Does My Puppy Have Parvo?

Parvo is a lethal disease for some puppies. On average only about 30 percent of the dogs but mainly puppies that contract this deadly disease will die. My puppy was one of the unfortunate ones; he came to us-sick. This is a really fast progressing disease, and it needs to be taken very seriously. You will need to follow up with your Veterinarian if your animal displays any signs of Parvo.

What is Parvo?

Parvo is a virus that likes to attack and kill the cells in the intestinal lining. This will cause animal to frequently have diarrhea. It has also been known in rare cases to attack the heart. This is almost always fatal, but most cases of this dog disease are in the digestive track. Parvo is a really small virus you can only see the disease through a microscope. The Latin term for small is 'Parvo'.

Signs and Symptoms:

Look for different signs, if your puppy has diarrhea it does not mean that they have Parvo. There can be other surrounding them. If they have Parvo they will probably have at least 2 to 3 of these symptoms. Your Veterinarian is the only one who can tell by lab work.

Diarrhea, bloody stools, and sometimes yellow.

No Appetite

Running a high fever

Very lethargic, this is very weird for a puppy

Depression

How Did my Puppy Get This?

This virus is highly contagious one of the most common areas for Parvo to live is in the backyard in feces. This virus can live up to 5 months so if your new puppy is not vaccinated they can contract this virus from an older dog that has no symptoms. The only way to kill this virus is bleach; it would take a long time to scrub your back yard. The safest way is to remember to vaccinate, vaccinate, and to vaccinate.

How Can I Treat This?

There is not that much you can do when your puppy/younger dog contracts this. The virus while killing intestinal cells makes it very hard for your animal to receive any nourishment. The causes of death are usually from dehydration and shock. The Parvo Virus will normally work itself out through diarrhea. Your Veterinarian will most likely keep your dog for a few days. An IV line will be used the whole time for nourishment, and your puppy will be monitored during this process.

There is no cure for this horrible disease. If your puppy beats this they have a chance of getting it again. This is not a genetic disease I have heard others state that the puppy received this from their parents. The safest way of all is to make sure that you vaccinate your puppy.

When we lost our puppy it was one of the hardest things we had to go through. My son was 4 years old at the time, and my Husband and I had no idea how to tell him his little buddy was not coming back. So, please from a Family has been there before, vaccinate all of your animals right away.