Veterinarains Here? PARVO Help!

[badboy783]

My wife bought me a 7 week old Great Dane Puppy for Christmas. We picked him up Christmas Eve.

On Thursday he wouldn't eat as much as he did the first couple of days and had diarrhea so we got him to the vet on Friday and he was diagnosed with Parvo after a positive snap test.

We have been treating him in home. Friday the vet gave him 200ML under the skin as he was dehydrated because of diarrhea. Since yesterday he has been refusing food and water on his own. We have been force feeding him recovery and critical health can food through a syringe as well as liquids (gatorade and petialite). We also got a script and have him on .5 ML of 12 MG Tamiflu every 12 hours. He is also on anti-nausea and antibiotic pills. He has not thrown up the food but doesn't want anything to do with the tamiflu. There is no blood in the burped up tamiflu and no blood in the bowel movements. We also have a fluids bag from the vet but haven't had to give it to him yet because he's passing the tint skin test and gum check for dehydration. He's fighting the force feeding like a bandit and is showing no signs of getting weaker.

My wife and I are on a rotating schedule to keep him under supervision and forcing fluids and food every 2-3 hours around the clock. He is playful after naps and potty breaks and can hold movements until he goes outside but we haven't let him play much at all and keep him layed down most of the day.

Tonight he had 2 licks of water on his own but burped it back up. How far are we from being out of the woods? I know he has to drink and eat on his own to start showing signs of beating it but so far there's been no blood in vomit or bowel movements and only 2 times has he burped up fluids in the last 30 hours.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Worried sick about this little thing.

 

[java]

Wish I were a vet and could give you help, but all I have is encouragement. It sounds like you and your wife are amazing.

Hook 'em!

 

[monarch]

...no expert here, but i'm thinking that maybe his little body is taking it's time trying to get used to all of the current meds. sounds like you and your wife are doing a very good job of staying upon schedule. keep him warm... allow him to stay hydrated as much as possible, since he is not eating appropriately.

...i certainly wish you the best...

 

[abcee]

Read up and watch

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/c_dg_canine_parvovirus_infection#.UsAQoPRDv-t

Good luck with your puppy

 

[thirtyand0]

Freeze some Pedialyte in ice cube form and let him lick that out of your hands.

Boil some chicken. Tear it up and let him have it. ( bland food)

Has always worked for me. Good luck.

 

[bayou vista horn]

i'm sorry to hear about your little guy. no info here, just prayers and hoping for a quick recovery. please keep us posted.

 

[Thiggystyle]

My wife runs a dog rescue here in San Antonio. I read your post to her and she wanted me to give you the number to Austin Pets Alive (512) 466-0720 this is the PARVO ward, ask for Melissa or Chelsea. You can call 24 hours a day and they will help address any questions you have. She said you have a long road ahead of you and you might be better off checking him into a 24 hour vet clinic who can provide the hands on attention that you are currently doing.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. There is no easy fix. Once you get your little guy on the road to recovery you'll have to sanitize your house and you won't be able to have another dog in your house for almost a year.

Keep me posted and let me know if I can be of any help.

 

[GARCH]

Put him down and get a new one? Just kidding we saved a dog with parvo once it was a pain and was expensive but she made it.

 

[badboy783]

Thanks for all the kind words and advice. He's drinking water on his own this morning so he may be on the right side of this thing now.

 

[Chris Flanagan]

Put him down and get a new one? Just kidding we saved a dog with parvo once it was a pain and was expensive but she made it.

Wife is a vet tech. The 24 hour clinic is the best option but it is expensive. Most people decide to put the dog down because of the costs. If you can afford it, do it. Doesn't guarantee success but if you can and want to, do it.

 

[GARCH]

It can permanently stunt the dog, turns them into runts...

 

[java]

badboy,

Please listen to thiggy about disinfecting the house, and no other dogs for a year. I do know that Parvo survives outside a host for a long period.

My brother has always had hunting dogs. He breeds his best dogs (naturally) in order to improve the line. When he inherited some property, he moved his kennels to this idyllic setting. Soon after moving to this property, one of the bitches delivered, and all of the pups got sick and died of parvo. They had been completely isolated, on the property, from any other dogs, except those he owns.

He worked with the vet to avoid future problems, but pups kept dying from parvo. In a final attempt to get pups through the vulnerable phase, he had to administer a reduced dose of vaccine to each pup on a daily basis. He has since bought a new piece of property and moved the dogs. The vet said it was a real learning experience for him. NOTE: this was about 8 years ago.

PARVO is a beetch.

 

[Hiwood]

Parvo is a biatch...when I lived in Lake Dallas, my friend/landlord owned the vet clinic in town,Anytime they had a parvo outbreak at the clinic he would do a super scrub of the clinic and the kennels they were in. He would also wear the Tyvek painters overalls so he wouldnt bring the virus home to his dogs...To the OP, unfortunately you are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination, its not some 48 hour bug...without sounding melodramatic, your dog is in the fight for his life...Good Luck and prayers for you and your dog

 

[badboy783]

Wife is a vet tech. The 24 hour clinic is the best option but it is expensive. Most people decide to put the dog down because of the costs. If you can afford it, do it. Doesn't guarantee success but if you can and want to, do it.

Not going to put him down unless he regresses to the point where nothing can be done. Right now he's not losing blood and not requiring blood transfusions. I can't afford to shell out 5-10 grand at a hospital but the vet is helping us with all the meds, foods, and fluids to take care of at home.

He's drinking on his own today but still fighting the food so we are forcing it with a syringe. He still has a lot of strength and fights like a bandit. He's playful after naps and can control his bowel movements to go to the door or wait until we take him outside. No blood in vomit or stool. Had solid poop this morning but the runny poo's are back this afternoon. In the last 48 hours he's only vomited about 4 times and he's not thorwing up the food. It looks more like thick drool and happens after the tamiflu.

Wife and I are up with him around the clock pushing fluids and food. The fact that he's finally starting to drink on his own is a good sign. About to return to the vet for more anti-nausea meds and antibiotics to fight the secondary infections.

Thanks again to all for the thoughts. We are bleeching the house every evening so far and will be throwing everything away that he's come in contact with, including toys, blankets, pillows, and bowls. We moved the other 2 dogs up stairs and keep them in the front yard, away from his movements in the back yard.

It's a struggle but it's not the dogs fault he's sick so we are going to do everything we can to get him through it. Putting him down is the very last resort and he's shown now signs of getting worse.

 

[java]

Check with the vet to see if your other two dogs can get an updated Parvo vaccine. Perhaps it would give them more protection.

Good luck!

 

[pdrscott99]

Told my wife about your pups situation and she highly recommends Agrisept-L made by Nutri-DIEM. Look it up on the internet. Can by online at Amazon I think. Great for killing parasites for both humans and animals. You can put a couple drops in its water. Totally natural, won't interfere with any meds you're giving your pup. Just a suggestion. Hope he gets well soon!

 

[doc longhorn]

This is not my field of study, but it is my daughters and her husband - both aggie veterinarians. (Yeah, I know - it is the shame of the family ). I'll ask them.

I do know that Parvo is highly infectious‎, so I hope there are no other pets around. From what I remember, it can also damage the dogs heart.

 

[badboy783]

Just wanted to update that the pup made it out of the woods on Sunday. He started to drink fluids on his own that day but we still had to force feed him through a syringe.

On monday his appetite came back and he has been slamming down food ever since. He started back on chicken and rice and has now gone back to his hard food eating about 4 cups a day the last two days. Vet says we are lucky and that only about 20-30% make it through. I'll probably find a couple of pet sites to post the hourly treatment we gave him at home for other who can't afford up to 10 grand at a pet hospital.

He's put back on all the weight lost from the virus and is thickening out in a hurry.

Thanks for the thoughts and posts, I'm very relieved.

 

[Bandit]

Outstanding. Keep us updated and upload pictures of the pup when you can.