Is My House and Yard Contaminated with Parvovirus?

by Kayla
(Columbia Falls, MT)

My mom's dog had to be put down sunday may 2 because of parvo.

She had visited my house with her dog (male toy poodle and dockson about 6 months old) on friday april 30for about an hour, on wednesday april 21 for about an hour and on Monday april 19 for about 2 hours.

Her dog was in my yard and my house, on my leather funiture and on my bed. The dog did not have a bowel movement while at my house. however he did urinate in multiple places.

I have an aprox. 4 year old male toy poodle and an aprox. 11 year old mix breed female that we adopted from the animal shelter. Also, we will get a new Boston terrier puppy on june 21st to come home with us.

What should I do to protect the dogs I currently have and the puppy that will soon be joining our family? How worried should I be that my home may be contaminated?
I know that parvo is very serious if your dog gets it. Should we wait to bring the puppy home until it has had 3 or 4 rounds of the vaccine?


Answer

Hello Kayla!

I am sorry to hear about your mom's dog.

Trying to prevent the spread of parvovirosis is not easy, as there are a few factors you need to know about:

• Parvovirus can survive a long time (months) in the environment


• Preventing exposure is difficult therefore


• Some dogs can shed the virus with their feces without being sick or showing clinical symptoms


• Maternal immunity can destroy and inactivate the vaccine-virus and in some puppies this strong maternal immunity can persist up to an age of 18 weeks


• One of the readily available desinfectants that destroys the virus is bleach in a 1:32 dilution.

If one dog in a multiple-dog household is infected with parvovirus and develops a parvoviral enteritis, other dogs living in the same household should get a booster vaccination. They should be given preferably a vaccine with inactivated viral components, in case they would go through the incubationary phase at the time of immunisation.

If you intend to introduce a new puppy into your household it may be a good idea to keep it in another place until it has received all its vaccinations and a stable immunization could develop.



Best Wishes

Dr.Ellen Schmidt, MRCVS

This is only educational advice. It is based on the depth of your question and the picture you submitted. The above answer cannot replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as he / she has the ability to evaluate your pet in person.

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