Quote:
Originally Posted by tammy8833  as long as they have had the 3 distempers they should be fine thats my opinion...never seen a problem
petsmart doesnt require a rabies until 4 months old (or 6 months cant remeber) |
I am sorry but you are just WRONG!
There have been plenty of cases that a puppy has contracted PARVO from not being fully vaccinated. There is NO WAY that you should take your puppy into places such as Petsmart or even a dog park prior to having all of their vaccines in place. PARVO is deadly and can live for a very long time on hard surfaces and also on grass etc. There are too many puppymill puppies that are shipped across the country, end up at the local pet shop and then die from diseases that have been spread to an entire truck up puppies.
Parvo
Dogs acquire infection with Parvo virus by ingesting (meaning to swallow) the infectious virus particles. The Parvo virus is one of the hardiest viruses known to science and this virus can live outside the body in a dormant yet infectious state for one to two years. Puppies do not have to be in direct contact with other dogs to catch Parvo since the virus can be spread by people's clothing, shoes, and other inanimate surfaces, and can even travel on the dust in the air.
A dog (or puppy) who is shedding the Parvo virus can defecate (go to the bathroom) on a surface and then a susceptible puppy can come by and sniff or lick this surface over a year later and can still catch Parvo. Parvo vaccine at 6 weeks followed by a booster at 9, 12, 15, and 18 weeks. Then the puppy (dog) should receive a booster once yearly thereafter. The main thing to remember in this regard is that the puppy series for Parvo is begun very early (usually around 6 weeks). Common disinfectants (such as Lysterine, Lysol, alcohol, etc) will not kill Parvo. The only two things which will kill Parvo outright are fire (burning contaminated blankets, newspapers, etc) and a dilute Clorox solution (1 part Clorox to 32 parts water).