How Do I Know if My Puppy Will Survive Parvo?

Parvo- the virus that causes parvo disease in dogs. Are you thinking how do I know if my puppy will survive parvo? we are going to discuss this in the article. When your puppy or dog is parvo-infected, you can see many sign-symptoms in their body. Like- vomiting, decreased activity level, stopping eating, and bloody diarrhea. So, the puppy or dog needs treatment to recover from the disease or promote the illness. After getting treatment, when your puppy will have the conditions such as start eating properly, no blood in their poop, stop vomiting, and increase activity level, then you will be sure that your dog or puppy is surviving parvo disease.  

What is parvo?

Parvo is a fatal disease in puppies. It is a gastrointestinal disease of dogs. The virus named parvo causes stomach and intestinal infections in the animal. This canine virus damages cells of the stomach and small intestine, damages absorption capacity, and destroys the intestinal barrier. In puppies, parvo can cause heart disease. As parvovirus is a contagious virus so your dog can be infected through feces, vomit, or other infected canine poops. Puppies are at the highest risk of getting near-death signs of parvo. 

Why are the puppies at the highest risk for parvo?

Six weeks to six months old puppies are the most vulnerable to parvo disease. Puppies, less than six weeks old, have their mother’s antibodies in their body, which maintain their immune system. Also, the immune system in the puppy’s body is weaker than in an older dog. If the puppies are not vaccinated, they will not get antibodies against parvovirus in their body. So, they are at higher risk for parvo infection until they have received all the vaccines in the schedule against the canine virus. 

What are the symptoms of parvo disease?

Within 1-2 days, the parvovirus may develop many serious, near-death signs and symptoms in a canine body. When a puppy is infected by parvo, early symptoms will appear in its body. Some symptoms are-

• Stop eating or loss of appetite.
• Weight loss
• Dehydration
• Inactivity, Lethargy, or slackening.
• Weakness
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Watery diarrhea.
• Blood in poop, diarrhea (bloody)
• septic shock.
• Depression
• Fever or hypothermia.
• Anorexia

When you notice these conditions in your puppy, you should visit your puppy to the vet as soon as possible. 

Stages of parvo

Parvo is a very transmittable virus. It causes dangerous difficulties and even outcomes in the demise of your canine or doggy.

1st Stage: Exposure to the canine virus.

The 1st step or stage of the disease is exposure to the canine virus. A dog can be infected when it comes in contact with another parvo-infected dog.

2nd Stage: Incubation time or period

The incubation time of parvo means the period between the first parvovirus exposure in your dog and when it becomes apparent of signs- symptoms for the first time in its body.

3rd Stage: Appearance of Symptoms 

After 1st exposure to the virus

Parvo Symptoms Appear approximately within  5-8 Days. This is the most serious stage of the canine virus. Fever, diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, and loss of appetite- mainly these symptoms appear in the infected dog’s body. 

4th Stage: Diagnosis of the disease

The medical diagnosis of the disease in the laboratory, and detection of the virus.

After the appearance of the signs and symptoms in your dog, it needs a medical diagnosis for detection of the parvovirus. In some cases, the immunity of the canine body can not recover the infection itself. So, it is so important to provide treatment to promote illness. For better treatment or cure of the disease, you need to know the cause of the infection or disease.  

5th Stage: Controlling the disease by medical treatment or home health care.  

When your dog is diagnosed and detected with parvovirus positive, treatment needs to begin immediately. Take your dog to a veterinarian urgently.  Early treatment can help your dog recover from the illness. The most common medical treatments are-

• Antibiotics
• Anti-vomiting drug
• anti-nausea medicine
• Vitamins (IV/IM infusion)
• Blood transfusions (in severe cases)
• Fluid treatment
• Medicine for acidity (Antacid).

6th Stage: Recovery period

It takes about 3-4 weeks to recover from the disease. After treatment, you should keep your dog away from the other dogs. You should keep your dog isolated in a room or one place, and keep your home clean, use disinfectant on all the surfaces that are contaminated to kill parvovirus germs. You should maintain a healthy diet chart and provide an adequate amount of fluid and water to your dog to keep him hydrated.

7th Stage: After full recovery and again test for parvo negative

Around 7 weeks after the first infection and after providing treatment, check for parvo negative. After full recovery from parvo, take your dog to a vet, and checkup for promoting illness. Re-test to ensure his full recuperation. 

How to cure parvo without a vet

A parvo-infected dog needs immediate hospitalization so that the dog can get proper medications. The treatment is required to control the pet’s vomiting, nausea, and abdominal pain, to keep the dog dehydrated, also to prevent bacterial infections. Without proper veterinarian medications, care, and support, parvo treatment at home are not actually recommended. Though depending on the seriousness of the disease the parvo dog can be treated at home with regular follow-up and care. Moreover, the Canine Parvovirus Infection treatment is one of the most costly treatments. So to down the cost of the treatment, home remedies after a veterinarian check-up is a good idea. Therefore, the owner must follow certain rules according to the vet’s suggestions. By following the right tips the owner will notice the improvements of the dog’s health condition within a week.

Parvo treatment at home

It is important to act fast and take effective measures to control the infection when your puppy gets infected with parvo. There are a number of initial home remedies for parvo that support the infected dog to overcome the sufferings of the disease. The steps and processes of treating parvo at home are as follows:

1. First, the puppy needs to be injected underneath its skin with a designated amount of fluids according to the weight of the puppy. The perfect place for this is in between the shoulder blades of the pup. The process will be repeated one hour after the fluid goes down. The fluids are enormously important to keep the pup hydrated. Most parvo-infected dogs die due to dehydration. 
2. Besides the IV fluids, Amoxicillin is needed to kill the bacterial infection in the puppy’s gut, which helps to regain its appetite. The dosage will be provided after every 12 hours according to the pup’s body weight.
3. Gerber-flavored baby food should be given every so often which helps with vitamin deficiency. The hydrating process should be continued.
4. The puppy will need vitamins and minerals as a lot of nutrients are lost during vomiting and diarrhea. Bullyade contains 18 vitamins and minerals, provides vital nutrients and rehydrates the puppy, also replenishes electrolytes, and helps its organ to get back to normal function. So, Bullyade is mostly recommended.
5. By this time the puppy will be in much better condition than earlier. If it is strong enough to walk, it is recommended to take out the puppy for a little walk. 
6. Check up with the vet is also necessary to know if the infection has gone completely. 

It only needs 7-10 days to cure parvo infection in puppies if you can properly follow the process mentioned above.

What to feed a puppy with parvo?

Parvo is a life-threatening virus that causes great damage to the gastrointestinal tract in a puppy’s body. As a result, the puppy loses its appetite and can not take food properly. The course of intravenous fluids is the most effective to keep the pup hydrated when he is sick. It is also a good initiative to feed the puppy with a syringe filled with pureed doggy food and squeeze little amounts into his mouth. Additionally, antidiarrheal and anti-nausea medication is important to help keep the pup’s immune system strong during his illness.

Parvo recovery diet

Once your puppy gains recovery from the parvo infection, you have to think about his diet plan. As the puppy loses appetite and taste, it fights to digest food properly as earlier. However, you should provide light foods to your puppy that are easily digestible and might help him to be interested in food. To bring back its appetite and the weight that has been lost due to vomiting and diarrhea, certain foods are the best choice i.e.; white rice, oatmeal, boiled chicken breast, and sweet potatoes. You can also try meat-based baby food, chicken noodle soup, egg, and meat shakes. It is best to use a syringe with a very small amount of food and squeeze food directly into the mouth. Once your puppy gets the taste of something good, he will be motivated to give it the next try.

Prevention of parvo

The parvovirus is preventable. You should vaccinate your dogs and puppies as soon as possible, especially the bitches to provide them protection against the canine virus. As the mother’s antibody is important for her puppy’s immunity system, bitches that are used for breeding should have received the full vaccination series timely according to the vaccine schedule. Until you vaccinate your dog (full course of vaccination), ensure that your puppies and dogs should not come into contact with other unvaccinated dogs. As parvo is a highly infectious disease, you need to know how it spreads, the symptoms and complications of the virus, and the treatment-management of the disease. Provide them with a healthy diet that will help you to keep your puppies healthy and safe. 

What should you do if Your Dog Has Parvo?

• Provide a healthy diet and exercise as prescribed by your vet for the parvo treatment.
• A sufficient amount of water and fluid therapy for your dog is essential to avoid dehydration.
• Take necessary medication timely as prescribed by a veterinarian.
• After medical treatment for parvo from the vet, do not keep your dog among the other dogs. Keep your dog isolated from other dogs for at least 40 days. After a full recovery, re-test for parvo.
• Clean and wash your home and clothing and bleach all floors. Use parvo-killing cleaner or disinfectant to disinfect all the contaminated stuff. 
• Vaccinate your dog when he is six weeks old to reduce the possibility of parvo infection. If your dog is not vaccinated, vaccinate him as soon as possible, otherwise, there will be a risk of getting parvo disease.
• After the appearance of the symptoms, do not wait, provide treatment, or hospitalize immediately. 
• Call for help or contact a veterinarian urgently. 
• Lastly, follow the guidelines or instructions of the veterinarian.

Can a puppy or dog survive parvo?

The chances of survival of your puppy or dog with parvo disease fully rely on the dog’s or puppy’s body function, improvement, and genetic issues. Also, veterinary treatment and medical action will help your dog to increase survival from the disease. The survival rate of dogs after getting proper medical treatment is 70 to 90 percent. 

If your puppies are already parvo-infected, you should not vaccinate them. Only keeping your pet hydrated is not sufficient. She needs other medical treatment to increase their chance of survival. Hospitalize your pet for recovery from the parvo disease. Contact a vet immediately. Early treatment can save a puppy’s or dog’s life.

Final Thoughts

Though parvo is a deadly disease it is treatable. Vaccinate your puppies or dogs at the right time to protect them from parvovirus. Noticing the symptoms when you suspect parvo, take your pet to a vet as soon as possible. Finally, hospitalize your pet animal for the recovery of the disease.