Parvo Newsletter
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Hi Folks! I hope you enjoying the cooler weather. Bravo is back to sleeping outside at night. When I say it’s bedtime – he goes to the back door. Doesn’t want to sleep in his crate. I figure he is enjoying the cool nights, with that heavy coat of his. Snowflake and Bravo bred this past week. Puppies due Dec 9 -15th. (I give a wider date range because I saw them breed on Wed but I suspect they bred first on Monday) I will sure be glad when Gracey and Snowflake go out of heat. It is driving Bravo nuts that I have him and Gracey separated! Having 2 females in heat at the same time…. Bravo is just beside himself and it hasn’t been a lot of fun for me either! If Bravo could get to Gracey I think he’d be a lot happier. LOL Gracey gets to rest this heat and I won’t be breeding her again until the spring. As always I am accepting deposits on the upcoming litter – three are reserved already, so I am thinking they will go fast. I have included a cute picture/joke at the end of this newsletter for your enjoyment. It tickled me! I said I was going to write on contagious diseases in dogs and have decided to write on Parvo this newsletter. Parvo is a vicious virus and not something you want your dogs exposed to. What I have found out is that Parvo is in the land everywhere in the US. But it is in very small amounts and usually not enough for your dogs or puppies to become infected by it. When the dogs get sick with Parvo is when the amounts become increased and concentrated. What is Parvo? Parvovirus is a viral disease of dogs. It affects puppies much more frequently than it affects adult dogs. The virus likes to grow in rapidly dividing cells. The intestinal lining has the biggest concentration of rapidly dividing cells in a puppy's body. The virus attacks and kills these cells, causing diarrhea (often bloody), depression and suppression of white blood cells -- which come from another group of rapidly dividing cells. In very young puppies it can infect the heart muscle and lead to "sudden" death. This is a very serious disease. Some puppies infected with parvovirus will die despite prompt and adequate treatment. While no extremely accurate statistics are available, a good guess is probably that 80% of puppies treated for parvovirus will live. Without treatment, probably 80% or more of the infected puppies would die. {Copied from Vetinfo.com) There are two major strains, canine parvovirus 1 (CPV-1)and canine parvovirus 2 (CPV-2). The CPV-2 strain has mutated several times and there are CPV-2a, CPV-2b and CPV-2c strains. From what I have read – the CPV-2c is becoming more and mo common. The symptoms of Parvo are diarrhea and vomiting. The diarrhea starts out dark, then turns to a mustard yellow color and eventually bloody. Also vomiting which will eventually turn bloody. The dog/puppy will be depressed and lethargic – no energy. Due to the diarrhea and vomiting the dog/puppy will become dehydrated. Parvo is often deadly to puppies but most adult dogs can be treated and have a full recovery. From exposure you will start seeing symptoms in 4-14 days. The first symptoms you may see are the diarrhea and depression. The disease progresses very fast and needs supportive treatment immediately. Treatment of Parvo is hydration of the dog/puppy. Your vet may put your dog/puppy on IV fluids to keep him/her hydrated. There is no known treatment that kills the Parvovirus – treatment is supportive. Your vet may also give the puppy/dog medications to stop/slow down the vomiting and diarrhea. If I were trying to treat my own dogs/puppies I would increase their fluid intake by utilizing a honey/cider vinegar water mixture along with pet milk. (Mix 1/2 tsp Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with a teaspoon of organic or raw honey to 2 cups water, might have to use warm to melt honey) I mix pet milk with 7-Up or sprite 50/50 mixture. You would probably have to force feed him/her the fluids with a syringe. You can also use Colodial Silver to help hydrate your puppy/dog. Flushing out & boosting the dog/puppies system is very important. Again – immediate treatment is vital. Your young puppy can die within 48 hours of showing symptoms. Parvo is a hearty virus and is hard to kill. The virus is found in the stool of the dog/puppy. However it lives on almost any surface. You can carry it on your clothing, shoes, and body – then transfer it to your pets. It is always wise to wash your hands very well after handling other dogs. Dogs can carry the virus on their feet and paws. This is the reason I don’t take my dogs to dog parks, pet stores and places like that anymore. Vet clinics clean daily with disinfectants, however I am not sure how places like pet stores and dog parks clean – so I figure it’s better to be safe than sorry. If your dog/puppy gets Parvo it is important to kill the virus on your property. Bleach was the only known agent to kill Parvo. A 30% bleach/water mixture is what is recommended. There is an agent on the market called Trifectant and one called Virkon. (These are potassium peroxymonosulfate) that will kill the parvovirus. My vet says bleach is the best tho. It is said the Parvovirus lives approximately 6 months on the land. There is not a disinfectant you can buy to treat your yard. The parvovirus will die more quickly in the yard in areas that are in full sunlight – slower to die in shady and/or moist areas of your yard. Myself – I would treat my yard with a bleach solution but then my yard is mostly dirt and rocks so I don’t have to worry about a lot of plants dying. The bleach would kill any plants and is not environmentally friendly. Prevention – keeping your home/kennel/yard clean is priority. And not exposing your dog/puppies to areas that could be infected with Parvo. So clean your dog’s area regularly. There is different ideas among dog folks and different vets. Some say that vaccinating your puppy before 8 weeks of age is a waste of time, as your puppy has the natural immunizations from its mama. Thus the immunizations are not absorbed by the puppies system. Some vets say to start immunizations at 5 ½ weeks of age. My old vet says 5 ½ weeks, my new vet says 8 weeks. *sigh* One of my breeder friends treats her dogs holistically including a natural raw diet. She told me of a friend of hers whose dogs were exposed to Parvo – the ones immunized got sick but the puppy treated on a natural raw diet and had not had but 1 immunization at 8 weeks of age did not even get sick. {What you are comfortable with, with your dogs, is what you should do. I suggest to explore all the available ideas of raising your puppy/dogs and ways of feeding and immunizing them. Then go with the one you like the best. My friend is who recommends the honey/vinegar supplement and it is something I do give my puppies the first few weeks of their lives. Vinegar and honey both have good characteristics so I like to use them.} A lot of times when your dog/puppy gets diarrhea it will be diagnosed with Parvo. However you should make sure by taking your dog/puppy to the vet and have the tests for Parvo run to make sure this is what is wrong. There are many different ailments dogs and puppies get that have diarrhea and vomiting as symptoms. In my research, I have not found any other ailments that have the mustard yellow diarrhea however. Your vet is the best person to diagnose and treat your dog or puppy when it is sick. Well it is deer season and I live in the boonies surrounded by woods… .lots of hunters around. I hear gunshots so better go let the dogs in. They get all upset and nervous when they hear gunfire. *sigh* I bring them in the house and then they feel safe. J You all have a wonderful week! Cindy McCord Missouri & Arkansas White Shepherds www.arkansaswhiteshepherds.com www.missouriwhiteshepherds.com 479-966-7654
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