The Parvovirus and Your Dogs Health

The parvovirus is a highly contagious virus that attacks the intestines of your dog causing severe vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, and even death especially in dogs under 8 months of age and elderly dogs. The best way to treat this virus is to prevent your dog from catching it in the first place. You can do this by exercising diligent care and getting your dog vaccinated and the follow up boosters for the virus.

When to Start the Vaccinations

Vaccinating your dog for the parvo virus should begin at six weeks of age. Since good breeders normally keep their puppies until 8 weeks of age check with them and see if they have started the vaccination process for this virus. If so, get the information you need so that you will be on time for the next vaccination in the series. These vaccinations will continue every four weeks until your dog is 16 or 20 weeks old. During this time and for up to a month after the last vaccination your dog is still susceptible to the parvo virus so you need to exercise special care during this time.

You will want to keep your puppy away from strange dogs and from any place a dog may have eliminated. You also have to be careful that you do not carry any strange dog waste on your shoes to an area where your puppy will be as even sniffing at the waste of a dog who has parvo can result in your dog catching this virus.

Symptoms

While diligent care will lower your dogs risk of catching the parvo virus there may still be times when diligence is not enough. Knowing the symptoms of this virus can help get your dog medical care as quickly as possible giving him a far better chance of recovery.

Vomiting and diarrhea are usually the first signs you will notice. While vomiting and diarrhea can be caused by many things a puppy with parvo will have a blood in their stool and it will have a unique smell. The vomiting and diarrhea will also be more than with other illnesses and should be taken seriously. Check and see if your dog feels fevered as most dogs infected with parvo display fever as well as symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. He may have also been eating less than usual and be lethargic as well.

If your dog shows any of these signs it is important that you seek immediate vet care. Even an emergency visit with it's extra cost is well worth it if it can save a puppy's life as it does not take long for a young puppy to become too dehydrated to recover.

Treatment

Treatment for Parvo is expensive as it usually means that your pet will have to hospitalized for as long as a week and treated with IV fluids and antibiotics. Once treated even when on the road to good health your puppy may pass the virus on to other dogs for several weeks after treatment so keep him away from other dogs that he may infect.

Parvo is a serious illness in dogs and should be treated as such. Proper vaccinations and follow up booster shots is the only way to prevent this dreaded virus from infecting your dog.