new to foum, need parvo help

[jr Pit Guy]

Hi all! I'm new to the forum, but i have been fooling around with Pits for a couple of years. I have a 2 year old chocolate brindle male, a 7 month old red female and my pride and joy; a 2 year old, 16" tall 12" wide white male from Hemphill/Colby bloodlines. All of my dogs are red nosed and game bred. My question is; my female caught parvo about a month ago (she survived), and I was wondering if there was anyway of getting rid of it in my house and yard. This is the first time I've encountered the Parvovirus and was told that it is impossible to get rid of and I won't be able to breed for 5 years. Is this true? If I breed, I don't want my girl or her pups to suffer if the parvo still exists. Thanks for your help.

[14rock]

Parvo can lay dormant in the soil and surroundings for an astonishing long period of time! I will have to search for the exact ammount of time, since I've never known anyone who had a dog who caught it, but its an extremely hardy virus, which will infest dogs for a long time. I know spraying the yard down with bleach, and some other cleansers, as well as getting rid of EVERYTHING which the infected dog came in contact with is best. Parvo can get on your shoe, and any dog who walks through a spot your infected shoe was, can become infected!

Thankfully, I've yet to witness the effects of parvo first-hand, but all accounts lead to its a TERRIBLE disease, and one of the absolute hardest to cure. I've dealth with coronavirus (some of the same symptoms, on a less exaggerated scale) and that in itself was deadly.

Merck Vet Manual is a fantastic book for animal owners to possess. The online link for a brief discussion of the virus I will post below.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/23301.htm&word=parvovirus

There are a few vets on the forum who I'm sure will be able to tell you a little more about it then I. Really though, this is something you need to be routinely checking with YOUR vet, and following his recommendations. Something like Parvovirus is not something to take lightly, and we can't help you much through a keyboard and monitor.

[jr Pit Guy]

Parvo can lay dormant in the soil and surroundings for an astonishing long period of time! I will have to search for the exact ammount of time, since I've never known anyone who had a dog who caught it, but its an extremely hardy virus, which will infest dogs for a long time. I know spraying the yard down with bleach, and some other cleansers, as well as getting rid of EVERYTHING which the infected dog came in contact with is best. Parvo can get on your shoe, and any dog who walks through a spot your infected shoe was, can become infected!

Thankfully, I've yet to witness the effects of parvo first-hand, but all accounts lead to its a TERRIBLE disease, and one of the absolute hardest to cure. I've dealth with coronavirus (some of the same symptoms, on a less exaggerated scale) and that in itself was deadly.

Merck Vet Manual is a fantastic book for animal owners to possess. The online link for a brief discussion of the virus I will post below.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/23301.htm&word=parvovirus

There are a few vets on the forum who I'm sure will be able to tell you a little more about it then I. Really though, this is something you need to be routinely checking with YOUR vet, and following his recommendations. Something like Parvovirus is not something to take lightly, and we can't help you much through a keyboard and monitor.
Thanks for the website, I found it useful. Unfortunately, where I am located, there are only two vets. The first one is not "pit bull" friendly and sent me on my way. The second one is new to the practice and hasn't seen many cases of parvo. He gave her a shot to prevent vomiting, some pink medicine, and daily fluid treatments for a week. This saved my Nala, and now you can't even tell that she had parvo, but the Veterinarian had no idea how to remove Parvo from my house and yard. I guess I'm worried about if she ever gets pregnant, what are the chances of the pups getting sick. Thanks again.

[Suki]

good advice in the link 14rock included. To cleanse, as mentioned, a 1:30 ratio, or, say, for example 4oz. of bleach to a gallon of water. And go nuts and I mean nuts cleaning EVERYTHING, from bedding=which should be discared to your lawn. I've heard varying opinions on the duration parvo can lay dormant, from severl months to a few years, in your yard, inparticular. It's recommended that you keep the infected dog isolated from your other dogs for at least one month after her recovery. A bland diet is usually recommended to the infected dog. Be sure your other dogs are utd on vaccines, and tho older dogs usually fare better if subjected to the disease, a booster is recommended if they've not been done already. I'm glad she is ok. I've seen a few go down because of this disease, and it's truly heartbreaking.

[Suki]

but the Veterinarian had no idea how to remove Parvo from my house and yard.

as mentioned, go crazy with the bleach. This "treatment" will usually free your yard/house of the disease. Careful on rugs etc. If necessary, throw 'em out. Better to buy new ones than to reinfect, (potentially) the dog(s) again.

more reading for you:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&articleid=467


EDIT:

If you have any specific questions please feel free to PM me, as we have 4 hospitals here, and all of our vets are extremely "pit bull" friendly! (They have to be=they're stuck with me!!!);) n/p :)

[jr Pit Guy]

Wow. Thank you for the info. That is exactly what I needed to know. It is going to be a lot of work getting rid of the parvo, I can tell, but it will be worth saving my dogs and future litters, if any. I had been told by an old timer to use bleach, but he didn't say to dilute it, so I was freaked out about hurting my dogs, killing my grass, or ruining personal items. Thanks

[Suki]

Wow. Thank you for the info. That is exactly what I needed to know. It is going to be a lot of work getting rid of the parvo, I can tell, but it will be worth saving my dogs and future litters, if any. I had been told by an old timer to use bleach, but he didn't say to dilute it, so I was freaked out about hurting my dogs, killing my grass, or ruining personal items. Thanks
n/p! you're welcome!:)

...my feeling:
...the personal stuff can be replaced, and the grass'll grow back. ;) .....

http://www.intruderalert.com/cafe/images/emoticons/cheers.gif (javascript:addit('cheers');)