanks for the advice and concern. Â
YEAH for puppy !!!!  |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | Good news |
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 Toastest with the Mostest
Posts: 5712
Location: That part of Texas | shoestringacres - 2016-03-02 7:37 AM When my puppy had it. The vet prescribed tamaflu. Suppose to help with the symptoms. I requested IV fluids. We treated him that way for a week. He made it through. I was going to ask...when you were bleaching did you remember to bleach your shoes. People forget that they walk through everything. If you take a bucket or pan of some sort and put bleach and water in it. Set your shoes in. This will help keep the spreading of germs. I have heard that puppies that get parvo. The mamma is the carrier and then the pups get it. Although I do not believe that is the sole reason some will get it and some never do.
We had a puppy that got parvo from his momma/breeder home. He was the only survivor of all the litter mates (all had contracted it too). It was touch and go for many days after diagnosis. Our vet was able to hold him for much of that time and to administer meds. We thought we were going to lose him so many times but he fought back each time he was nearing a bad spot were we though of just putting him down.
He survived but unfortunately the high fever affected his brain so badly that he was a different dog after it all. He was like an extreme hyperactive, ADHD child with limited memory or ability to train or follow commands. We would have him in the kennel and when you went to feed him, he would jump straight up and down (four feet up, four feet down) with his body about 3-4 feet off the ground (face level to me) repeatedly for about 3-5 minutes without stopping. If you took him out in the pasture, you'd have to watch him because he would run and chase stuff without stopping to catch his breath or slow down in self-preservation. I would have to pick him up and put him on the 4 wheeler or back of a horse if he ever got so overheated that he just fell over or laid on the grass, panting because he'd run himself silly. It was heartbreaking because he was supposed to be from some of the best hunting dog stock in our area and he was a gift from the breeder who used to hunt on our land. He ended up passing away at 7 years old after being bit by a rattlesnake on his nose -- I had just checked on him 10 minutes before and he was gone by the time I walked back by his cage to see the snake trying to climb out of the fence honeycomb grooves -- so I don't know how he might have aged with it. I loved that dog but Lord he tested my patience on a daily basis. He's my cautionary tale to those who do everything to save one that's got it really bad. We thought we were doing the best by him by helping him fight it but I don't know -- maybe he would have been better off by letting him go instead of living the way that he ended up.
Rocket'sMagicGirl -- I'm glad to hear your puppy is doing much better! He's probably not going to be as bad as ours was but I just wanted to post our story for those who might face it in the future and have one with a bad, unrelenting fever. I hope your puppy continues to improve like they usually do once the worst is over.  |
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Expert
Posts: 1549
Location: Southwest Louisiana | Thanks Red Raider. I've never heard of one having those affects, but my dad had a Catahoula puppy that had parvo back in the early 80's. My mom kept him full of fluids and made him eat the protein paste stuff that they gave them back then. He made it and had what we thought was a full recovery. We now know there are two different types of parvo, one that messes with their intestines and one that affects their heart. The Catahoula had the cardio parvo. When he was older, he had this cough that sounded like a person with bronchitis. He had this on and off his entire life, but never had any other issues at all. They did tests on him and nothing showed. But looking back, we're sure it was the long lasting affects of parvo. He lived to be 15 years old.
This puppy we have never had a long-lasting fever, thank goodness. I kept after him with the syringe full of fluid and his fever would just come and go, never lasting more than a few hours at a time. |
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