Parvo question (pregnancy)
 

Okay, so my insane cleanliness was just validated.

I was talking with the secretary of our local club (breeds Champion Japanese Chins), here's the story (as best I can remember the details):

She took one of her bitches to the vet for a teeth cleaning, brought her home, everything was fine and dandy. A week TO THE DAY later, her puppies show signs of Parvo. She doesn't start vaccinating until 8 weeks, and every pup in her kennel under 8 weeks died. She didn't say how many.

She called the vet, who told her that he had puppies with parvo in the office that day. (humm, don't you think he should have mentioned that a little earlier?)

Then, a month and a half later, she had 2 bitches deliver - all still born pups.

So, two things -

One) Breeders - Make sure you sanitize everything if your dog leaves their environment! After a trip to the vet, I disinfect myself, my clothes, my car, shoes, and give the dog a thorough bath before letting him/her be around our other dogs.

Two) Can parvo do that to a pregnant female? I have no experience with Parvo what-so-ever. If anyone knows or has a similar experience, please let me know.

I am not sure about how it effects pregnant dogs, but I worked in an animal hospital and I must say SHAME ON THAT OFFICE. When we had parvo suspect case come in, we would take them to a room immediately, no waiting room, and that room would be sanitized then closed off for 24 hours. The dog with the parvo would be taken directly to a quarentined isolation area where we would have to change into different clothes even before going in or exiting the area as to not contaminate other animals.
It sounds like proper precautions were not taken in this instance!

Most vets do get parvo cases on a frequent bases so anytime you go to the vets for any reason you should use extreme caution. The advise you gave was very good. Sick dogs go to vets and you can also pick up kennel cough there and take it home to your dogs.

You said all the ladies dogs showed signs of parvo. Those signs are lethargic, lack of appetite, vomiting with no change in diet (it usually looks clear and foamy), bloody diarrhea and stronger feces odor (it is supposedly unmistakable and you will never forget it). Did she take her dogs to the vet and get a proper diagnosis? You mentioned she just called the vet after all her puppies died. There are other viruses that mimic parvo. If the mothers were properly immunized then the puppies would most likely still have the natural antibiotics from the mom. If the pups were weaned at an extemely young age then I could understand how they were not protected.

As for the pregnant bitches loosing there pups, here is some interesting information on that:
Canine Parvovirus (Parvo) - Overview, Transmission, Incidence - animalhealthchannel
I did not know about the cardiac CPV and it says it is rare so it is hard to say if that is what the pups had. If it were my pups dying like that I would have wanted some definite answers as to what was going on.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Thanks for the info - sorry it took so long for me to get back on here (this was one of those incidental posts, not a real emergency for me, haha.

Anyway, not sure if she took any of her dogs to the vet or not. She sort-of told me all this in casual conversation, and it was certainly not the main focus of our discussion (we had just met and were driving to a conformation class, so the whole thing was a little odd).

I will pass on the info to her though. Maybe she can shed a little more light on the situation.

Thanks again!

Good Idea!!!
 

This happens at ever vet, but one thing to remember, make sure your grown females get their shots every year, this is what keeps the puppies safe though the mom's milk. They should get 1st shots at 6 weeks old. I also if I take one of my dog in I never let them touch any thing!!! Never let them on the floor!! I take losol wipes in with my to clean the table off that they put them on + when I get home it is straight to a bath!!! And I put my cloths in the wash as soon as I can. I learned to do this for as my cloths working at a hospital. It keep the kids for getting sick. I also got my vet to show me how to dock the puppies tail my self so I was not bring them in at a young age. That is when most gets sick. I hope this helps many of you. You just have to remember this lives in the ground and things they touch, so it can get on your dogs feet and then in your home.

I forgot,
 

Clean your shoes, with bleach before going in your house or kennel. and I got to add, if you ever get parvo at you house or kennel everything must be cleaned with bleach, and if it gets in your yard you must mix up bleach and water in a sparyer and spary you hole yard!!!

I do not agree with giving puppies shots at 6 weeks. The recommended age now is to wait until 8 weeks or older. Giving shots at 6 weeks leaves most of them unprotected and more likely to get parvo if exposed to it the following weeks.

read up on shots!!
 

All vets I know starts shots at 6 weeks old , unless they are sick or to to small!!! If you buy your on shots it will say at 6 weeks. If she had gave shots at 6 weeks they may not have got sick. Go ask your vet.

Will lysol wipes kill the parvo. I have heard bleach... are there any other cleansers (like naturaly white vinegar) that will kill it? Just curious.... that's such a sad story!

I have asked my vet and he recommends 8 weeks or older. I do not vaccinate my puppies until they are at least 9 or 10 weeks. Yorkies are not the same as a big breed puppy. Yorkies stay with their moms longer and receive antibodies from their mother. Of course some vets will give a puppy vaccinations at 6 weeks, not all vets follow the new recommendations nor are they familiar with toy breeds.
K9 guidelines

ok
 

Bleach is the best to use to kill it, I am sure you don't agree with giving shots at 6 weeks, I go my 3 vets I use say to do and it is all on the net at the 1st shots are give at 6 weeks old. And I have never had one to get sick, docking on wood as I type. We will just have to disgree.

Thanks for the info!

And, yes, the shot vials say you should administer the first dose sometime between 6 and 8 weeks, but the same shots are used for all breeds of dogs, both large and small. We usually give our puppies their first shot at 7 or 8 weeks, but now I will wait until 8 weeks for sure.

I agree with Barbara, I vaccinate 8 weeks. Dr. Jean Dodds Vaccin protocol off 2008 says 9 weeks Wellpet - Vaccines - Dr. Jean Dodds' Vaccination Schedule

Most yorkies are too small to give vac. at 6 weeks, I waited until mine got over 2lbs this time and they were 9 weeks. I agree with the rest, one breeder took hers to get vac and they were only 1 lb and something, she lost all of them. Vets may say that but I dont think they are talking about yorkies, mine says 8 weeks up.:)

I have to say that many of the vets in the state of Alabama leave a lot to be desired in MANY areas. (shocking since we have one of the top vet schools in the nation, eh?) You cannot always do the right thing by your dogs by simply following standard vet protocol. The same rules do not apply universally to both large and small breeds, yet the same protocol is often followed. Sometimes, you just have to research on your own and use a little common sense instead of always just doing what the vet tells you.
Luckily, it seems like *most* here on YT know better than that by now.

I really wish something could be done about the manufacturers of these vaccinations. They are a big part of the problem. Most pet owners and breeders are not aware of the new protocol on vaccinations so they just go by what the vets tell them or if they buy their shots from the feed store, like so many do, they just follow the directions on the bottle. I have been told that many vets vaccinate at 6 weeks because that is what the recommendation is from the manufacturer of the vaccines and if they did not follow those recommendations they would be liable.

I was looking at my Revival catalog where I buy my vaccines and it says vaccinate healthy dogs at 4 weeks or older for the distemper or parvo and 6 weeks for the other vaccinations. I am not surprised at all the confusion breeders and pet owners have about vaccinations. I truly believe that early vaccination and over vaccinating can create a number of health issues in dogs that most people do not realize were created due to a compromised immune system due to over vaccination. I find it very worrisome.