Parvo!

(Warning: the following sentence will remind you of a late-night TV commercial).

If you have a new puppy, or are thinking about getting one, YOU NEED TO READ THIS!

(Sorry, we're not trying to sell you the latest and greatest nose hair trimmer. Parvo really is a bad disease. If you don't know about it, keep reading).

Soon it will be warmer, and we anticipate our yearly rise in parvo cases. Parvovirus causes a horrible disease in puppies or adolescent dogs. It's EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS. Basically, every environment your dog is likely to encounter probably contains some parvovirus. If your puppy is either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated, exposure to the virus often leads to disease. Many dogs will die, either from dehydration secondary to profound vomiting and diarrhea, or from secondary infections. Even if treated appropriately, once symptoms develop, not all dogs will make it. Most adult dogs are immune, either from prior disease or vaccination.

We usually see more disease in the spring, when people start taking their puppies out to the park or even just to walk around the neighborhood. The problem is, so does everybody else! And if one dog is shedding the virus, the area gets contaminated. The virus is very hardy, and can live for months in the environment. The unprotected puppy walks down to the local park and gets infected.

Treatment usually involves hospitalization and intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Many potential complications can develop, and as mentioned earlier, not all treated animals will live. It can also be very expensive to treat dogs with parvovirus.

A very good vaccine exists, but it's still difficult to get puppies protected. You have to vaccinate them early and often (but not too often!) in order to get them protected. So follow your veterinarian's advice and make sure to complete the entire vaccine series for your dog. (Some breeds, like Rottweilers, are more at risk and need more vaccines than other dogs).

Things to remember:

1. Take your new puppy to the veterinarian very soon after you get him/her.
2. Follow your veterinarian's advice about vaccines (it's way cheaper than treating your dog for parvo).
3. Don't take your new puppy to any public place until it has finished it's series of puppy vaccines. (Your puppy could still get parvo even if it never leaves your yard, but public parks and other high traffic areas make for higher risk of contamination).
   

Want more info? Check out this website. Click on additional sections on the right side for more info.

Update 3/14/09: Even celebrities' dogs aren't immune!