Parvo is a terrible, viral disease which kills 90% of dogs who contract it. It is a very debilitating and deadly disease and one of the most preventable diseases which affects dogs. The Parvo Virus has been in the news for years, with some reports of it being present in as many as 70 cities before it was finally brought to an end by the government. Despite these scares, it is a very real problem and does have a very real chance of becoming a matter of serious concern for you or your dog. Parvo is passed on through physical as well as emotional contact and your dog may come in contact with it in a number of ways.
Not only are there actual Parvo virus attacks, but there are also a kind of modified Parvo which attacks the dog’s nervous system. The symptoms in the form of the disease are not completely known yet, but protein alone isn’t going to take care of it. We do know that it attacks the brain and causes sudden death in most dogs. We also know that it is commonly transmitted through feces, but whether or not it can infect people is really questionable. There are some people out there who transmit Parvo without even knowing it, which makes it a real threat.
It is an extremely debilitating and often deadly disease and can become a real problem for you or your dog. If it can happen to your retriever, it can happen to anyone. There is no real way of preventing it or making it impossible, but there certainly aren’t any options that are going to stop it 100%. Just like you get the shakes after getting sick, your dog is likely to come down with a bout of diarrhea and Vomit. I was in my South Carolina Unfiled Tax Returns attorney’s office with my dog who told me my dog might have parvo. While some people will notice right away and want to take their dog to the vet, most likely something will have happened in the meantime and it’s really nothing to worry about. Like you, your dog can probably get over the Parvo virus if he stays hydrated and ate prior to the onset of diarrhea. If you had a bottle of Pedialyte within easy reach, you may be able to use some of it to keep him hydrated until his Vomit subsides.
Information on Parvo is usually found within a couple of paragraphs inside of a document that most vets receive as part of their malpractice fees, so the information is certainly not going to come to you as some sort of cure. It is an extremely painful and deadly disease and one that you should cherish your right to know about as early as possible, because it could be the turning point in your dogs life and the quality of life that he has left.
Prevention
It may seem at first to most of us that every dog should know how to stay indoors and avoid contact with other dogs, but that’s just not true. The Parvo virus isn’t fully eliminated, so the advice is very much geared towards protecting your dog from getting the small, specific Parvo virus. If you have dogs in your household, you really should discuss the Parvo with them before introducing any vaccines that can be a protection measure against this deadly disease.
There is another vaccine that is commonly referred to as the bordatella vaccine and this is the one that you should have with you when your dog is injured or is going to be in contact with another infected animal.
There is yet another vaccine, and this is referred to as the qicca virus vaccine and it’s given once every eight years. Some of this newer vaccines are going to protect your dog from the parvo virus for three years or even five years time and this is definitely a much better vaccine to give your dog than the regular Parvo shot.