Dr. Spector offered this advice for pet lovers, following the sad news of Oprah’s puppy.

Parvovirus is one of the most common infectious diseases in dogs and can be an absolutely devastating infection in puppies. It is extremely hardy in the environment and due to its ability to be transmitted by hands, clothes, food bowls, bedding, etc it can be easily spread. It is critical to practice excellent hygiene and disinfect (with detergent and bleach) all surfaces that you and your puppy have come into contact with to avoid spread to other dogs.

There are vaccinations which are safe and effective, but despite the best vaccination protocols, all puppies will have a small window of susceptibility of a few days where they will be at risk for getting parvovirus. Because of this, it is important to avoid taking very young puppies into dog-social settings (day care, boarding, obedience class, etc) until they have at least two or three of their puppy parvovirus vaccinations.

Ask your veterinarian for advice on this, as it will depend on if you have an at-risk breed (Rottweiler, Labrador, etc) and the importance of getting your dog socialized at a young age. If your dog gets parvovirus, seek veterinary medical attention immediately as early supportive treatment increases the chance of survival.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Ask a Vet, Dr Donna Spector, Pet Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.