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: dog owners don’t comprehend 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 title of this article is not just a play on a popular expression, because Parvo has an unmistakable smell, as the diarrhea, which is frequently one of the first symptoms you’ll see with the latest 2c strain of this virus, is foul and unlike anything else you may have encountered before.
As an example, one of our customers, in the Pacific Northwest, noticed that their dog was sick with Parvo on a Sunday morning, and later that very same day, in the late afternoon, it had already died.
Even when this virus doesn’t claim your dog’s life quite so quickly, too many people sit around for day after day, watching their dog suffer, and doing nothing about it, because they reckon 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 your dog stopped eating, for as little as one day, wouldn’t you be concerned that something could be seriously wrong?
Even if one of our dogs throws up, if they’re healthy (and ours are), then they are eager 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, assuming that you’re observant, of course) should be a big, red warning sign.
Unfortunately, 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.
These dog owners feel secure because:
- Their dog has had all of its vaccinations (including boosters). And now for the reality: Parvo vaccines are ineffective 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 is given his shot after he’s been infected, which is about the worst thing you can do).
- Their dog is no longer a puppy, and only puppies get Parvo. Oops, wrong again! Parvo may still primarily be a puppy illness, but more and more adult dogs are getting it now as well. 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 most vaccines on the market today are only effective against the older 2a and 2b strains (and that’s besides the long-term issues with all vaccinations, which most vets keep quiet about).
- They try to do the right thing by having their dog tested for Parvo at the vet’s, but do nothing because the test comes back negative. Reality check time again: the 2c strain of Parvo is well-known for generating a false-negative result, and this particularly applies to 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! Yes, people walk this virus into their house without realizing it (or take it in on their clothes or hands). This is why we always recommend 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 put together 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.
However, if your dog is already sick (i.e. a vet has confirmed that he has the Parvovirus, or he shows any of the classic symptoms, or even if you know he’s been exposed within the past few days), then you don’t have time to read this book now – you need to administer Parvo treatment at once, because the one thing you don’t have with this virus is time. Although this book contains a lot of useful information, you would be far better reading it once your dog is successfully treated.
Well, we hope you have found this article useful – it may even save your precious dog’s life – but we have a load more Parvo treatment information available for you, over and above what’s in our free book.
If nothing else, we hope we’ve inspired you to find out more about this devastating virus, and about the various treatment options (because contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to take your dog to the vet’s and spend anywhere from $500 USD to over $10,000 USD, with a mere 50% success rate, because safe, effective, inexpensive home Parvo remedies do exist), so please, if you know anybody with a dog, then do forward this article, and/or our free book, on to them – you just never know who might need it, and there’s no better feeling than knowing that you’ve helped to save somebody’s family pet from an excruciatingly painful death from probably the most devastating doggie virus there is.
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