our puppy has parvo

Our 3 month old pit bull puppy Atilla is currently diagnosed with Parvo. Last week we noticed he was sleeping more and getting lazy, and over the weekend, he moved less and we sometimes had to carry him to get him out of the room. But he was still eating like a pig and playing with his toys..its just that he was sleeping a lot. He had a 5in1 shot appointment with the vet on monday, so when we brought him in, the vet said he could have parvo, but since he eats a lot, has no diarrhea, no vomitting.. just observe him some more. He didnt get the 5in1 but the dewormer instead. Monday night he threw up, so Tuesday AM he was brought to the vet. He started having diarrhea at the vets, and started losing appetite. He was put on IV as soon as he got in on Tuesday, too. Wednesday and today, Thursday he is still puking and having bloody stool. He's been on the dextrose ringer, the antibiotic, anti-barfing thing, amino acids injections, and now he looks like a bag of bones. We don't know if we can give him any food given that he passed bloody stool 5x today. the vet says his stomach is too sensitive to start giving him rice or bland food, even. in about 8 hours, it will be 72 hours living at the vet's already. His worms are roundworms, and are almost gone- they only saw eggs in his stool today. What are his chances of surviving, for those of you who have experienced parvo in your puppies?
Our puppy's white blood cell count on wednesday was high - 33,000. they said normal is 9,000. Will check WBC tomorrow. We are in the Philippines and the vet is low-tech but thankfully labor and medicine are cheap so he can stay at the vets. Electron microscope or Parvo test is not available at our Vet. And if it is, the test will cost more than the treatment.
Here is a profile of our puppy:
http://www.dogster.com/dog_page.php?i=42098
this picture was taken just 1 week before he got sick. please pray for our atilla

 

welcome and poor atilla, I hav eno experience with Parvo but several posters here had gone thru it with success.

a big hug for attilla

honeybear

 

I think the biggest deal with parvo is keeping the pup hydrated, which the IV and anti-vomiting meds should be doing. We have several people experienced with parvo here, so they should be posting soon.


Jamiya

 

We have a 4 1/2 month old German Shepherd that we just pulled through Parco ourselves. the vet told us it would be approx. $1,500.00 to check him in and we could not afford it. so, he sent us home with as much of the supplies as he could and we did his IV every morning, antibiotics 2 x's a day, anti vomiting and anit diarrhea meds up to 3 x's per day. GET SOME PEDIOLYTE ASAP. Non-flavored, clear and start giving him a full medicine syringe (no needle) at least once an hour or so then buy low sodium chicken broth and give him the same amount the same way. you can also purchase a dietary supplement gel/paste in a tube (Cal rite, Cal Nut, etc...) and smear it on the roof of his mouth. Stage 1 baby foods will also do it. But, we had to go with the broth and pediolyte as Sarge was NOT interested in eating at all. You will have to force him for a bit then all of sudden he will rememebr his appetite and go crazy to eat. Remember to still go with an easy on the tummy diet even then because he will feel better then his tummy is really doing. They say that dogs that are not checked into a vet do not have a good chance of making it. That may be because it is a lot of work and some people might slack off i guess. But, our dog made it with the help of this forum I might add. (how I joined and never left!) We even survived a relapse (yes, THEY CAN RELAPSE) you have to bleach EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!! There is also a Parvo tea recipe to help if you want to try it. You can e-mail me direct too if you have more questions, etc... I will say a prayer for you and remember, do not underestimate this illness, it can be tricky and it is a killer. If you stay with your pup through it and fight for him, you should make it fine.

 

This is not an official statistic by any means- it is just what I heard from a neighbor who's pup recently had parvo (and died unfortunately ) I've heard the survival chances of a puppy with parvo are about 70%, but that is only with veterinarian treatment. Here is a helpful link about Parvo:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Conten ... &SourceID=

I hope your little guy makes it through- at least you got him to the vet right away- that will definately help.

 

I had heard that stat as well before and asked my vet about it when Sarge was diagnosed with Parvo, and he said that stat is partially based on people who take the puppy home because they cannot afford in clinic treatment (like us) and then do not really do what they should or can at home for the dog (NOT like us!). He said it made it hard to get clear accurate stats on Parvo as some people just take the dog home and wait for it to die. (JERKS! :x ) He said he felt that, if you are committed to saving your dog and are not afraid to do all of it at home, that being at home with the people who love him is really better for the puppy then scared in an unknown environment with people he does not know.

Off topic- puggle owner- your baby is a doll! I want to ask you about puggles sometime if you don't mind.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. Parvo is bad in Texas. And I see it alot!

If you got him there before all they symptoms, thats a good sign. They say that if the dog makes it for a full7 days after symptoms show, he/she has a very good chance at survival.

Now, get him some chicken broth and feed it to him in a Non needle syrenge. You can also get a nutrient past (which I'm sure your vet has) and feed him that. He will be very hesitant, but be persistant. Do not feed him Wet food or any puppy/dry food! That can upset his stomache.

Your vet will take good care of him. Visit him often. The more he see's your, and recognizes his family, the happier and more comfortable he'll be, and we all know, happiness is a BIG key in recovery!


Good luck!

 

Thanks Sarge's mom Sure I would love to discuss "puggles" any time you want to- I have done much research since we got our little Cameron

 

jadediesel: Sorry to hear you and your little guy Attila has to go through this.

My dog Sheba had parvo 15yrs ago. She got it after her first series of vaccines. The key thing is to diagnose it early on and start the treatment as soon as possible to avoid severe dehydration. After 7 to 10 days my Sheba made a full recovery and lived to a ripe old age.

It sounds like Atilla is getting good care from your Vet. We'll all pray for his speedy recovery!

 

update

hi guys, thanks for all the info... its friday morning now, and i just visited atilla - he did well through the night. He still poos blood and he vomited twice. I asked the Vet if he should be drinking pedialite or broth, but the vet said hes not allowed to even drink WATER because he's just gonna puke it up cuz his stomach is unstable. He's still hooked onto the IV. I also looked at his charts, and realized that he only started having diarrhea on WEDNESDAY. On Tuesday (when i brought him to the vet in the morning) he still had an appetite but threw up. I think this is a good thing because it means he was at the vet's before he started diarrheaing and he is kept hydrated. The only thing im worried about is all of you are recommending pedialte/broth but my vet is saying not yet. what do you think? i really hope he makes it, ill bring my camera later on my afternono visit so you guys can see how skinny he got.

 

It could be he is getting his nourishment from the IV. If he is getting a glucose solution (and not just saline) then I guess that would be okay?


Jamiya

 

hmm

I visited him tonite, friday nite 10pm and his chart said 7x bloody stool today. thats more bloody stool than ever! i saw him get up walk around his cage and pooped a yellow blob. i think this is a good sign because now he's walking around and i didnt see blood in his poop. but i saw vomit on his cage floor, some clear bubbly fluid. They took out his IV for tonight because he's over-hydrated or had his fill for the day. something like that. ill check to see if he has glucose tomorrow. he did sniff my finger when i had some chicken on it. a sad thing i saw at the vet was another pitbull puppy who died today of leptoserosis..he was in a plasticbag!

 

Its good that hes up walking around and pooing non bloody stool! I asure you the vet is taking care of him. If he's not allowing water, then he's getting a gloucouse solution.Of ten times they will give a gloucose solution and give water, but the water does make them throw up. Water is harsh on an empty stomache. He will continue to poo diareah because he's getting nourishment through his IV.
Glad to see the little guy is getting better. Give him a big kiss for me!


As for the plastic bag, Ewwww... He should have put the pup in a quarentine room!