[vegfem89]

This is my first post. I've been looking around but can't seem to find the info I'm looking for. Thank you in advance.

Back story;

I got Willow last Wednesday. I had a friend who had neighbors who had allowed their dog to have yet another litter of puppies. My friend and her grandmother had decided once all the puppies had homes they were going to have her spayed themselves. After I picked her up I brought her home I fed, watered and bathed her. I picked her up at 10a.m. and had her at the vet by 3. she got her first round of shots, at home wormer in a syringe and flea medicine because even after her bath she was eaten up with fleas.

She's going into her 12th week. She's a mutt but my friend said the father had some pitbull in him. She's long haired brindle but I don't see anything else about her that looks like a bully breed. She was 10.2 pounds at the vet yesterday. Her mom and dad are 50 and 60 pounds.

She was really subdued but I thought it was the change in homes, loss of her litter mates, vaccines and new food. She was still really playful up until Monday night when she didn't eat or drink. Tuesday morning I still thought maybe it was doggie depression. When she vomited I took her to the vet immediately. He said his best guess was parvo but since it was the same amount to treat it as Parvo as to test for it he said to just treat it.

She's on Trimethsulfa, Reglan, Pepto, Kaopectate 3 times a day or 2 times a day depending on the medication. And an oral syringe of Panacur once daily for 5 days. She's getting 3ml via syringe of clear Pedialyte every 10-15 minutes. I was told to offer her food every once in a while. She's not interested in chicken, ground beef, rice or meat baby food.

She had a slightly runny bowel movement yesterday after her syringe of Panacur. No other bowel movements since. But she doesn't have anything in her system other than liquid. She's vomited a total of 4 times. Once before the vet, once last night and twice today about 5 minutes after drinking plain water. Obviously she hasn't had any access to plain water since. According to the 'pinch test' and her gums she's not that dehydrated. But she's skin and bones. She's expressed an interest in her dog food but I didn't let her have in because I've read that can irritate her intestines?

My questions are these;
Is my vet handling this properly? Her staying there wasn't given as an option. He said she would recover at home just as well as there because we caught it early. I am on a budget but he takes payments so I'm assuming since it wasn't offered he didn't find it necessary?

Should I give her a syringe of any kind of food?

I've been keeping her contained to the kitchen, wooden porch and backyard (on leash) since I got her. She's ridden in the car as well. I'll bleach everything she's touched but what about the yard? If she pulls through can she get reinfected if all the waste has been removed?

Is there anything I can do to keep her as comfortable as possible? She doesn't want to be cuddled but seems to want lots of petting. She's curled up on a blanket in her crate right now.

I've searched the forum for parvo posts but none that I've found answer my questions, exactly. I'm exhausted, heart broken and my brain isn't working anymore. So if this post is in the wrong place or I've overlooked a parvo thread please let me know.

Thank you,
Becca

 

[Willowy]

Sounds like a country vet? He probably doesn't have the facilities to keep parvo puppies away from the other patients, which is why he didn't offer hospitalization.

Dehydration is a huge problem with parvo. If you can't keep her hydrated with Pedialyte, ask the vet about sub-q fluids.

She needs to eat something. If she won't eat the baby food and only wants dog food, soak a few kibbles in water and offer that. Not too much at once or she'll probably throw up.

She can't reinfect herself (they normally only get parvo once), but be very very careful about bringing unvaccinated puppies to your house for the next year or so. You can spray a dilute bleach mixture on the grass but I don't think it gets everything.

If you think she needs more comprehensive care, contact a full-service animal hospital in a larger town. Country vets really are great for some things (like keeping costs down), but sometimes they're just a bit too casual about treatment.

 

[vegfem89]

I suppose he is. He handled my cat gently when I took her. And he was nice when Willow peed all over him. But nice doesn't cure parvo. He just didn't seem concerned. I was literally sobbing because I heard death sentence when he said parvo.

She seems hydrated. Obviously not as much as I want her to be but she's keeping Pedialyte down. So far water has been what made her vomit.

I'm going to do a little baby food in a syringe.

I've already warned neighbors, coworkers and did a FaceBook post telling my animal owner friends to keep away.

My vet told me to wait and see. If it gets worse obviously I'll take her in. But at the moment she's keeping Pedialyte and meds down. We'll see how she does with baby food.

 

[trainingjunkie]

I would find a different vet and get a snap test done to see if it IS parvo. If it's not, you need to be looking for solutions in a different direction.

Your vet isn't giving you the answers I would be seeking in your situation. Confirming parvo is important.

 

[momtolabs]

find a different vet, immediately. My aunts GSD got Parvo at 14 weeks old and he is now a strong and healthy 8 year old! The vet they went to did a Parvo test when he came in and when it was positive they started Treatment. It was hard but he fought through it and has no problems because of it. Also my uncles rottweiler had "parvo". The reason for the quotation marks- the vet did no testing at all but said we should just start treatment. My mom took ginger(the rottweiler) to the vet we go to and it turns out she had an reaction to flea medicine(to young for it).

I would find a different vet.

 

[warriorpoet96]

Just as a note of hope and encouragement, my beloved Abby had parvo when she was about the same age as your little one, vegfem89. She was kept in semi-quarantine in a cage at the vet's office but I visited her daily for hours. They put a chair in the room so I could hold her paw through the bars. That was heartbreaking. But he kept her on fluids and supportive therapy and she pulled through, the little trooper. She's nine years old now and has been all around the country with me and has led a good happy healthy life. So there is hope but you do need to get on this and stay on it. When an animal is weakened, too many other things could be just waiting to take advantage of that weakness.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Please do the same for us. Abby is the reason I joined the forum today. More about that in a later post.

 

[vegfem89]

Thank you all very much. As of this moment she hasn't vomited since yesterday at six. She's eaten baby food and kept it down. She's wagging her tail and voluntarily drinking sodium free chicken broth mixed with Pedialyte. But I do believe you're correct, a new vet is in order.

 

[PrincessLPN]

I am so glad your puppy is improving. Please let us know how she is doing and post pictures when you can.

 

[~LOLA~]

Hi..I would take the dog to a different vet then asap! Mention you suspect parvo. Not to scare you but I lost my puppy Enzo in March to parvo. He was sold to us with the virus. I had never even heard of it before! Within 3 days of owning him he started throwing up and having diarrhea and would not eat. I took him to the vet right away but they were treating him for other things, never even mentioning the possibility of parvo. There was one day in between when he seemed better and was eating and drinking. Thats the thing with parvo one day you seem fine the next very sick. Two days later I rushed him to the animal hospital and immediately the vet knew it was parvo just by the smell of his poop. Unfortunately he was just too sick by that point and after doing everything possible two days later I had to make the difficult decision to put him down. After knowing what I know now any odd behavior like that from a puppy I would not waste any time! If I would have known what I know now I would have brought him to the animal hospital the first time he threw up! If the virus is caught in time it is easier to treat. So now four months later I am brining home my new little girl, Lola, tomorrow. Im hoping that with all the bleaching I've done and a 4 month period since this has happened that I don't have to worry about it still being in my home. Please don't wait around anymore if you suspect parvo! Go see another vet.

 

[vegfem89]

Vet took her off the medicine that was making her vomit. She's just on one antibiotic for the next 6 days. She's eating, pooping and peeing like normal. Perky, perky puppy. Trying to jump baby gates, stealing mac 'n cheese from the three year old and is VERY quickly learning to leave the three cats ALONE. Not nearly as chill as I thought. Lord help but thank Goddess! She's still got some weight to gain, obviously, but she's looking and behaving so incredibly well. Thank you all for your advice and concern.

 

[Willowy]

Yay! Glad to hear she's feeling better. I'm guessing it wasn't Parvo. They usually don't recover so easily. Probably just a nasty tummy bug.

 

[vegfem89]

Yay! Glad to hear she's feeling better. I'm guessing it wasn't Parvo. They usually don't recover so easily. Probably just a nasty tummy bug.

My thoughts exactly. But we're going back to the vet for a check up anyway!

 

[warriorpoet96]

So glad to hear your puppy is better! Mine is too. I never did even get to post about what we thought it was, which was COMS, btw. Caudal Occipital Malformation Syndrome, which usually shows up much earlier than 9 years old and mostly in other breeds. Of course, that's what the vet says Abby Dawg is: Breed - Other. Heh. We went to Mississippi to get her tests at MSU, made a vacation out of it and actually had a good time. All things considered...