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Dealing with Dog Parvo
by: Matt Robinson, Las Angeles
Dog parvovirus is a deadly disease that can kill within 48 hours, and is most dangerous to puppies as they do not have their natural immunities built up. It's heartbreaking to watch your brand new puppy die before your eyes with nothing you can do about it. Arm yourself with the right information.
Symptoms of Dog Parvo
If your dog exhibits any of these symptoms, you need to take them to a vet immediately. There are some home treatments that claim to work. However, do you really want to risk it? The vet will charge you a lot to save your puppy, and it's not even guaranteed to work, and the home treatments are cheap in comparison. It all depends on how attached your are.
- Lethargy - Your dog will not be playful and refuse to eat. This is due to the weakening of the intestines allows bacteria
to flow into the bloodstream and makes them weak.
- Vomiting - Parvo attacks the intestines and messes up their digestive system.
- Bloody Diarrhea - This is mainly how parvo exits the body and spreads.
Death by parvo is caused primarily by extreme dehydration and malnutrition. The rarer cardiac form causes a complete failure of the heart muscle, and works faster. There's not much even a vet can do for the cardiac form of the illness.
What the Vet Can Do
Parvo is deadly even in the best of circumstances. Since the main danger is dehydration, the vet will put your dog on some kind of intravaneous liquid nutrition. After that, it's just a waiting game while the dog's natural immunity fights the attack.
If in the unfortunate case you do lose your puppy and desire to get a new one, you must sanitize your house to kill any lingering virus. Parvo is very resilient and can survive for 6 months outside a body even in the harshest climates. The only sure way to kill it is with a strong water and bleach solution. Be sure to drench any areas that your previous dog could have touched. Losing one puppy is hard enough. Don't risk going through it again.
Prevention
The best thing, of course, is prevention. A dog is most vulnerable after its mother's natural anti-bodies have left its system, and before it has built up its own through vaccinations. Be sure and talk with your vet if you have any concerns or questions.
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