Dog Parvo Symptoms | How Long Before a Dog with Parvo Begins Showing Symptoms?


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How Long Before a Dog with Parvo Begins Showing Symptoms?

Filed Under Dog Parvo Symptoms | 4 Comments

What Is Parvo?

Parvo is a systemic infection that affects the intestinal lining in canines. The infection can spread through a litter of puppies by way of infected feces. Puppies usually die within hours or days after symptoms show up. Dehydration is the primary cause of death, and treatment with fluids can save a puppy if applied quickly and forcibly. Veterinarians treating a puppy with parvo will usually begin an I.V. immediately, hoping to combat the illness with a flood of fluids to hydrate the puppy. An infusion of promethazine, or some other anti-nausea drug, will help prevent reguritation.

How Long Before A Puppy Shows Signs of Parvo?

If your puppy, or puppies, are exposed to the parvo virus, they may not show symptoms until six to ten days afterwards. These symptoms include a watery diarrhea, vomiting, weakness and loss of appetite. Parvo is a very serious and deadly condition for dogs, and once they have contacted the virus, the chance of survival is less than twenty percent. Even so, with prompt and aggressive treatment, some puppies have survived this deadly disease. Proper treatment of parvo includes a good supply of fluids and antibiotics, as well as other nutrients added to rehydration solutions.

Parvo should be treated as soon as possible. If you cannot afford the services of a veterinarian, you should aggressively treat your puppy by forcing liquids with a meat basting syringe. Gatorade, clear broth or infant pedialyte can help hydrate a sick puppy, but must be forcibly given as often as possible. Home treatment must replicate the treatment from a veterinary office which provides hydration intravenously, so you must force the liquids every few minutes. You can make an effective oral rehydration solution by adding a teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar to a quart of sugar.

The cardiac form of parvo affects the respiratory system of dogs. Cardiovascular parvo is rare, and is usually contacted by the unborn puppy before birth. Puppies may be stillborn or die soon after birth, due to the disease causing cardiovascular failure. The utero infection will normally affect all of the unborn puppies. Keeping dogs vaccinated against parvo from three weeks to age three or four has greatly reduced the presence of this form of parvo at birth.

Can You Prevent Parvo?

Parvo is a preventable disease. Vaccines given at six to eight weeks can protect a litter of puppies from this devastating killer. Many people can lose every puppy they have from parvo. If one puppy has it, chances are every puppy will become infected. Since symptoms can take up to six days to show up, if one puppy shows signs of parvo, you should take every puppy in the litter to the vet immediately. Dogs should have parvo vaccines every three weeks following the intial vaccination, up to twenty weeks of age. Booster shots should also be given after a year of age and every year afterwards.

Parvo is a disease that spreads quickly and should be taken seriously. It is considered extremely contagious. If one puppy has it, you are right to assume every puppy will be affected. Disinfecting the kennel or sleeping area of the dogs with bleach can help, but once exposed, every puppy should be examined by a veterinarian immediately. The parvo virus has been known to stay active and affect the soil of a contaminated kennel area for up to one year.

Do not expect any result except death if puppy or dog is not promptly treated. The vaccinations available are harmless and offer protection from all known strains of the disease.

Comments

4 Responses to “How Long Before a Dog with Parvo Begins Showing Symptoms?”

  1. Alexa on March 4th, 2012 2:00 am

    My puppy had parvo. I didn’t know it at the time. I took her for parvo shot. She died weeks later. She was 11 weeks old. The vet said that because she had parvo before the shot, the shot made it worse. Wow.

  2. Kyana R on May 23rd, 2012 7:16 pm

    My My puppy just died , I came home and i didnt know any of these syptoms of parvo , next morning she was laying down no movement flies above and on top of her , bugs in her mouth dead !
    But she haves a twin brother But He shows No signs of parvo . I assume Yet . im going to take him in far a treatment , i love these dogs like kids and R.I.P Bee Ivy Carter :( She went through so much we had our good times i wish i could have treated her faster !

  3. Ashley on February 18th, 2015 4:36 pm

    Hi. My name is Ashley P. & I have a few questions & concerns regarding my puppies health.

    I have 2 mixed breed pups. They were both strays when I took them in.. I began to notice some strange activities & behaviors in one of the pups recently.. So l took both to an animal hospital. There 1 pup was dinosed with Parvo & hookworms.. – day before yesterday (2/16/15) His name is Deuce. I got him when he was 3 months old. He is now 4 months old. Until the day before yesterday he had not had any shots. My other pup, Nitro, is about 2 months old. He has not been officially dinosed with the Parvovirus. (I was just told that he has most likely already been effected). That day we got Nitro a Parvo vacc. shot & a dewormer. One of the series of 3. Deuce also got a hookworm shot & a vomiting shot. I’ve been keeping both pups separated from each other. (After Bleaching the entire house). The dinosed pup has been kept up in the bathroom while being constantly checked on. I’ve been force feeding him (Deuce) chicken broth & pedialite to avoid him starving &/or dehydrating.

    I took him back to the doc yesterday where he got an antibiotic shot, a steriod shot, & either a B12 or vomiting shot. (Not quite sure). Around 6pm Deuce has drinked a little chicken broth, ate a few slices of baloney , & drinked pedialite water. He has not threw up or pooped since 4 o’clock the morning before .. (Im not sure which was what. I just know that it was chunky & greenish yellow with no blood.)

    Today I gave him pedialite & chicken broth. He threw it up. I gave him more pedialite. He’s weak.

    Now here’s my questions.
    *Since he ate a little does that mean he’s healing? Or recovering?
    *How long should I keep the pups separated?
    *Should I take the pups out for fresh air in their critical state?
    * Should I mop everywhere deuce walks .

    I’m very concerned. Someone pls help.
    Sincerely, a concern mother.

  4. Terry N. on April 29th, 2015 4:53 pm

    My mastiff had six puppies. I took care of them from the time they were born. They got their first shots at seven weeks. One of them seemed sick her eye was watery. I put eye drops, little did I know they had caught Parvo. Buy the time I found out it was to late. I am so broken hearted. Three of them are now in puppy heaven three of them are fine. We kept one the other three seem to be fine, their new owners tell me. I am giving my puppy who is eleven weeks. Old, and her mommy Parvaid and still praying that they’ll be fine. I threw everything away, toys, blankets, bowls and cleaning everything with bleach. ????