Any experience or knowledge on parvo?

Question

I posted yesterday about a chihuahua I found half frozen in my yard and I brought him in to warm him up, feed him, and look for an owner. Well the owner showed up today with papers to prove ownership and I thought nothing of it. But when I had called animal control yesterday about picking him up if no one showed up, they told me that my dogs would need tested for parvo in 7-10 days just in case. I looked up symptoms of parvo and vomiting is one of them. Lo and behold, this morning before the owner came, the dog was vomiting all over my house! It never did have a bowel movement the entire time it was here so I can't tell you about stools. Should I be worried? I'm scared I unknowingly exposed my dogs to a deadly disease just trying to help another animal. My dogs are current on all vaccines but I have 2 Lab puppies that are 19 weeks old and a 4 year old mix breed. (golden & bernard) I will have them both tested but could anyone tell me what the chances are that the vomiting was a fluke?

Oh and no my dogs didn't interact with the chihuahua but they were in the same house. My dogs were kept downstairs while I kept the chihuahua in my room until bedtime then he was put into the kennel in our heated garage while my dogs stayed inside. They did run into one another for maybe 5 minutes during the transfer to the garage. I just know how deadly parvo is and it scares me to no end!

ALLEY: The vomit was extremely dark brown with some yellow once. Like I said before, he never did have a bowel movement while here so I have no idea if he has diahrrea or not.

To everyone else, all of my dogs have all current vaccines. My puppies received vaccines right on schedule as recommended by our vet.

Answer 1

you need to talk to your vet and tell them your puppies have possibly been exposed. the 4 year old dog should be safe. and if the puppies have had at least 3 sets of vaccines their chances are low, but still there. usually the parvo bacteria cells are spread through the stools, but not unheard of in vomit. you're best to bleach the area the pup vomited in if you can. keep an eye on your pups, if they start to show signs of being lethargic or vomiting or a bloody diarrhea, take them to your vet immediatly. if they have had a parvo booster in the past 2 weeks, they could give a false positive on a parvo test. if you cannot bleach ask your vet if they have something that would be safe to use on carpet that kills parvo. honestly the pup probably vomited from being so cold, and near death. i hope the owners took this pup to the vet. and if your pups are currant on vaccines there is a low chance of them getting it, but if you can keep them out of the area the pup was in until you can use a cleaner that kills the parvo strain you would be best to do so. and since your pups have had more than 1 parvo booster, even if they do contract parvo, they have a much better chance of fighting it off. since their bodies have already been exposed to this virus from the vaccine, it won't be a foreign virus in a weak or immune compromised pet. these are the pups that usually die and catch parvo. good for you for taking this little pup in, and good luck to you.

Answer 2

Since your puppy is at the vet, she is being watched very closely. That is probably the best thing for her. Parvo doesn't always result in death. Once they get the parvo under control, then they can focus more on the other stuff. When I was really little my grandfather's dog had parvo. I remember it taking a while for her to get better and feeding her gatorade. I know that my mom's dog had some kind of skin condition. She didn't take him to the vet, but she went to like a feed store and bought something for mange. We're almost positive it wasn't mange; however, it did make his skin better. It was a dip that they had to do kind of like a bath. Mange is typically contagious. He was around other dogs for at least six months, and they never got it. It didn't really look like mange either, but the dip treatment helped anyway. Maybe ask your vet to treat him for mange and see if it helps. I don't have any experience with hookworms, but found a site that contained info on it. It says that they can be treated usually by the same thing used for treating round worms. I also read that it's one of the most common worms in dogs. It can cause dry skin. Here's a link for it. Hopefully it's just the parvo that you really to need to worry about, and the other stuff can be treated easily. I hope the little guy gets better and that he is able to go back home soon! Also, call the local pound and ask for advice on the woman who sold him to you. I know there are other organizations you can call about her as well since the other puppy will likely be sick as well.

Answer 3

Unfortunatly over the years I have seen way to many dogs and puppies die of parvo. The dog pound where I use to live had an outbreak and just about every dog that entered that pound for about 3 years ended up with it if they weren't up to date with shots. I had to take a dog there (a rescue was picking him up there) and he was only there for a couple of hours and wasn't due for his booster shot for 2 more months and he died of parvo shortly after being there as did a few others around the same time. My dad bought a house and didn't know that the previous owner had a couple of dogs die of Parvo and he buried them in the yard and some how (according to the vet) the parvo got into the soil and when we put our puppies in a kennel out back in that area they ended up with parvo (only had first shot and were only there to potty/play for a few minutes). It is a nasty thing that spreads fast and the vet told us to not even have a puppy in an area where a dog had been with parvo for atleast 3 years unless the puppy was complete on the shots. I would deffinitly give your vet a call and let them know your puppies were exposed. As for the 4 year old as long as it isn't close to time for booster he should be ok.

Answer 4

On another note if the chihuahua isn't a puppy the chances that's the reason it was vomiting aren't that great. Generally if its to the vomiting stage, the vomit will be brown (blood), and there will be bloody diarrhea. It could have just been the change in food, worms, stress etc. Not to discount the risk parvo presents.

Answer 5

As long as your dogs received the parvo vaccination, they will not be affected by the chihauhua's presence. Talk to your vet right away and have your dogs tested if you aren't sure if they got the shot. The earlier parvo is discovered, the better chance your dogs will have of getting over it if they caught it.

Next time you see a stray dog, take it straight to a vet or shelter. You don't want to expose your pets to anything serious, let alone risk your own health.

I hope everything works out okay.

Answer 6

If your puppies have received a series of 4 parvo vaccination, they will probably be okay. The older dog should be fine. I would call your vet just to be on the safe side.

Answer 7

Look at its gums and see if they are white. If they are then it deffently has parvo. If it does then you really need to clean as good as possible everywhere the dog has been. If the dog is a puppy then there might be a chance of it still living but if it is older there is most likely no chance at all. I hope it dont have it I love animals so much I take in alot of dogs also. But good luck and dont let your other dogs anywhere where the dog has been until you have cleaned very good.

Answer 8

i called a vet about my chihauhau once right before she died, and he told me that it is in the ground, when you first bring a dog home , before you put him out side n the ground to get it a parvo shot. some grounds have parvo in the grounds more than others. when i get a chua. or a winny dog i give it to them first. as soon as they hit the ground they can catch it. with in 2 to 3 days they will have simptoms of it. with diheria. vomiting and passing blood. real week. just when you think they r getting better, they r gone the next. the shot is really important. it is though in some animals, others it dont even bother. i have a bulldog that has never had a parvo shot. even sometimes if it gets on the ground , there is a chance you can catch it early before it gets into the blood stream. but i have never heard of one dog getting it from another, its in the ground.

Answer 9

its most likely a fluke.. yellow is stomach acid... however when pups first get sick with parvo they may not have blood ect. BLEACH EVERYTHING 3 H2O to 1 bleach..no soap it will dilute the bleach power... if u have the number of the owner call her....call your vet. and i hope its not parvo... it's not a cheap sickness and not a good rate that make it......

i'm sorry hope you will take another one in...but keep it out the house untill u take it to the vet.
hope it's not parvo...lots a luck

Answer 10

Your best bet is to have a talk with your veterinarian. He/she can best advise you on how to protect your dogs. Is there anyway you can talk to the owner of the Chihuahua to see how he/she is doing?