my 8 yo dog and 11 week puppy both ill!

[kaylasmum]

Hi, i have 2 cavaliers and they are both ill with d&v. It started off with the older one being sick on Friday night and then having diahoreah all over the living room floor on the saturday morning. I took her to the vets and expalined what had happened, i was there to get the pups second set of vaccinations so she looked at my other dog at the same time. I told her i was worried about parvovirus as i had just found out that my older dog had not had any boosters. I got her from my daughter almost a year ago as she could'nt keep her anymore. My daughter bought her from someone a few months previous to her giving the dog to me. Seemingly the other owner never bothered to keep up with the boosters. Anyway the vet said she did'nt think it was parvo but there had been a couple of cases over the last couple of weeks.

She gave us antibiotics and something to stop the diahoreah which we started to give her and the runny stools stopped and she seemed absolutely fine. We gave her light meals and everything was ok. Last night she had diahoreah again and then the puppy started too. We were up and down every 2 hours or more to let them out, its been horrendous. I offered my older dog water but she would'nt take any and i'm scared to feed them at all. I have an appointment with the vet this afternoon but i'm so worried that they are really ill, although the pup is her usual mischevious self. Has anybody experienced this with their dogs? Can bugs be passed from one dog to another like in humans?

I have my pup insured but the other dog is too old so i have the added worry of how i'm going to pay the vet.

just had my older dog and she tried to pass a stool but all that came out was blood. Anyone got any ideas. Very worried.

It's decades since I had a dog that had parvovirus so don't know if the advice has changed (and most probably it has).

The most vulnerable dogs are under 3 years old. It is obviously contagious. The important thing back then was to ensure the dog continued to drink and eat.

I remember a vet saying that the trick with parvo was to keep the dog stomach full. Unfortunately that was discovered before my dog passed away.

Now, as for the blood in the stools, it could be a sign or parvo or... it could be a sign that the food he is eating is not suitable for him.

One of my dogs is very allergic and was put on a bland diet of special chicken based food. Within two weeks there was a lot of blood and the diarrea had not got any better.

If he is struggling to eat, I would suggest trying to feed him some very well coooked boiled rice, until he can manage other foods. As for the water, get a syringe from the pharmacy and ensure you give him some water every hour or so. Keep it to small but frequent sips.

I havent any advice, but will you let us know how you get on at the vets please.

thanks for your replies,Both dogs are sleeping just now but have to wake the older one to give her a bath before i take her to the vets. I did think at first that it could be a change in food as i had changed from bakers to iams, but the fact that the puppy is displaying the same symptoms seems too much of a coincidence.

Will let you know how i get on at the vets.

It does sound as if they both have the same thing, i hope they are ok, and dont forget us, will keep checking for your reply.

Don't know what time your appt is but I would call the vet, tell them about the bloody diarrhoea and that she won't drink. They may well want to see you sooner.

Good luck & keep us posted.

i have given her a bath and she's had some water and a little bit of chicken. she did seem keen to eat, so am hoping thats a good sign.

Will keep you updated.

Good sign, definetively! god luck!

oh that's a good sign, good luck for later, i'm sure they will be fine.

Just back from the vets, he does'nt think the pup has the same as the older dog. He also does'nt think that the older one has parvovirus, which is a huge relief. She's in season at the moment and she is quite swollen in the rear end because of it and having diahoreah on top of that is making her quite sore. The vet felt her stomach and said she felt tender and swollen. He gave her an anti-sickness injection and an anti-biotic one aswell, we've to carry on with the anti-biotics and medication to dry up the diahoreah and see how she goes. I really hope this helps as i'm feeling so stressed that i'm tempted to sell the puppy.

Thats good news Kaylasmum. Lets hope things will be better in a few days. Hang on in there hopefully things will settle down soon - don't sell the puppy just yet!! Wish I could come and dog sit and poo clean and give you a break for a few hours?

aww that's good, what a relief, dont sell the pup, it will be ok, your just finding it hard at the mo, have you got anyone that could have her for a few days too give you a break?

hi, so far so good. My older dog, holly has had no more d&v since yesterday morning. I have been feeding her small pieces of chicken and she seems keen to eat and is also drinking better. Was going to give her some scrambled egg later, would that be ok or would it upset her stomach? the pup seems absolutely fine, getting into trouble as usual!

Thanks to everyone for their concern, its much appreciated.

Glad things are settling down a bit. I don't know about scrambled eggs I give mine rice and chicken. Sometimes it would be good if puppies had a pause button!