08/17/2024
UPDATE 8/17/24...Lots of this is boring science type of stuff, but still informative (I hope). If you came here just to giggle at puppy pics, keep scrolling....this post will probably just depress you. Ok.........I've been asked by several people to give more info on Parvo and my experience with it ; I hope it will prove useful. To my fellow Breeders, some of the things I learned might help them as well. And to the Puppy Buyers -- it will give you some insight into what it takes to be a RESPONSIBLE breeder....it's not all rainbows & butterflies. First of all, none of my dogs are in kennels. I have some acreage that is fully fenced so the dogs have some room to roam, but they all sleep in the house and puppies are born/raised here. That is excellent for their development, as my customers will attest, but it's a nightmare if you are dealing with a super-contagious disease like Parvo (not to mention your housekeeping, but that's another story. 😁). As I mentioned, a 10 month old, fully vaccinated pup named Jackson was the first. He came in the house acting weak & listless, when he wasn't any better the next day we went to my usual vet. Imagine my surprise when he tested positive for Parvo!!! Most of my dogs don't go off the property, I NEVER allow outside dogs in and (almost) never let people come on the property to "see the puppies." If folks want to pick up their pups here, I meet them at the gate so they never actually come on the property. I still have no idea how he caught Parvo and probably never will. Well, I wanted to leave Jackson at the vet's but they simply weren't set up for the type of intense treatment he was going to need. So she suggested I take him to the ER in Coeur d'Alene. I agreed -- they are spendy ($150 just to look at the animal), but they are open 24/7 and so a great resource. My vet called ahead to tell them I was coming and when I arrived I was instructed to not even get out of the vehicle...the tech came out to collect Jackson dressed in gown, mask, gloves...the whole shebang! Jackson was there for 4 days (to the tune of almost $4,000!), but he made it. Then it started hitting the pups, all of whom were too young to vaccinate. If you vaccinate too early, chances are it won't be effective anyway because the mother's antibodies are still present and will zero out the vaccine. As Her influence wanes, and the pup's immune system becomes more mature, the vaccines become more effective...and the pup "sero-converts" which is just a fancy terms for it's immune system allowing the antibodies in the vaccine to work. Some 20 years of research using titers (Google) shows something like 98% of pups will sero-convert by 16weeks. Obviously you don't want to wait that long before vaccinating, which is why a SERIES of vaccines are recommended. ANYWAY, I had 3 litters of pups, all under 6 weeks...my usual vet said she was worried about them....Boy! She must have seen the Future. She agreed to set me up with all the supplies I would need so they could be treated at home (I'm a retired RN, so I'm comfortable around all that stuff). There is no CURE for Parvo...all you can offer is supportive care and then hope for the best. At one point I had 6 pups in the "isolation room" (which happened to be my Master Bathroom) getting sub-q fluids (under the skin as opposed to in the vein) 3x a day, 4 different kinds of medication given up to 3x a day and trying to get them to eat/drink. It was a nightmare. I kept the other dogs separate and if a pup showed even the slightest symptom, it went to the isolation room and began treatment. My sweet Willow was one of the last to show symptoms...and I was like a little kid imploring her, "please don't die, please don't die!!!" but she did anyway. I was gutted. The end results when the storm finally cleared? Of the SIXTEEN pups who contracted the disease, TWELVE died. All were under 8 weeks of age, with the exception of Jackson, who was 10 months old. Not one of the mature (over 1 year) dogs got it or even showed symptoms...which is actually pretty miraculous considering how many heelers live in a 1800 sq ft house. All 16 pups were treated aggressively and I was in constant communication with my vet and following her orders (just like when I was a working RN), so you can imagine what it was like to lose pup after pup after pup. You feel so helpless!! But we try to learn from even the worst experiences, so here's what I learned from this particular horror show: #1) Your dog's best protection against Parvo is to VACCINATE! It's well documented that even fully vaccinated dogs can get Parvo, but it's the best deterrent we can offer #2) for Breeders I suggest Neo Par. It is a vaccine with more than the usual antibodies so it has a better chance of overriding Mom's antibodies. It is especially designed for Parvo, and it can be given as early as 42 days (4 weeks). It is recommended to continue to give every 2 weeks up to 20 weeks. Again, even using Neo Par THIS IS NOT A GUARANTEE. Like many viruses, Parvo mutates and can show as different strains (just like COVID), but it's affordable at only about $6.00 per dose if you buy in bulk and give the shots yourself. #3) Mom's antibodies are what protects babies till their own immune system matures, but if Mom's colostrum (the milk that is produced in the first days after birth) is not up to par, the protection the pups get is also likely to be less. With horses, you can test the dam's milk for this...not sure if that's possible with dogs. So FOR BREEDERS I suggest giving your female a booster vaccine a month or so before breeding if it's been over afew years since they last were vaccinated....not so much for her protection but to boost her immune system which will help improve the quality of her colostrum. I hope this TED talk has helped some😉....I've gotten so many posts/email/calls from folks offering their sympathy and thanking me for being so open about the experience, so I'm guessing I made the right call in sharing my sad story with all you. THANK YOU SO MUCH for allowing me to do this. One positive thing that came out of it all? While I was distracted trying to save puppies one of my young, un-neutered males "Hoss" apparently "matured" earlier than I was expecting and had an affair with an older lady....my female Pansy (mom of "Groovy" and other successful sport dogs)....but I wasn't aware. She only produced ONE pup and I had no idea who the sire was. But it didn't take long for it to become obvious....'cause this guy looks NOTHING like Pansy. Check out the photos....the first one is of Hoss as a pup, the other is of Bonzai (name pending) taken at about the same age. Hoss, you h***y stinker! Time to get snipped. 🤣😁 But I'm thinking I might keep Bonzai -- he's got tons of personality, is smaller than his dad and his grandmother is HamBone....one of my favorite heelers. But Hoss is available!!!
