Parvo question

Jen

Hi, I have a new Bull Terrior Charlie and he is 9 weeks old. Im very concerned about Parvo and I have a few questions.

The few times I have taking him away from our home I have been very carful and would only have him down on a blanket with his potty pad to go potty, in his carrier or holding him. He has been with us for a week now and after seeing his schedule and him being ok not going everywhere with me, Im tempted to have him always stay home till he has his 3 rounds of shots. He is SOOO happy home when I return(He is set up in our kitchen on the tile in a metal play pen, large crate with door open and bedding and toys, water and potty pad on other side of metal play pen thing.. But I love having him out with me too and so do the kids!! I was really going to have him stay home until I read you post that you took your dog everywhere at this age..

I have read I can even carry parvo home on my shoes, feet, car tires..(We live in a beach town and a very dog friendly town where they are everywhere, even if you don't see them; they have been there..) Is this true?? I was at the beach today and praying none of us brought it home; Charlie stayed home of course. 

I have had a few people come over that have dogs and all there shots to play and socialize. Now Im not sure if I should be doing that if that dog can bring to my house even if they don't have it..

Please just tell me Im just being a paranoid new mama and some advice please.. Thanks

Oh and are you saying I can give him cooked chicken and cooked veggies and eggs this early?? Thanks

the4thmonkey

Parvo is terrible, has a very high mortality rate and can live in the soil for years, so you certainly want to be careful. My vet advised me not to go anywhere that could possibly be infected. I took my puppy to friends houses to play with their fully vaccinated dogs --- only those that had fenced yards and were sure no sick animals had been there in recent years. Otherwise we pretty much stayed home until a couple of weeks after her final vaccination, but I was able to stay home with her. I never thought about bringing it home on shoes, but that is a valid concern.

I would advise against having him use the carrier as a potty place. It is too much like his crate, and he shouldn't be encouraged to potty in his crate. I also used the playpen method when my pup was very little. It helped me to create a "wall" that could not be knocked over or moved. I made two distinct areas in the playpen with one being a small place to potty. Everything else went on the other side of the "wall" with only a small opening between the two. She caught on very quick and always used the potty side if I didn't get her outside in time.

I'm going to leave the diet questions to someone more experienced. And no, you are not being too paranoid. You just don't want to your baby to get sick and that is the right attitude to have.