You all gave me such great advice. I want to know if a puppy can be born w/ and carry parvo?

Question

Since I have lost my pup to parvo Monday I've been doing lots of surfing about parvo. I've read mixed articles about it. So, askin' for others advice as I know there are lots of people that have gone through this.
I have read articles that say that there is no chronic carrier of this disease. Pups can not be born w/ it.
My guy was a year old 65 pounds and was not dehydrated not did he have fever or dirreaha when I got him into the vet.He was weak and was throwing up his water that he'd drink but was not eatting. Vet almost guarenteed me he'd make it. Took him on Saturday around 4:30 pm and he passed at 11:00 am Monday morning. Said he had to be born w/ it and his immune system just wasn't strong enough to fight it off. Some thing I've read say they can be and others say they can't. Also, some articles I've read say it only lives in ur home for about a month others say longer. As far as outside I've read any where from 5 months to over a year. Is thee anybody that can tell me from

their own personal experience. I've never lost an animal to this nasty nasty disease. We had a puppy when i was young that got this but he lived and that was 25 years ago. Sure things have progressed information wise since then.
So, please help me know which is right. I'm starting to wonder if my guy really had parvo.
Thanks all for reading and takin' the time to give me your advice.

THIS ALL IS FOR GITEMGREG -- MY DOG DID HAVE HIS SHOTS!!!!!!!!!! As a matter of fact he got his shots of Wednesday and by Friday wasn't eatting and by Saturday was at the vet.
I THINK YOU ARE VERY RUDE AND IF THIS IS HOW YOU RESPOND TO QUESTIONS I THINK YOU SHOULD JUST KEEP YOU OPPINIONS TO YOURSELF.

Answer 1

well let me say that i am very sorry for your lost.. a couple months ago i bought a puppy from someone and he did not look good at all. the next day i took him to the vet and they didnt even say he had pravo they said that he looks like it but he didnt.. they wanted him to stay the day to make sure he was ok.. i took him home and then it was july 4th.. he was getting worst.. not eating or really drinking any water and just throwing up and laying around.. i took him back to the vet the next morning on a wednesday.. they said he did have parvo and that he had to catch it from another dog who had it or he came in contact with the disease from something.. on thursday they said he was doing good and he they were really hopeful in having him live through it.. the next day on friday when i called the vet they told me he did not make it.. i am still heartbroken over it.. they said that most dogs can pull through but some are way too sick to even deal with it.. i thought with all the medicine he would be fine and everything.. they told me they are not born with it but catch it from other dogs.. i have never forgiven the person who sold me the puppy and let the dog get as sick as he was (he was a 8 week old american bulldog and he weighed only 8 lbs, my cat was bigger than him) and i took him to rescue him. as for parvo i hope they can come up with a cure for all the dogs.. when i adopted a new puppy i washed everything that my first puppy came in contact with and bleached all the floors and cleaned every surface, if you get another puppy i sugest you do the same and as for your yard since it hasnt been more than 30 days pour bleach on the grass where he went too.. yeah the grass will die but atleast another puppy wont .. i hope u get through this and thanks for listening to me too.. take care

Answer 2

After 14 years with a rescue and 1000s of dogs since I have seen it all. Normally Parvo only hits pups, young pups. But for every rule there now seems to be an exception.

We had grown dogs, several years old and fully vetted suddenly dropping dead. No warning signs of anything. We are on several acres with plenty of room to seperate and quarantine. We use the top stuff to spray down the grounds, pens, etc. These were healthy dogs one minute and then dead. Tests confirmed the Parvo virus as cause!! The vet was clueless. Then we heard from another well set up rescue about the same situation there, in the same State.

Your vet should and could have tested for the Parvo to know for sure. With the age and health of your dog he may not have even suspected Parvo. Most would not have. I assume your dog was fully vetted with all shots?? If so, then Parvo should not have been a issue. All we can figure is that there may be mutation strains of Parvo out there that the vaccines are not covering.

All of our cases and real problems with litters of pups came after periods of heavy rains. We are in a rural farming area. We suspect that the heavy rains might have washed the virus from other areas to our acres. The water table rose??

There may be no answer to your situation for now. I trust you have a good vet that did all he could. I am sorry for your loss! The possibility that we are over vaccinating animals is a big issue now and is finally being researched. I have a feeling that the vet community will not be pleased with the outcome of this research as they will lose monies. There was a time when animals did not get all the vetting they do now and were healthy and died of very old age. A lot is environmental I fear.

Again, my heart goes out to you for your loss.

Answer 3

I'm going to say that your vet is full of it and probably lost your dog from some sort of negligence. But I have a negative view of vets to begin with. Given the symptoms and age of your dog he should have been more than able to survive this. I think the disease isn't well understood because some say that once it's been caught it can't be caught again and then I've heard that it can be. Which would mean that vaccinating against it is useless. So I can't tell you for sure. It can live for up to 10 (ten) years inside and close to that outside. Sunlight and freezing temperatures won't kill it. The only way to kill it is with bleach. For future dogs I can recommend that Parvaid stuff. It works wonders. Don't use the Parvoguard, the Parvaid is better.
Edit: I forgot to mention that there are also imitator virus out there which have all the symptoms of Parvo but are actually something different (another reason I'm losing faith in the vaccine). The Parvaid is supposed to work with them as well although I don't have personal experience with that. Some of my friends do and said it works wonders.
Edit2: On the weakened immune system. Often over vaccination is a cause of a weakened immune system. When they give a shot that has three in one they are causing an extreme strain on the immune system which can only fight one disease at a time. This has a traumatic and often lifelong affect on your dog. I have all the information if you are interested.

Answer 4

The vet probably told you that because if you got him from the vet, the exposure could have come from there. I also had a puppy to die from this disease that was totally healthy and he was like a child to me. Anyhow, a friend brought their puppy with them when they came to visit me, and the dog had the beginnings of parvo, which we did not know. Due to the exposure, my dog got it, and my God, that is a terrible way for an animal to die. I have also read that the parvo virus will stay in the ground, pen, kennel etc., for up to six months and nothing will kill it, you just have to wait it out. In my case, this was not true. We adopted another puppy approx. 3 months after his death, and he was placed in the same pen and he is now 5 years old.
I know how you must feel. It took me a long, long time to get over it because of what this nasty virus can do.

Answer 5

I am truly sorry to hear of your lose. But Parvo is a disease that can be caught through other dogs feces, saliva or urine. The only way to protect your friend is to keep it's shots up to date. They can be born with the bacterium in their system if the mom was not vaccinated. If this is the case they usually show signs within 4-6 weeks. Once it becomes full blow it is untreatable, the area were he lived can be toxic for 3-5yrs. The neighbours or people along his run area who have a once only vaccinated animal can be spreading Parvo or other bad virus's all over.
My condolences

Answer 6

Nothing that I have read says that they can be born with it. They can be born with a weakened immune system tho and it would make them more susceptible to any disease. I am so sorry for your loss.

Answer 7

http://www.workingdogs.com/parvofaq.htm
Check out this website for information on the disease. I am so sorry for the lose of your pet.

Answer 8

CANNOT be "born with" or "carry"!!!!!!!
IT'S A ***VIRUS****!!!!!
MUST have been EXPOSED to the VIRUS!!!!

*****WHY***** wasn't it VACCINATED??? You KILLED a dog cuz you were TOO CHEAP to pay $10 for a SHOT??????