So we rescued/found a puppy that has parvo and am wondering if anyone has experienced this.

We took him to the vet as soon as we noticed he has diarrhea and he's been under 24 hour care since Monday at 2 am. Vomiting has essentially stopped and diarrhea has been less frequent. The dog is still mostly sleeping, but gets up to walk around his cage between naps. They started force feeding him today and so far so good.

I can't really get a read on what the vet thinks about the severity of the situation. He said things like...
- "It was a low positive for a Parvo test" (Does that even exist?)
- "He's slowly improving but sometimes things get worse"

Any vets out there that can provide any insight? Or anyone been through this before?

TIA

Is a low positive on the Parvo test anything like being a little bit pregnant?

FSGuide said:

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Is a low positive on the Parvo test anything like being a little bit pregnant?

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That's what I'm wondering.

I had a dog in College that got Parvo. We thought he was going to die. Even when the puke and diarrhea stopped he still wouldn't eat. Finally one day I ground up some lean ground beef and gave it to him. He smelled it, took one small bite, popped up and at the rest. He was good to go after that.

We said the word 'parvo' around him so much he thought it was his name. You could say the word and he would come to you up to the day he died 13 years later.

Sounds like the vet is trying to be positive about the situation and also temper expectations

Good that he is keeping the force fed food down. Stopping the vomiting is important.

The DVM is hedging his conversation a bit because a parvo dog can initially improve due to medicines and rehydration, you get optimistic and then they crash again. So, no one likes to proclaim them better until they are ALL better.

The virus attacks the gut and in dogs that don't make it at necropsy you see black, rotten intestine instead of normal pink.

The light positive is based on "how blue" the dot is on the test- IMO, little correlation to what the patient does.

Had a similar experience with my lab/shepherd that just turned 10. We got him from a rescue and the next day his brother was diagnosed with parvo. We took him to the vet a few times early on and he stayed at home with us for at least a week. When he stopped eating dog food I started cooking chicken breasts for him. We ended up having him stay at the vet and they force-fed him (the rescue paid for all of the vet bills).

He got down to 11 pounds at one point - looked like a skeleton with a dog head on top of it - but somehow made it through. I don't think the vet thought he had a very high chance of survival, but I guess longshots hit sometimes. We did go up to the vets every day (my wife on her way to work and me after work) to maybe help give him a bit of familiar faces and scents.

He's now a trim ~65 lb healthy dog. Probably the dumbest dog I've ever owned and completely does not understand social or pack behavior, which might be related to his near death as a pup. He acts like an alpha but then cries and runs at the slightest bit of aggression, however he has a really sweet disposition which is great for our kids. I've taught him down, sit, stay (at least as long as I'm looking) and to shake, but those took a LONG time compared to other dogs and he never learned anything else. I guess he will jump up in the back of my truck or our SUV on command. Also not a great leash dog because he doesn't heel and tends to lose focus and pull more than he's supposed to. All in all a good dog.

Also if the vet hasn't explained to you how you need to clean your yard/home to get rid of the parvo virus you need to ask. I don't remember what all we ended up doing to clean the yard, but it can live for something like 2 years and infect other dogs.

Thanks IslandAg... if there is no blood in his stool does that mean the internal damage was minimal? Or is that in any way a positive sign?

Nothing to add to this. It sucks to tell an owner everything is looking good then have to call them back with bad news.

Day 3 of treatment - Vet was worried this morning because the dog seems more lethargic than yesterday. They suggested a blood / platelet transfusion, but after the blood test they determined his electrolytes, potassium, and glucose levels were too low. He's still holding down his food and his protein levels are good, so hopefully after his vitamins are replenished we'll see a turnaround.

Adopted two very young female Doberman/GSD mixes fall 2017 - both seemed healthy and happy, but found out they both had parvo after taking them to the vet for their initial checkup. After the white blood cell count came back, the vet was very honest with me and told me one had a good chance but the other was not likely to make it and recommended putting her down. Sure enough,one made it & one didn't.

The one that made it had a progression that sounds very similar to yours - got lethargic and stayed several nights at the vet, but diarrhea stopped quickly, kept food down and needed pretty minimal treatment. For the one that didn't make it, we spent a lot of money on blood transfusions and boarding and kept it at for a couple of weeks before giving up and having her put down. I probably should have listened to the vet, but I'm a sucker for lost causes.

The one that made it is hasn't had a single health issue since and is a great dog. Best of luck and I hope yours pulls through.