Has anyone had a dog with parvo... my new basset hound puppy has it we just found out today the breeder say that she didn't get it from there but we have only had the dog for 8 days and well she got sick on Saturday night. Also I have 2 other dogs at the house that aren't sick with parvo and one is just a puppy. I am worried about her now too. She has only had her first set of shots. Th basset we were told has had 2 sets of shots but we are not sure if they are telling the truth or not. What should we do and what about my other puppy...

Oh, my gosh... you really have a problem on your hands! I have had a pup with parvo before. She also had been vaccinated twice (and this was confirmed by our vet). There is a good page that explains how this can happen HERE (http://www.vetinfo.com/dparvo.html). It also explains the incubation periods, etc.

I think you should speak to your vet about your other dogs risks... especially if they haven't been fully vaccinated with their final vaccines. Hopefully they have enough immunity, but if you suspect ANY symptoms get to the vet immediately. Parvo is highly contagious but the more quick the dogs receive treatment the better. Did you mention to the vet that you have other dogs?

Good luck, and if you have any other questions let me know.

Hugs, Didi

I hope your puppy is now under the care of a vet. Prompt IV fluids is its only hope. I don't know if that link you were given is trustworthy or not. I like to refer people to Canine Parvovirus, What you should know about (http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/canine_parvo/parvo_brochure.asp) a site I know they can trust. I have seen links posted to too many sites that are disasters. Just because a site discusses the subject doesn't mean you can trust what it says. It is much easier to Google things up than evaluate them. I trust the AVMA. Essentially there is a window between when the immunity passed on by its mother, and the puppy's next shot has time to take effect, when it can catch parvo or something else. At that time, one sniff of where a sick dog eliminated in the last 6 months is all it takes. The sick puppy could have easily picked up parvo after leaving the breeder.

Your other puppy may or may not be safe. Vets can do what is called checking titer, and see if it is immune, but it is seldom done. It might be safest to get it out of the house for a while if you have a safe place for it. I would treat everything in your house with chlorine bleach. It is the only thing that kills the virus. It may be less effective outside.

I have had problems in the past with a vet misdiagnosing an animal. Parvo is a big misdiagnosis. In the past if you took a dog to the vet with vomiting and bloody, watery stool his/her first 'guess' would be "Parvo." The problem with that is that there are a lot of parasites, illnesses and other problems that have the same symptoms as parvo.

Two summers ago I had a puppy, which had all his shots, get sick. I told the vet I thought it might be coccidia since there were so many birds out where I live. Birds tend to carry the parasite and dogs love bird poo. The vet said, and I quote, “I think its parvo.” I hesitantly accepted his diagnosis only to lose the puppy. Another one got sick. I took a stool sample to different vet. I told him I believe it is coccidia and will not accept parvo or “I think its parvo” as an answer. I want a thorough check and especially for coccidia. I was right, it was coccidia that they had. Thanks to the other vets misdiagnosis I lost the first puppy to a horrible death that could have been very easily cured. A lot of the time, it is not parvo but something else. Parvo is horrible but if caught soon enough can be cured. It is not air born. The horrible smell is the smell of the curdled, congealed blood for which is noticed in cases with coccidia or other parasites and even in cancer patients. That does not mean it is parvo. It is also a sign of pancreatitis as well as something that was swallowed and shouldn't have been. The best test is a thorough test, even a 1st, 2nd and 3rd opinion.

I have cared for animals for over 20 something years and I have seen a lot and dealt with a lot. I think people need to take a second look at what is really going on. Vets misdiagnose parvo either because they don't actually know and it is easy to diagnose, or because they want more money out of us desperate pet owners who want to save our babies. The survival depends on the right treatment or cure. Parvo is highly contagious if the animal is in contact with it, but for the most part they don't always get sick and the ones who do can get over it if treated properly and in time. The vets and owners just need to pay attention to what is really going on because parvo is not as wide spread as it seems. And it is not actually the number one killer in pets; Ignorance is and people need to know.