My 8 week old puppy, who is a black lab mix, was just diagnosed with Parvo, what can I expect?

Question

He's been vomiting and having diarrhea, been lethargic, and is refusing food and water. We took him to the vet already, and he's prescribed something for the nausea and an antibiotic. He told us to watch him closely, because he may need to be admitted. For anyone here who has been through this, what kind of costs have you experienced? I'm ready to do what I need for my dog, I just was wondering what sort of costs I should be preparing for...

Thanks.

I just adopted him Monday from the Humane Society

Answer 1

I had a German Shepherd pup that got Parvo, then later a Staffordshire Bull Terrier that got the disease. Both had had their parvo shots. The Shepherd had to be put on IVs and the bill was about $500.00. The Staffie had to go to inhouse care at an Emergency Clinic. That was close to $1,000 and would be more in today's economy. Talk to the vet about an estimate. It's a hard disease and sometimes leaves the animal weak or shakey. Give your dog lots of water. If he won't drink, have the vet put him on IVs. Lots of luck.

Answer 2

Parvo is a disease caused by a virus. Your pup will vomit and have diarrhea (often bloody). Being that young the virus may also attack his heart. The virus attacks the white bloodcells so his immunity will go down (that's why he's on antibiotics). Sometimes they get over it fast without too many problems, sometimes it is so severe that no matter what the vets try, they will die. Anything in between is possible. If the pup needs to be admitted to the vet hospital, they will put him on intravenous fluids and more medication. It will be quite expensive. I don't know where you live, as costs vary between locations, but if it is severe you may be looking at a bill over $1,000, and possibly more. Ask you vet to give you an idea. I hope your pup recovers fast. Good luck!
PS I just read your update that he is from the Humane Society. If he was just vaccinated, the test the vet did on his poop (if that is the one he did) may show a false positive result. It would be nice if he did NOT have parvo......

Answer 3

At the best: Expect a few hundred out of this. Parvo is expensive.

At the worst: Expect death. Pups known to make it through parvo have a rough time,sometimes,through life. It ravishes their immune system pretty badly and a lot of puppies don't make it through it.

However,you caught it early if there's no blood in the stool or vomit. You have a good chance and I wish you the best. Just follow your vet and hope strongly that the little guy will be okay. The only thing you can do is try to make him feel better and comfortable.

Answer 4

The price is in the air, it could be as little as $100 or as much as $500. Get ready most cases don't survive. Not much can be done, because when we notice the signs of parvo in an animal chances are high that the slow dying process has already began. U can get all the medicine the vet has to offer and it still not work. Parvo is brutal to all involved, I wish u and yours all the luck. Hope your pup has a strong will to live?

Answer 5

This is very serious. Read this please: The virus is not contagious to humans.

I wonder why the dog did not have its Parvo shot, which would have prevented this. A lot of dogs who get Parvo die so I am not sure why the Vet sent the puppy home unless he did not want the poor thing in his hospital. The Parvo virus is highly contagious - do not not not get him around other animals and do not let other dogs get near places where he goes to the bathroom because the virus can live on old feces and infect other animals.

Answer 6

it will be expensive and you will be very lucky if your puppy survives. I have heard from a dog breeder to drop a whole egg down his mouth and make him swallow, somehow the parvo virus attaches it self and flushes out. Don't really know if it works, but it couldn't hurt.
never take puppies 6 months old to any public place. Parvo remains in the ground for a very long time. It could be anywhere and infects puppies 6months and younger.

Answer 7

parvo is a virus not a bacteria the anti biotic will do no good... your dog will die of dehydration unless you take him to a diff rent vet and have an iv put in him,,, since he is a puppy he may only live a couple of days so don't delay.....parvo virus is very contagious and will stay in the yard I hear for seven years I'm not to sure how accurate that is but i sprayed my yard with water and bleach to kill the virus

best of luck
been there done that

Answer 8

Is your puppy still taking food from it's mother, if so then that will interfer with the antibiotic. I have never needed to deal with parvo in any of my dogs, but I found the site below and it seem to be a good site and might answer most of your answers.

Answer 9

May not have been parvo
Another possible explanation for your puppy’s symptoms is that it had some disease other than parvovirus, despite your veterinarian’s diagnosis.

Veterinarians diagnose parvovirus disease by its symptoms – fever, depression, diarrhea, vomiting – AND by checking the dog’s stool for presence of the virus or serum antibody level. But there are other gastrointestinal diseases that produce symptoms that closely resemble those of parvovirus, and even the presence of low levels of parvovirus in the stool doesn’t necessarily mean that the dog’s symptoms are caused by it.

Answer 10

First of all, you need to go back to the shelter that you adopted him from immediately. They need to know. If your pup has it, in all probability, he was exposed there.
Secondly, I can be expensive to treat a dog with Parvo and there is always the chance that you can loose him.
I will keep you and him in my prayers for a complete recovery.