Wake Up And Smell The Parvo!

During the past two years or so, we’ve worked with well over 850 customers, and we’ve noticed one common thread, which is: dog owners don’t understand just how aggressive and fast-acting the 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 smell of Parvo is unmistakable, as the diarrhea, which can often be 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 come across before.

We had one customer, in the Pacific Northwest, whose dog first showed symptoms of Parvo on a Sunday morning, and by later that afternoon, it was already dead.

Although not every dog dies this quickly, it can happen, but the point is, too many people sit around for days on end, with their dog clearly not well, and doing nothing about it, because they reckon they have time.

But nothing could be further from the truth!

If you know dogs at all, then you know that 99.9% or more of them 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 a few 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, provided you’re observant, of course) should be a massive, red warning sign.

Unfortunately, there is such a lot of misinformation 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 (particularly if your dog is given his shot after he’s been infected, which is just about the worst thing you can do).
• They have an adult dog, and everybody knows that Parvo only affects puppies. Oops, wrong again! Parvo may still primarily be a puppy illness, but more and more adult dogs are getting it now as well. We’re sort of tired of saying this, but it bears repeating until people get it: vaccinations don’t work like they used to – the 2c strain is simply too virulent 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 won’t tell you 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. Time for another reality check: the 2c strain of Parvo often generates a false-negative result, especially with the stool sample-based tests that most vets conduct in their clinics nowadays. This means that although you are told your dog does not have Parvo, he actually does, and that leads to more days of inaction while your dog is getting sicker and sicker.
• Their dog never goes outside, so it can’t get Parvo. This is another myth, as one of the most common reasons why indoor dogs get Parvo is because it is their owners (or breeders) who give it to them! It’s true, people walk this virus into their house without realizing it (or take it in on their clothes or hands). That’s why we always suggest that people (including visitors) change their shoes whenever they go indoors.

So, given that there is a ton of bad advice and uninformed hearsay to be found, mainly on the Internet, of course, where can you go to get up-to-date and accurate 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. It seems to us that this is basic information and knowledge that you must have if you’re going to work in the doggie business!

Well, you’ll be glad to know that we have written a 100+ page ebook all about Parvo, called Parvo Treatment 101, that you can download to your computer in minutes – and the best part is that it’s 100% free.

This book contains more or less everything you need to know about Parvo (e.g. the symptoms, including the different types of stool to look out for, treatment options), which makes it a great place to start.

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 there’s one thing you don’t have with this virus, and that is time. You can always read our free book later, once your dog is stabilized, or better.

We hope that you found this article both interesting and useful, and if it helps you save your dog’s life, even better. However, we do have a load more information about Parvo treatment for you, which is in addition to 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 (you don’t have to take your dog to the vet and part with anywhere from $500 USD to over $10,000 USD, for a success rate that offers no better odds than tossing a coin, because safe, effective, inexpensive Parvo home remedies are available), 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.