Wake Up And Smell The Parvo!
During the past two years or so, we’ve worked with well over 850 customers, and we’ve noticed one common thread, which is: dog owners don’t seem to comprehend just how aggressive and fast-acting the Canine Parvo virus is.
One night, you might go to bed, knowing that your dog is happy and healthy, and by morning, when you get up, that same dog is incredibly sick and maybe even near death’s door - and, yes, the title of this article is not just a play on a popular expression, because Parvo has an unmistakable smell, as the diarrhea, which can often be one of the first symptoms you’ll see with the latest 2c strain of this virus, is absolutely disgusting and unlike anything else you may have experienced before.
As an example, one of our customers, in the Pacific Northwest, noticed that their dog was sick with Parvo on a Sunday morning, and later that very same day, in the late afternoon, it had already died.
Even when this virus doesn’t claim your dog’s life quite so quickly, too many people sit around for days on end, watching their dog suffer, and doing nothing about it, because they think they have time.
But nothing could be further from the truth!
You know what dogs are like - most of them, if not all, absolutely love their food, so if your dog stopped eating, for as little as one day, wouldn’t you be concerned that something might be seriously wrong?
All of our dogs are, thank goodness, healthy (although we do live in the worst state for Parvo), but even on those rare occasions when one of them does throw up, they are ready to eat again just a few minutes later, so a dog that’s off his food for several hours (which is often the first sign you’ll see that your dog has Parvo, provided you’re observant, of course) should be a massive, red warning sign.
Unfortunately, there is such a lot of bad advice around about Parvo that many dog owners are understandably but ill-advisedly complacent.
These dog owners think they’re safe because:
- Their dog has had all of its vaccinations (including boosters). Here’s the reality: Parvo vaccines are ineffective against the 2c strain (which is why we are seeing more and more customers with fully-vaccinated adult dogs still getting Parvo and, if they’re not treated, dying), and your dog may even develop full-blown Parvo symptoms (particularly if your dog was vaccinated after he’s been infected, which is about the worst thing you can ever do).
- They have an adult dog, and everybody knows that Parvo only affects puppies. Sorry, wrong again! It is true that Parvo still infects puppies more than adults, but we have also observed, after dealing with over 850 cases of Parvo, that an increasing number of adult dogs are getting this virus too. If this sounds like a broken record, then we’re not making any apologies, but vaccinations don’t work like they used to - the 2c strain is simply too virulent and the vaccine manufacturers really haven’t caught up with it yet (and that’s besides the long-term health problems with all vaccinations, which most vets keep quiet about).
- They try to do the right thing by having their dog tested for Parvo at the vet’s, but do nothing because the test comes back negative. Reality check time again: the 2c strain of Parvo is well-known for generating a false-negative result, especially with the stool sample-based tests that most vets conduct in their clinics nowadays. This means that although you are told your dog does not have Parvo, he actually does, and that leads to more days of inaction while your dog is getting sicker and sicker.
- They never take their dog outside, which means it won’t get infected by the Parvo virus. Sorry to burst this balloon as well, but one of the most common reasons why dogs who are confined to living indoors all of the time get Parvo is because they get it from their owners / breeders! Yes, people walk this virus into their house without realizing it (or take it in on their clothes or hands). That’s why we always recommend that people (including visitors) change their shoes whenever they go indoors.
So, with so many myths floating around, not to mention bad advice, where can you go to get up-to-date and accurate information that you can use, safe in the knowledge that it will help your dog, and not make matters worse?
This actually highlights another major issue to do with Parvo: many dog owners have never heard of Parvo (until their vet tells them that’s why their dog is sick), which means they don’t know what to look out for. Even more amazing, to us, is that we come across many breeders who know nothing about this virus either. It seems to us that this is basic information and knowledge that you must have if you’re going to work in the doggie business!
Well, the good news is that we have put together a free, 100+ page ebook all about Parvo, called Parvo Treatment 101, that you can download to your computer in minutes.
This is an excellent place to start, as it contains practically everything you need to know about this virus, including the symptoms to look out for, treatment options, and much more.
If your dog is already sick, however, and by that, we mean that a vet has confirmed that your dog does have Parvo, or he shows one or more of the standard Parvo symptoms, or even if you believe or know that he was exposed to the virus within the last two or three days, then you should delay reading this book, because you need to administer Parvo treatment at once, because the one thing you don’t have with this virus is time. Although this book contains a lot of useful information, you would be far better reading it once your dog is successfully treated.
Well, we hope you have found this article useful - it may even save your precious dog’s life - but we have a load more Parvo treatment information available for you, over and above what’s in our free book.
We’d like to close by encouraging all dog owners to at least be educated about just how devastating this virus can be, and about the treatment options that are available (you don’t need to take your dog to the vet and part with anywhere from $500 USD to over $10,000 USD, with a mere 50% success rate, because safe, effective, inexpensive home Parvo remedies are available), so please, if you know anybody with a dog, then do forward this article, or our free book, on to them - you just never know who might need it, and there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve helped to save somebody’s beloved pet from an excruciatingly painful death from probably the most devastating doggie virus there is.
