There is one common thread that unites many of the 850+ customers we’ve worked with during the past two years, and this is it: people don’t seem to understand just how fast-acting and aggressive 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 smell of Parvo is unmistakable, 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 come across before.
We had one customer, in the Pacific Northwest, whose dog first showed symptoms of Parvo on a Sunday morning, and by later that afternoon, it was already dead.
Even when this virus doesn’t claim your dog’s life quite so quickly, too many dog owners sit around for days on end, watching their dog suffer, and doing nothing about it, because they suffer from the mistaken belief that they have time.
But they don’t!
You know what dogs are like - most of them, if not all, absolutely love their food, so if you noticed that your dog skipped even one meal, wouldn’t you be concerned that something might be gravely wrong?
Even if one of our dogs throws up, if they’re healthy (and ours are), then they are ready to eat again just minutes later, so a dog that’s off his food for several hours (which is in many cases the very first sign you’ll see that your dog has Parvo, provided you’re observant, of course) should be a big, red warning sign.
The sad thing is, there is such a lot of bad advice around about Parvo that a lot of dog owners are lulled into a false sense of security.
People feel secure because:
- Their dog is vaccinated and up-to-date on all of its shots. And now for the reality: Parvo shots are not effective against the 2c strain (which is why many of our customers are finding that even their adult dogs are being infected, and dying, from this virus, even though they’ve had all of their vaccinations), and your dog may even develop full-blown Parvo symptoms (especially if your dog was vaccinated after he was infected, which is about the worst thing you can 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 latest 2c strain of Parvo is just too strong and the vaccine manufacturers really haven’t caught up with it yet (and that’s besides the long-term issues with all vaccinations, which most vets keep quiet about).
- They take their dog to the vet’s to have it tested, and the test comes back negative, so they do nothing. Reality check time again: the 2c strain of Parvo often generates a false-negative result, especially with the in-clinic stool sample tests that are very popular these days. This is another example of how the medical profession has not caught up with the development of the Parvovirus - you think your dog is OK, when in fact he does have Parvo, and that leads to your doing nothing while the virus quietly launches its attack on your dog’s body (mainly the immune system and his intestinal tract) for several days until, suddenly, you see symptoms.
- 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 that indoor dogs get Parvo is because it is their owners (or breeders) who give it to them! It’s true, you can walk this virus into your house without even knowing it (or transmit it via your hands or clothes). This is why we always suggest 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 reliable information that you can use, knowing that, rather than harming your dog and making matters worse, it will actually increase his chances of surviving this most devastating of viruses?
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. For people in the doggie business, this is basic knowledge that you simply should have!
Well, the good news is that we have written 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 there’s one thing you don’t have with this virus, and that is time. Although this book contains a lot of useful information, you would be far better reading it once your dog is successfully treated.
We hope that you found this article both interesting and useful, and if it helps you save your dog’s life, even better. However, we do have a load more information about Parvo treatment for you, which is in addition to 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 various treatment options (because contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to take your dog to the vet and part with anywhere from $500 USD to over $10,000 USD, for a success rate that offers no better odds than tossing a coin, because effective, inexpensive, safe 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 when they might might need it, and there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve helped to save somebody’s family pet from the excruciatingly painful death that the Canine Parvovirus often brings.
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