# Parvo



## Poodle_Lvr (Apr 27, 2010)

The breeder I have chosen a pup from has had parvo go through her kennel. Sadly the pup I chose passed away. I am broken hearted about this. The breeder has offered me a male from the same litter and I have chosen to accept. He had parvo as well but is well on the road to recovery. 

I have a friend and a family member who are both uneducated and who have bought their dogs from BYB's trying to tell me to move on and buy from a different breeder. I don't want to as I love the sire and dam and I do trust the breeder I have chosen. I do have a few questions I hope you all can help me with. 

Can a dog get parvo again?
Will there be any lasting side effects or could it stunt his growth or development?
Is there anything I should be concerned about?

I want to be well educated about this!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I have to say that I would be very, very wary of taking on a pup that had parvo. The virus can be shed for many months after recovery, which will limit taking the puppy where there are other dogs, and complicate socialising. There are reports of neurological and other after effects, often affecting the dog for the rest of its life. I am sure there are many, many dogs that make a full recovery - and as far as I am aware it does mean the dog will never again suffer from the disease, although it may be a carrier - but it would not be a risk I would take. I would either wait for the breeder to clear the infection and produce a healthy litter, or start looking elsewhere.


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

I am so sorry this happened. I don't have an answer for you and really hope our breeders would chime in. If it was me, I would be very tempted to walk away.


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## neVar (Dec 25, 2009)

personally i would walk away- just becuse you don't know wht damage is done. It's hard on a pup of that age to get parvo. 

That said- sadly parvo IS easy for breeders to bring home. nd many good breeders are using minimal vccine now which IMO is great- but does lead to a risk of not as much being passed on to the pups. 

If this dog ws 2 months pst parvo? yes i'd probably take it (at a discounted rate- substantially) but just healed? NO. 

As to shedding- if you have parvo in your area- your no more issue (in public plces- ie dog park) Then anyone else. But you can't go to people who have unvccinated dogs/pups etc houses. . . vet clinics cn be tough to get appointment swith etc (They have to be careful dogs coming in and out that they don't contaminate other clients etc) 

It's sad an can happen to any good breeder. I know several very good breeders who have had parvo go through- most likely picked up at a dog show. their house/yard is tainted for years after.


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## FozziesMom (Jun 23, 2010)

You might consider asking for some kind of guarantee or recompense if there are problems down the road.

Why? Because My worry would be that parvo would be considered a "pre existing condition" and any add on illnesses would not be covered under pet insurance. so you could (the experts here should comment) have other expensive vet bills. 

I don't want to sound judgemental, but I would think twice about a breeder who has parvo "go through the kennel." I think most good breeders are hyper careful, but the experts here would know how common this is.


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## Cdnjennga (Jul 30, 2009)

That is so sad, parvo is a horrible disease. Unfortunately even the best breeders can be affected - I know our PWD picked it up when she was an 8 month puppy even though she had been fully vaccinated.

I would think twice before taking the puppy. Maybe talk it over with your vet? My concern would be that I did a quick search on Google and saw that affected pups can be more susceptible to reoccurence. Parvo is devastating and not something you want to deal with unless you have to. It would be easier to walk away now then have a Parvo affected pup down the road.


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## wishpoo (Sep 12, 2009)

I would pass :smow:


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## Cameo (Feb 5, 2010)

I owned a parvo survivor field champion bloodline beagle. Man, he was a gorgeous dog (think Uno looking) and his lineage was there for performance, but he was just never completely right. He was a very sweet dog, good with people, kids, and the other animals, but he showed no interest in scenting ANYTHING! He was like a perpetual puppy. Could not concentrate on his training or working in the field and I honestly believe, tho have no proof, that his fight with Parvo caused this. I ended up rehoming him to someone who wanted his bloodline and was going to use him to build a line of hunting dogs for his own kennel. 

Personally, I would not purchase another dog that had survived Parvo, especially if I was going to be doing any type of performance events and I certainly wouldn't pay full price even if I did decide to.


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## 1Jurisdiva (May 4, 2010)

I am so sorry this happened to you! I think the consensus is right that you should pass on this puppy (poor thing). One of the advantages of getting a puppy from a reputable breeder is that you know the puppy's health history, and can get a start with a relatively blank health slate. I am betting this breeder is very nice, but why would you pay for a puppy that has such potential for problems down the line? I could see weighing the pros and cons if this were a rescue puppy.

I still applaud you for ignoring your friends' advice about going to a BYB. Given how long parvo lingers in a kennel, I would move on to another reputable breeder.


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## spoosrule (Feb 16, 2008)

My cousin used to work at a vet clinic and adopted a Chocolate Lab puppy that had survived parvo after the owners decided to have her put down simply because they didn't think they would be able to sell her. She was always undersized and just didn't quite look "normal". If I remember correctly she was also aggressive with other dogs and some people.


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## partial2poodles (Feb 11, 2010)

The poodle in my avatar is a survivor of parvo. He was 11 months and he had gotten his first vacs at the breeder. I was learning about raw food and not over vaccinating at the time. I also had a litter of 8 week old poodle pups. I JUST opened my grooming shop and bought some used equipment from a PETLAND that was closing. (Now I realize they closed due to a massive parvo outbreak). One thing I bought that was the likely contaminant were those green interlocking floor grates that were used in the bottom of cages. During this same time, my property was not fenced and a dusgusting trailer had mutt puppies that died of parvo around this same time.

So I had just gotten Cooper neutered and on the 4th day he started getting sick and a couple puppies had the runs. Nothing clicked in my head. I never suspected it YET. Days and nights were a blur of cleaning puke, diarreah and running to vets for IV fluids. When it was all over, I lost 6 pups and Cooper lost 20 lbs, was skin and bones, but alive. It was a horrible, devastating experience. Cooper is normal, but his surviivor daughter is a total fruit loop. I now vaccinate all puppies as recommended and I forbid new owners to take them to dog parks etc till ALL series if boosters are complete. It scared me and scarred me forever.


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## Locket (Jun 21, 2009)

You referred to your breeder as having a kennel?? That in itself would have me running in the other direction.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

I have never heard that a dog can shed the Parvo virus for months. I have a link to a very knowledgable site

It says with respect to contagiousness:

"Your puppy should be considered contagious to other puppies for a good month so it is important to “play it safe” by restricting trips to the park, obedience school or other neighborhood areas. If your puppy is less than 16 weeks of age, he/she should not be allowed in public areas until the vaccination series is fully completed."

I would not hesitate to get a puppy from the same kennel. It was not the breeder's fault in all likelihood that the puppy got Parvo. My son's dog, also called Cooper, got Parvo when he was just over two months old. He is absolutely fine now. He has been to obedience classes with other dogs and I'm sure the kennel club would not let him go to classes with other dogs if he was at risk to passing on Parvo. They have taken vet and legal advice -- they don't want to get sued by other dog owners. 

Here is a link to that Parvo site. Its interesting reading for anyone.

Canine Parvovirus

The thing that is true about "many months" is how long the virus can stay in the environment. If you read through that article, it can stay in the environment for a long, long time. That is why it's so important to get young puppies their complete set of Parvo vaccinations. But you have never had a puppy with Parvo at your house, and so long as the puppy you get is vaccinated and you do not take it out in public until it's had three Parvo shots, then it should be fine. When Cooper was recovered from Parvo, we asked the vet about whether he could get it again, and she said that it was generally believed that once a dog had actually had Parvo, it would never get Parvo again and did not need booster shots, but she said that because they do not know for sure - she recommended that he get the boosters for Parvo. 

I would say that chances of a dog getting Parvo again, or getting Parvo once it had had all its vaccinations, are pretty rare. I guess you can get struck by lightning twice, but I certainly wouldn't be paranoid about getting parvo twice.


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## apoodleaday (Feb 22, 2010)

About 12 years ago, I bought a miniature bull terrier pup as a show prospect that had survived parvo. He turned out very nice except for a wry mouth, I neutered him and he went on to do some obedience. I never noticed anything odd about him but he didn't live to be very old due to an accident. The breeder, my vet, did give me a guarantee.


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