what he said!!!Originally Posted by Sparky70
Leave the dog at home..........
what he said!!!Leave the dog at home..........
I worked for a vet for 6 years and have seen it plenty of times that a puppy died from Parvo because the owners were unaware of how serious it is and how common. Parvo is very contagious and potentially deadly to puppies, causing sever diareah, loss of appitite and vomiting. Puppies that get it, get severly dehydrated and often die. Don't take your puppy in public areas until it has at least finished its shots. The virus lives for a long time on surface areas so your puppy does not need to be in contact with another dog to get it.
http://www.2ndchance.info/parvo.htm
My Opinion
Being that I have been in the veterinary business for 17 years and a practicing emergency vet for the last 9 years, I felt it my responsibility to post a reply to this topic, as public education is a primary responsibility of the profession. As for the original post. The primary concern of taking a young puppy into public areas (meaning any area outside of your own home and yard) is that you don't know what other dogs have been in that area. The primary concern is parvovirus, which has been previously discussed. Parvo is a debilitating virus of young dogs. It affects primarily their gastrointestinal tract by destroying the replicating cells that line the intestinal walls. This leads to severe vomiting and diarrhea, introduction of bacterial infection, and subsequent dehydration. This can and often leads to death. Average treatment costs can run in the thousands of dollars with between a 65-75% avg survival rate. Dogs under the age of 1 year are very susceptible. It is very important that puppies reveive a full course of vaccinations prior to exposure to any unknown areas. The problem with parvovirus is that it an extremely hardy and strong virus that can survive in the soil for many years. It is passed in the feces and vomitus of other animals that carry the virus. Bleach is one of the few things that can kill parvo. Other concerns not related to puppies only are external parasites, mainly fleas and ticks. Frontline plus is suitable for puppies over 8 weeks of age and protects from fleas and ticks. Flea and tick collars have been proven to be have less than optimal efficacy in the prevention of flea and tick infestation. Lymes disease is passed from ticks to dogs and can be a very serious disease. It is rare that I recommend vaccinations for Lymes disease as it's efficacy is not completely confirmed and it does have a higher propensity for reactions to it. I only recommend Lymes vaccine as a second defense for dogs that are already currently on Frontline Plus but still get alot of ticks. Frontline kills and removes ticks within 18 hours of contact. It usually requires that a tick is attached to a dog for 24-36 hours to transmit the spirochete bacteria that causes Lymes disease. Giardia is also something that dogs can get especially in the mountain areas. It is a parasite usually found in standing water, that causes GI signs of vomiting and diarrhea. It is passed in the feces of affected animals - many wild animals are carriers of this. While many adult healthy animals can fight this off with their immune systems, many young puppies do not have adequate immune systems and can have pretty serious illness. I hope this information has been helpful to those of you with questions.
Tight Lines
your lab is way to young. wait till a minimum 4 months.
Flee collars do more harm than good. Look into frontline .
I know it sucks that you cant take your dog this season but trust me it will be worth it
X2
Bigred
Hi,
Just wanted to say thanks to all who volunteered their advice. After quite a bit of thinking, we've decided to keep our puppy at home. Hard as it is, we're doing the safest thing. Fortunately, my wife's idea of a vacation is reading by the river while I fish. So she's going to stay home, read and puppysit while my uncle, my brother and I go off to have fun!!! Maybe by the end of summer, we'll be able to bring her up to the Sierra's and introduce her to the great outdoors. Thanks again.
Jon
Very SMART of U to leave wiffie and dog at home!
Ha ha ha ha! Especially the first one!!!
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