One tough puppy

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Some weeks ago we got Ayla, an Anatolian Shepherd puppy. Her breeder had her vaccinated at six weeks. We had her vaccinated at nine weeks, a week after we got her, then at twelve weeks, and finally at sixteen weeks.

Sunday last week, the day after her last vaccinations, she was lethargic. Not much to worry about; it happens sometimes. Monday she was still pretty flat, then late that night she had diarrhea and a few hours later she vomited – classic signs of parvo. As an ex-vet tech, DesertRoomie knew what to do. She kept Ayla as hydrated as possible on Pedialyte until we could get her to a vet on Tuesday evening. There she did test positive for parvo, right off the scale. Now, for those who don’t know, without intervention, parvo in a puppy that young is about 95% fatal if there’s no intervention.

Standard protocol called for IVs and an overnight stay, $1,000 or more. Instead, with the vet’s blessing we got kits for subcutaneous injection, three liters worth, which can be done at home. That night and the next morning before she left for work at ten, DR got one liter into her and left a note for when I got home at about two to let her out of the crate we were keeping her in and outside if she wanted it. Ayla was alert enough but was happy right where she was, so I just left the crate door open and let her be. She hadn’t absorbed the 300ml or so of fluid she’d gotten that morning, which was a good sign – she was less dehydrated than we thought.

DR got home a few hours later and I heated up dinner, a couple calzones from CostCo. A few minutes after we started eating them, Ayla strolls in from the bathroom where the crate was, sits in front of DR and gives out an imperious bark. We look at each other then at her. “I think she wants your calzone.” DR gave her the tiniest bit of crust. She snapped it up, wagged her tail, and demanded more. She still hadn’t absorbed the fluid from that morning (some eleven hours later) so we prepared some rice gruel, mixed a tablespoon of canned dogfood in to make it savory, and watched her snarf it down in less than two minutes.

Wednesday it was more of the same, with a larger amount of dog food mixed in. Thursday we went back to the vet for another exam. “This is a littermate, right?” he joked. “This can’t be the same puppy I saw on Monday.” By Sunday we had her back on her regular puppy chow. Yesterday Ayla was back again for another parvo snap test; completely clear, not a trace left. (We had been worried she might wind up a carrier)

Now, it might be that with the three parvo vaccinations (among others) earlier she’d already developed some antibodies against the virus, though not enough to fend off an attack all together. I think, though, we just got a dog with 18 CON.

2

Greta news! I’ve looked into adopting an Anatolian; they seem like great dogs.

3

Thank goodness Ayla made it through! BTW, she’s super cute.

4

And cute, too! I bet she was super cute when she was looking at DesertRoomie and barking for the calzone…

5

Aw that is one cute puppy–high praise indeed from someone who generally thinks dogs drool while cats rule.

6

That had to be a tough thing to go through. I am glad she is okay. She is super cute too.

I love puppies but I know that I do not have the time or patience for them, I wish I did though. I am sure there is a lot of fun having a canine toddler on your hands.

7

You’re very fortunate that she made it through the ordeal safely. I’m happy for all of you.

They get pretty big don’t they. Better stock up on calzones!

8

It is a measure of Inigo’s influence that I half expected the OP to contain the phrase, “…no matter how long I marinated it.”

Anyway, I’m glad she pulled through so thoroughly. She’s adorable – but then I have a soft spot for Shepherd’s. :slight_smile:

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That is a beautiful puppy - and I am so glad she beat parvo!

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“Dog ain’t bad neither! Now dog is greasy I’ll admit, but you’d be amazed at how downright delicate the flavor is. Especially when you’re starvin’.”
–Jack Crabb (Little Big Man)

Outstanding job with the wiener, er, I mean pooch! I’m not much of a dog guy either, but that one looks like a lot of fun. Glad she’s ok.

11

Wow! Years ago, so few dogs survived Parvo… nice to hear of a success story! She is a cutie. So, it sounds like she contracted the Parvo before she had her second Parvo shot.

Let this be a warning to all would be puppy owners - please do NOT take your pup to any place that has unknown dog-traffic (walking on public streets, parks, etc) until after the last of the Parvo shots. I’ve had to put way too many puppies down, includung a foster of mine.

You do know to sterilize the heck out of anywhere the pup has been, including anywhere she pooped? Parvo virus can stick around on the ground for up to a couple of years, I think, and last I checked, was only killable by bleach or fire (not winter). Best not infect a pup that comes to visit in a year or so!

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Yes. At the vet’s there is a big sign on the door, "If your puppy is sick or you suspect it may have parvo, take it around back. They’ll bring out a portable table and examine it outside by the supply door, then spray the table down with some sort of anti-parvo spray (not bleach) and leave it outside to dry.

I filled a garden sprayer with bleach at 1:4 and sprayed every dog-turd I could find in the back yard before scooping them up and putting them in a doubled yard bag. I then sprayed the interior floors with 1:16 bleach. This was not difficult as it was all concrete slab or vinyl tile. While the house aired out the two throw rugs were hauled outside, draped over a clothes line, and worked over with that same 1:16 mixture, but not soaked.

Winters here are far too mild to do do anything to the virus and even the summers – which you’d figure would to the deed on 'most anything else – doesn’t destroy it either.

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That’s fantastic! It’s such a horrific virus and that it strikes puppies so readily is heartbreaking. I recently lost a 5-7 month old to the disease. She was under the weather for a couple days, which we attributed to an upset stomach, before the familiar Parvo stench popped up. We were told she had been given all of her shots and even the vet assured it wasn’t necessary to give a 6 in 1 to be sure. The vaccination records were ‘suddenly’ found the day after she died which confirmed that she didn’t, in fact, have all of her shots.

Of course after the obvious symptoms show up they have less than 48 hours usually, so our only option was an emergency vet since it was a Saturday night. I couldn’t afford the steep ‘down payment’ needed, and my credit wasn’t good enough to use their financing service, so they gave us the old “do you have any good friends or relatives?” routine. There was no way we could get the equipment needed for an IV so we were stuck with Pedialyte, Pepto Bismol, and a dropper. A few hours later she finally succumbed to seizure and died, alone. She didn’t seem to suffer too much(odd too since Brussels Griffon are such a sensitive breed), and thankfully passed relatively quickly. Who knows how long her stomach had been torn up though since it makes the dogs so lethargic and depressed at first.

It’s heart wrenching to know that bad credit stood in the way of saving a furry companion’s life.

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Awww, she’s cute. I’m glad she made it!

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Does she need any further parvo shots now, or will she have lifetime immunity from having had parvo?

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Aww, so cute! Loaded with CHA too! :smiley:

It’s awesome to hear she’s doing okay. Little thing’s a trooper!

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Thank you, from the bottom of this worrywort’s heart!

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Out tough little gal, that! Good pooch! Wuf. :slight_smile:

(and she IS awfully cute)

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She is done with her parvo vaccinations and under ordinary circumstances should be immune to the common types. Parvo does mutate so she could be susceptible to a new strain but it’s a lot easier for a big dog to pull through.

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If she died a couple hours after being seen, it is doubtful treatment would have saved her at that point.