[grace644]

My puppy Hope has Parvo. I did not buy her from a breeder, she is six weeks old. I took her home and noticed that she was still being quiet and was not interested in any of the food or water we were giving her. She than had a little diarrhea. The woman I bought her from said that she had started having diarrhea from the new puppy food. I was still concerned. The next day I took my boyfriend to the airport and on the way back heading home called banfield hospital in pets mart. The woman told me it is very normal for a puppy to act that way in a new environment and not to worry and also the diarrhea could be due to stress. I than came home and the puppy had thrown up. I called another vet for a second opinion she had an appointment for the next day but after I talked to them they said to bring her in. The vet did an initial exam and I asked for him to test her for Parvo. And he came back and told me that he was so sorry but she had it. We discussed options and I couldn't afford the hospitalization he than told me to wait and came back and asked what I could afford he than taught me how to administer an IV with fluids and anti nausia medicine and gave me antibiotics so I could do everything at home.

I went home and started treatment I now am giving her water/ pedia-light every hour. And food every four hours. The food is rice and boiled chicken and baby food.I also this infect EVERYTHING every three hours with bleach. Yesterday she ate the rice and chicken by herself and drank. Today though she won't eat on her own I just force feed her everything, continue with the IV etc. She feels good and plays than lays down and sleeps. She holds everything down. Her diarrhea is not constant it's pretty regular like if she were healthy and going to the bathroom regularly only diarrhea.

I'm posting this because I have heard that even when things seem good like this it can turn. And I am being overly paranoid and worrying constantly. The vet told me everything sounded good when I talked to him today over the phone, but I just am still worried.

Has anyone else delt with this? Does she sound like everything is OK? Should I do something else?

[Alty]

First, she was way too young to take away from her mother. You didn't purchase your puppy from a breeder. This is backyard breeding at it's worst. No breeder releases a puppy until it's at least 8 weeks old. In fact, in most states it's illegal to release a pup until 8 weeks of age. Your "breeder" isn't even close to being a breeder.

Second, parvo has a fatality rate of 80%. I'm sorry to say this, but until she's in the clear of parvo, there's no way to say whether she'll make it or not. You vet may be optimistic, but what you've heard is correct. Things can seem to be going well, then take a turn for the worse.

All you can do is what you have been doing. Continue the meds and the fluids, and hope for the best. There's no way to be certain that she'll survive this. If she does, there will be lasting effects from the parvo. She may be sickly for her entire life. That's parvo.

I hope it all works out. All you can do is what you're doing, and hope for the best.

[grace644]

Thank you for your comment. I realize it is a long road I just want to make sure I am not missing a step that could save her life now. And the way I see it is that regardless this puppy would have been in an even worse situation if I didn't have her, the woman that did have her like I said was not a breeder and was not a backyard breeder I should have been more specific in my post explaining how she got the puppies. She was trying to find abandoned puppies a good home. I realize now that she didn't know much about dogs, but she was trying to do a good thing. If the dog is sick for the rest of her life I know my boyfriend and I will be able to deal with it I wish he was not out of the country now he is better suited to deal with this situation. Thank you though for your honesty and your hope for our Hope.

[paleophlatus]

Well, at least 20% of them survive. In my experience, once a pup begins to eat and drink on it's own, it is well on the way to recovery. When the diarrhea disappears, the game is essentially finished.

Parvo kills because the intestinal lining is so damaged that it allows intestinal toxins and bacteria to be absorbed into the circulatory system (blood), which then creates systemic infections and toxemia that, unless controlled by antibiotics, usually kill the animal. The degree of damage to the gut is proportional to the severity of the diarrhea.

A recovery from Parvo can cause secondary effects later. Heart problems may arise from puppy infections, but there is no way to tell in which pups it will show up. I would say that she had a rather mild case of Parvo, as rapidly as she has gotten over it. Possibly her mother had some degree of immunity that she was able to partially shield the puppies with.

I wish you continued good fortunes, and commend you for taking on the not insignificant task of caring for what could have been a severely sick animal.

Call the vets today and ask if you need continue with the fluids and other treatment you may be giving.