[davemchine]

I have found myself a dog owner today which thrills my children but complicates my plans to travel out of town next weekend. I contacted a "pet sitter" who said she could keep the puppy for the day I will be gone but said I would have to sign a waver regarding parvo. She said that none of her dogs have had parvo and that they all have their shots up-to-date. So, is this a realistic idea or does it pose a serious health risk?

[andi*pandi]

Congrats! We are also getting a puppy tomorrow.

What the heck is parvo? <googles> aha. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_parvovirus

Is your puppy too young for the parvo innoculation?

If her dogs have had the shots then you should be ok... depending on who else she is petsitting for... ?

[tacticalguy]

If your puppy has not had it's parvo shots, it can spread the disease to her dogs. When they get parvo, they start to lose hunger and refuse to eat or drink. It's a slow killer. I should know. My beagle had it. I had to pay $1500 out of pocket to get her healthy. I then had to force feed her at home for weeks with medicated dog food and liquid.

Even after your puppy gets the shots, I still would wait awhile until the shots have taken it's course. Her excrement may contain traces of parvo in which dogs like to put their noses to. This is how some cases of parvo are contacted. It can also get on other things around your house as well like clothing and carpet.

Parvo is like the AIDS of dogs

[Waragainstsleep]

How can her dogs get it if they've had their shots?

[tacticalguy]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

How can her dogs get it if they've had their shots?

Well Parvo typically attacks younger pups because their immune system is not strong, but if a grown dog has been vaccinated, there are numerous ways it can still get Parvo. Dogs are known to eat grass which is perfectly fine, but sometimes the grass may contain particles of feces left from a pup that's been infected with Parvo. The ingestion of the Parvo infected grass may weaken the dog's immune system. Another way is if you let a pup with Parvo in your house overnight, it already infected everything in your house, therefore you would need to bleach basically everything in your house. If not, your dog can get infected through long term contact with Parvo which may stay in your house as much as 2 years.

Parvo is one of the most serious cases of pups and dogs dying. Never undermine it.

[andi*pandi]

Unless his pup is very young, or he got it from someone disreputable, they get their parvo shots at 8 weeks. Our puppy has had the first parvo shot, and gets the second at 14 weeks I think.