Can an adult dog get Parvo?

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#1
Just wondering because say you were down helping out at the shelter and some of the dogs came down with parvo, can you bring that home to your dogs? Your adult dogs?

And what precautions should be taken so not to bring the virus home? or to anywhere?

what are the chances an adult dog of about 2 years old could contract parvo? Thanks


My dogs are kept up to date on all shots, just wanted to add that


What about distemper? Does that just affect puppies
 
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#2
Also with Zacks immune system being bascially nonexistent (well its a lot better than it was and he is not getting sick nearly as much) should I limit my time at the shelter to just every once in awhile. I'm scared of bringing home something on my clothes or something that might make him sick.

(He only gets to have play dates with dogs we know due to not being 100%)
 

Beanie

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#3
Just wondering because say you were down helping out at the shelter and some of the dogs came down with parvo, can you bring that home to your dogs? Your adult dogs?
You betcha.

And what precautions should be taken so not to bring the virus home? or to anywhere?
Bleach, bleach, and bleach some more. Wear different shoes in the shelter and take them off immediately after you exit the shelter. Try to avoid wearing your shoes into your home, or too far into your home, and clean your entryway with bleach frequently.

what are the chances an adult dog of about 2 years old could contract parvo?
I'd say the chances of a 2 year old adult dog who is vacc'd and not directly exposed to the disease - that is, going into a kennel where the disease is present or playing with an infected dog - contracting parvo are pretty slim... but it can still happen. Parvo also incubates for up to two weeks, I think, so that's kind of what makes it tricky.

What about distemper? Does that just affect puppies
Nope, it affects adults too. Again, it's worse for puppies, but adult dogs can definitely still get it, and about half that contract distemper die IIRC. I think it's like 3/4 for puppies?
 

grab01

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#5
Has he come down with other illnesses that would show he has a low immune system? You could always have a titer done to show his immunity to those illnesses if you're worried.

Yes, adults can come down with parvo. It's usually unvaccinated adults. We recently treated a year old dog for Parvo that had never had any vaccines.

I work in a vet clinic, so I'm in contact with ickies all day. My dogs are all vaccinated (though we do the three year schedule once they're adults) and I'm generally not too worried about viruses, even with Ginger, who is prone to every intestinal ailment known to man. Grimmy even had Parvo..it's how I came to acquire him. (his owners couldn't afford his care and signed him over. He came home with me as he was finishing his antibiotics)

I bleach my shoes and use disinfectant as a general rule, even if I haven't knowingly touched anything with disease.

I'm far more paranoid about bringing skin issues home, though. Skin things creep me out
 
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#6
Zacks immune system was wiped out by all the antibiotics he was on. He was on some many for so long now he picks up the smallest sniffle. He seems to be doing better (glad I didn't listen to the vet about isolating him) but I still fear that If in contact with an illness like that he doesn't have what it takes to fight it off. (He was on antibiotics the whole first year of his life and by the end of that his immune system was shot. He had so many tummy problems as a pup and ended up with acute pancreatitis and so forth)
 
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FluffyZooCrew

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#7
To me, honestly, I wouldn't worry as long as the dogs are up to date on their vax. My dogs have been at the shelters with me, and have been at work with me when I was a tech at my vet. Bo walked straight thru a pile of parvo poop one day, then slipped in it. :rolleyes:

He's an adult though, up to date on vax, and never had a problem. My guys have come in direct contact with parvo, many many MANY times, and Corona as well. Annie had kennel cough when I brought her home, but none of my other guys contracted it. I also brought home Distemper on my clothes on two seperate occasions from Distemper puppies, and never had a problem.

But because my dogs come into contact with so much stuff, is the exact reason why I, personally, vaccinate them every year now instead of skipping years.

As long as your dogs are UTD on vax, I really wouldn't worry that much.

But to answer the original question, yes adult dogs (unvaccinated ones) can get things like Parvo, and yes it does live on your clothes and you can bring it home. I can't imagine how much I've brought home on my clothes and shoes over the years.
 
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FluffyZooCrew

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#9
It's fine I'm sure. If you're concerned, talk to the vet about it.

Sam has no immune system. It's shot and gone out the window. Sam cannot be vaccinated again, ever. He's allergic to everything, and many things deadly so. Everything, down to the cologne and hand lotions on someone's skin, or the fabric softener on their clothes, will cause an allergic reaction to him. Sam has broken out into hives and respiratory distress just because of drinking regular tap water in a different town.

And yet, Sam has not contracted anything, despite God knows what that's dragged into the house on my shoes.

If you're that concerned about volunteering at the shelter, and bringing it home to him, then re-think volunteering there. Or talk to your vet.
 

grab01

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#10
Okay but the point I think everyone is missing is Zacks immune system. .
I did..which is why I suggested having him titered, which will show if he does have immunity to those diseases.

I assume you take him to parks and on walks..he's just as likely to pick things up there as you are to bring things home on your shoes.
 

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#11
If your dogs are up to date on their shots, I honestly wouldn't worry about Parvo. But to answer your question, yes, adult dogs most definetly can get parvo, and they can also die instantaniously from it!

I worked at a shelter where a 2 year old dog caught Parvo. He was the liveliest, most strong willed, happiest, jumpiest, most hyper dog. 2 days later, he was sad, unreactive, and could barely go pee. He died less than 24 hours later if Parvo. His name was Georgie; I miss him dearly.

Before:



After catching parvo; photos taken less than 24 hours before he died:



Which is why it is so important to keep your dogs up to date on their vaccinations!
 

Fran101

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#12
My "home from shelter" routine

I keep a bag in the car with shorts, a shirt, and some flipflops

after volunteering, I grab the bag out of my car, go to the bathroom and throw everything im wearing other then the bare essentials in the bag, and change into the shorts, shirt and flipflops

Also, before changing, I have these great shower clean WIPES (baby wipes work well also) they are easy to throw into a bag and are also great because they kind of get rid of the dog smell and yucky sweaty volunteering feeling.

VERY IMPORTANT: I keep purell gel in the bag. A LOT OF IT. I wash my hands/arms in the bathroom but also glop that stuff on and really get under my nails and such. purell also makes great wipes if you can find them :) they come in singleton packs, I give my hands, undernails, legs, w/e a good wipe down

Then I go home, say hi to Kenya, and then let her out in the backyard to go potty . then I bring the bag in, throw everything in the wash with bleach and wipe the sneakers down with bleach and let everything wash and close the laundry room door. LET KENYA BACK IN, then I put my volunteer shirt and shorts and sneakers BACK into the bag once its done washing, along with a change of clothes for next time



..a little extreme. sort of. But the shelter i volunteer at doesn't DO ANYTHING for any of the dogs until they get adopted. so naturally things like parvo, kennel cough, etc.. spreads like wildfire. and i dont want my girl to get sick


SPARKNOTES VERSION:
- change of clothes
- Purell gel/wipes
- Baby wipes
 

smkie

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#14
Food for thought..i heard so i don't know if it is true that there is a strain of parvo that is unaffected by the vaccines.

We had an adult dog get it at the kennels when parvo first showed up and we had no idea what it was. A dog was boarded with us from some people that adopted him at way side waifs. THe adult dog that got it did not get it as severely as the year old and under pups. It was a tragedy.
 

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#15
At both the shelter and the vet place I worked at, we had this special absorbent mat that we poured fresh bleach into every day, so when you walked by an area that had sick animals (Parvo, Distemper, etc), you had to step on the bleach mat. I also changed my clothes before coming all the way into my house.
 

corgipower

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#16
Food for thought..i heard so i don't know if it is true that there is a strain of parvo that is unaffected by the vaccines.
It is not true.

Pet Connection Blog The ‘new strain of parvo’ hysteria and why it should stop

And there’s a strain of parvo that’s not new as in, “just discovered yesterday,†but it’s new as in, “it’s eight years old now.â€

And it’s new as in, “we knew it was common in Europe but we only just looked for it in the U.S. and found it hereâ€:
Let’s start with this: adult dogs have always been able to get canine parvovirus. It’s simply more common in puppies, because there are difficulties in successfully immunizing young puppies against this disease — not just the “new†strain, but all known strains. But most adults are vaccinated for parvo, and since the vaccine is extremely effective, even those who don’t continue getting so-called “booster shots†remain immune for many years, most likely their lifetimes.

The problem of a very, very small number of dogs who cannot be successfully vaccinated for parvo is not new, and has been established long prior to this in the veterinary literature.
The vaccine we currently have, as well as natural immunity in dogs who have recovered from parvo, both produce immunity to this strain.
 
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#17
I did..which is why I suggested having him titered, which will show if he does have immunity to those diseases.

I assume you take him to parks and on walks..he's just as likely to pick things up there as you are to bring things home on your shoes.

Okay but whats the point of titering when his immune system is shot. And vaccines are required by law yearly Yes I take him on walks and out in public (because I'm trying to build back up his immunity, against the vets wishes but he is a lot heathier now than when I was doing every thing the vet said.)

And I'm sure that Titering costs money, something we don't have right now. which is why I'm terrified of him getting sick again (well either one) we are just now getting back on our feet.

I don't volunteer at the shelter I go down just to play with the dogs....and I feel guilty about it too because my pup at home needs me......and if that results in him beings sick its my fault. Taking him to the park or on a walk is not our fault. He lives in a complex full of dogs so everytime he is sick he goes to the vet whether its a sniffle or diahreaha or vomiting or lethargy it doesn't matter.....a lot of money had gone to the vet to keep him healthy.

I don't blame Zackie for not being healthy, it just hasn't been easy. We were about to get married when we got him, we had just moved into our first apartment. My husband wanted a dog, I wasn't quite ready yet but I went along with it because deep down I wanted a dog too. and I had always had poodles so we felt that would be the best fit. so my soon to be mother in law found Zachary in the newspaper and we drove 3 hours to see the most precious little puppy we had ever seen and he came home with us. At about 6 months of age we started noticing something was really wrong, he wouldn't eat or drink. We took him to the vet and they just said he had a stomach bug (well this stomach bug resulted in multiple vet visits) Finally at 9 months of age we went to a new vet (that morning I woke up to him coughing up blood) and they diagnosed him with Acute Pancreatitis. They didn't hospitalize him (they probably should have) but he had just been boarded for 10 days and they felt it would be too much stress on him. They told me to stay with him round the clock for the next 48 hours. He got better and he got sick again (parasite) and after that it was suggested to limit his exposure to things, he got depressed and that was that. (Zack is a dog who is on the go and only happy when he is going and doing things, he's very social not to other dogs but to people) well 5 months and no illnesses now and I just have him out there doing fun things (I try not to let him around dogs we don't know, it lessens the risk I feel of contracting illness)

Anyways the first year of his life was rough and expensive, so I don't blame do him for having problems, I would do it over again if I had too. But had I known I was going to get a dog right before I got married that would drain us I would have been saving every penny I ever got from birth.

I don't want to sound like I"m putting a price on him or putting money before him but I am trying to take every precaution possible to keep him safe at the same time though I'm trying to let him live a good full life.

But if my selfishness and going to play with a specific dog I want that I can't have could make him sick I may need to stop....I should be spending time with him, but at the same time its an escape from all of it too when I do go.

Obviously I'm pretty stressed at the moment

I mean I feel guilty for going but I enjoy going. But I know I have a dog at home that does get sick very easy (and I'm saving every penny I get for him because I know its just a matter of time before we are back at the vet, I know thats a bad way to think but Its our reality)
 
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FluffyZooCrew

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#19
Okay but whats the point of titering when his immune system is shot. And vaccines are required by law yearly Yes I take him on walks and out in public (because I'm trying to build back up his immunity, against the vets wishes but he is a lot heathier now than when I was doing every thing the vet said.)
The point of titering is seeing if he has antibodies built up. Has nothing to do with his immune system. Yes, he's more susceptable to things, but he needs to be titer tested if you are concerned. Titering him will show if he has immunity to the diseases. If he does, then he won't contract them.

And any unvaccinated dog can get parvo just from walking in a park, just so you know. He's no safer walking in a park, than he is with you going to the shelter.

But AGAIN, if he is vaccinated, it shouldn't be a problem. If you're that concerned, quit going to the shelter.
 
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#20
The point of titering is seeing if he has antibodies built up. Has nothing to do with his immune system. Yes, he's more susceptable to things, but he needs to be titer tested if you are concerned. Titering him will show if he has immunity to the diseases. If he does, then he won't contract them.

And any unvaccinated dog can get parvo just from walking in a park, just so you know. He's no safer walking in a park, than he is with you going to the shelter.

But AGAIN, if he is vaccinated, it shouldn't be a problem. If you're that concerned, quit going to the shelter.

I just said I was going to quit going to the shelter
 

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