Signs Of Deadly Parvo Virus And What You Should Know

Canine Parvovirus Infection, most of the time just called Parvo for short, is a highly infectious virus that is one of the

most dangerous and deadly that your dog can contract. Parvo is also highly infectious, so if one dog in a kennel is infected

it's quite likely that all the dogs that are not vaccinated will become infected too. There are some warning signs that you

need to watch out for if your dog is susceptible to Parvo, let's go over those now.

The most obvious sign of Parvo will be if your dog has bloody diarrhea, he may also have vomiting, a loss of appetite, and a

low body temperature as well. Because of the diarrhea and vomiting, it's highly likely that your dog will become very

dehydrated, this dehydration is one of the most dangerous parts of the infection and can lead to death. This deadly virus is

mostly spread through contaminated stools that an infected dog will have for several weeks, even after the disease is mostly

gone. Nearly any dog that comes in contact with the contaminated feces can come down with the disease, if they are

susceptible.

If you think your dog is infected and showing some of the symptoms in the paragraph above, he should be taken immediately to

the veterinarian for tests. The Vet can take x-rays and do an ultrasound of the abdomen, test the urine, or examine the

stools and vomit for the presence of the virus. But the most important thing is to immediately give your dog IV fluids in

order to get your dog re-hydrated. When your dog is vomiting and has diarrhea all the water that he drinks goes right through

him, or comes back up, and none gets into his system, so dehydration can be deadly.

The absolute best way to keep your dog safe from Canine Parvovirus Infection is to make sure that you get him vaccinated

according to your veterinarian's recommendations. Initially you can start at six weeks of age with the first vaccination,

with a booster at nine weeks and another at 12 weeks old. During this time your dog is still susceptible to the virus and his

play with other dogs should be kept at a minimum, or screen other dogs, only allowing play with dogs that have also been

vaccinated.

As you can see, Canine Parvovirus is a very deadly and contagious disease. However, it's easy to prevent by merely following

your veterinarians recommendation for vaccinations. Vaccinations are an incredibly cheap alternative to the high cost of

saving your dog's life after he contracts this sometimes fatal disease.

Wayne Booth is owner of Canine Behavior Specialists, http://www.CanineBehaviorSpecialists.com in Nashville, TN where he helps

people train their dogs and solve behavior problems. Wayne has been teaching people how to become Professional Dog Trainers

since 1990 and he is the Training Director of the Canine Behavior Specialists Network, http://www.K9-University.com.

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