Parvo @ dogpark

[lance]

Wow! Drove 30 minutes to dogpark yesterday, only to find it closed down by animal control. Sign on gate said a puppy on Friday was diagnosed with parvo after going to vet. Animal control found evidence of parvo on the grounds of dogpark.

Bandit is up to date on all his shots. Not sure when park will reopen. Park staff told me they will have to bleach the grounds to kill the virus.

 

Should I be worried about Bandit even though his shots are up to date and he is not sick? We were at park on Thurday.

I'm not sure how long park will be closed, but when would it ever be safe to go back in your opinions? First time in the 7 years of going to park that it has been closed due to health reasons.

[karrie]

No answers for you. But I am glad they closed it for the protection of others.

[Joe Anne]

I would check with your Vet, to maybe get a head start on what would be 1st indications/symptoms of Bandit getting ill. Most likely if his shots are up to date, he will be fine. However, and Dog Doc, can address this much better, but just because he has his shots dosen't mean the disease will not make him ill??? That is a mistake alot of people make, thinking because they get the flu vaccine for example, they will not get the flu. They may still get it, but maybe not as bad, or possibly a different strain than the vaccination. I am not completely sure how dog vaccines relate to people vaccines??

I would keep a close eye on him for any changes in eating, drinking, potty etc. but do check with your vet.

Also, I seem to remember a thread that mentioned that the virus could be picked up and spread to other areas simply by another dog or you, coming in contact with it??? and that could spread it to others???

[Black Watch Debatable]

This article says that parvo isn't nearly as common in adult dogs as it is in puppies.

 

The article mentions several breeds that seem to be much more susceptible than others. (Pit bulls, my other heart breed, are said to be highly susceptible to parvo.)

 

Gastroenteritis is most common in pups 6-20 wk old, ie, the period when maternal antibody protection falls and vaccination has not yet adequately protected the pup against infection. Most affected dogs (~85%) are <1 yr old. [From the Merck entry on Canine Parvovirus].

[WyoBC]

I'm glad they closed it, people need to do that more often.

[kelpiegirl]

Hmmm, I wonder how animal control found evidence of parvo? Did they do serology on feces? It sure is better to be safe than sorry, but I would really like to know if a vet confirmed this with a clinical test.

Julie

[smileyzookie]

The sign on the gate said a puppy was diagnosed after goin to the vet.. thats enough for me to be extremely careful lol

[lance]

Julie, I don't know answers to your questions. If or When I do I'll let you know.

 

Julie wrote:

Hmmm, I wonder how animal control found evidence of parvo? Did they do serology on feces?.....

but I would really like to know if a vet confirmed this with a clinical test.

[Bo Peep]

Someone must have willingly fessed up and rightfully so. I had a litter of pups and had sold 2 and 3 to go. Sold the 3rd they said it had parvo- no way, I said. I took the final 2 in to get tested and poof- they had it. I called the 2 previous buyers and said PLEASE bring your pups into where I work and I will test them - no charge- no parvo. I went to my neighbors that their dog was busting through my fence and said "Watch your dog, my pups have parvo". f*&king neighbors said, oh ours got home from the vet yesterday!!!!!! I called the people that had bought the 3rd pup and said I will take the dog back and give you your check back- they were already in love. I said I will give you your check back and nurse your dog back to health or you can take it to your own vet. They chose to keep the check and take it to their own vet. The other two pups lived. I went home for lunch every day with IV's in hand. It was a tough battle and I will NEVER forgive my neighbors for not telling me .....knowing that I had puppies in my yard.

P.S. Their vet pulled their pup through the parvo, too. So, we caught it in time.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Most dog parks do not allow puppies under 4 months old or unvaccinated dogs. GENERALLY, if a dog is 4 months old and has all of it's shots, it won't be susceptible to parvo. Generally. So really, dog parks shouldn't be a big place for parvo. Unfortunately, when I used to go to dog parks, I always saw small puppies in there against the rules. After Rascal had parvo I waited almost four months before bringing her anywhere for the safety of other puppies.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

If a dog has had parvo as a pup and survived, does that give it immunity against it in adulthood, kind of like chicken pox? We see lots of really young pups at our dog park as well. Most recently 5 weeks! When you warn the owners, they always say "Oh, they've been to the vet" and when you try to explain that even with their shots, it's not until 4 mos. that they're safe, they get offended and act like you're trying to run them off.

[AK dog doc]

Getting ill with parvo constitutes a MASSIVE exposure of the immune system to the virus. If a dog survives that, it should have immunity for life (this is assuming a dog with a normal immune system to start with. There is such a thing as a non-responder, but they're rare.) A vaccine is a much smaller exposure, but in a normal dog it will still be enough to educate the immune system so that, should the dog encounter the "wild" virus, the immune system will gear up and kill it before it kills the dog. In most cases this will prevent any overt signs of illness; the dog might be a little tired or "off", the same way you might be if you were fighting off a cold, but it doesn't break with parvo signs. If the dog only has a partial immunity (like, it's got IgM antibodies for the virus, but not the aggressive IgG antibodies) it might get ill enough to show signs (vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, poor appetite, fever) but it's unlikely it'll get ill enough to die. A fully-vaccinated adult dog with a competent immune system should NOT be at risk of parvo from the dog park.

 

Parvo dogs DO shed the virus for weeks after they recover, so keeping them home for at least 3 weeks afterwards is a good responsible public-health-minded thing to do. I never know how many of my clients actually follow this advice... and it could be that some perfectly healthy-looking dogs at the dog parks may be shedding virus. One hopes not, of course.

 

Oh, and it is true that parvo - being both an extremely sturdy virus and a highly contagious one - is quite capable of being transferred from one environment to another on your clothing or other objects (fomites). If it was me, and I had an incompletely-vaccinated pup at home, I don't think I'd take ANY of my dogs to a dog park until after the pup was fully vaccinated, just becasue there's some risk of fomite transfers.

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

Thank you for your imput doc dog!!