Thursday 21 May 2009

Dog Problems What Should You Do

Dreaded as it may seem, there are dog parvo treatments that you can use at home. However, if your dog doesn???t have the necessary immunization from this disease and the puppy is quite young, you are better off taking your dog to the vet because the disease can really be critical. It has complications that you want to be addressed fast because if not, your dog would definitely suffer so much from it.

Right now, there are parvo treatment medicines available at pet care centers. While this seems to be the more practical choice, you really have to consider your dog???s condition before opting for it. It is always best to take your pet to the vet first and let the expert evaluate your dog. Depending on the outcome of the diagnosis, you can choose between giving your dog home care and leaving it to the vet for hospitalization.

If in case you really can???t afford the medical bills, you can address dog parvo at home by first making sure that your dog doesn???t get dehydrated. Dehydration is caused by diarrhea, which is a prominent symptom of this disease. More often than not, dogs die from it and not because of the virus itself. Hydrate your puppy or dog by giving it free access to water mixed with Gatorade at all times. Gatorade contains electrolytes that can save your pet from dehydration. Unflavored Pedialyte, which is a medicine used for babies, can be used alternately. It would also help to give your dog some broth or soup for food.

If your dog doesn???t want to eat at all, you can use a big medicine dropper and administer food that way. This is going to be quite a task but you really have to bring your dog???s strength back. It is in no way fit to fight off the disease if it isn???t strong enough. Your dog needs all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that it can get right now more than anything else.

You also have to give your dog medicines. In most cases, antibiotics are needed. But it has to be the type that can help destroy the parvo virus. Try to look for parvo virus medicines and give it to your dog religiously. Use it as indicated in the label. There are several brands that you can choose from. Select the one that caters to your dog best.

Keep in mind that you can???t eliminate the veterinarian totally if your dog is suffering from the parvo virus. Always check the vital signs of your pet because those would indicate whether or not your dog has to be rushed to the hospital fast. Note if your dog is dehydrated by pinching the skin just above the shoulder blades. If it remains lifted up or is slow when going back to its original position, then your dog is dehydrated and it needs IV fluids from the vet. Same goes if its gums are dark red or grayish in color. The gums have to return to their usual pinkish shade if you press them with your finger. If not, then there???s something wrong with your dog???s blood circulation and a trip to the vet is necessary.


Want to learn more about parvo virus in dogs? On ParvoInDogs.Com you can find articles about parvo dealing with the main symptoms, parvo prevention methods and about Parvaid, one of the most popular treatments for the dog parvo virus.

dog problems: arthritis dogs

dog problems: arthritis dogs

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com

Dog Problems Treatment

Over the years the parvovirus has mutated into two different strains and a third may be evident in Vietnam, Italy and Spain. Each case of canine parvovirus Or CPV comes from the first two strains. At first it was felt that this virus would develop into feline panleukopenia, a feline parvovirus, but there is no evidence of this. All species have their own unique parvovirus that cannot be spread outside of the species.





Parvo virus cannot be spread directly from a dog to a cat or from a bird to a cat, but it can be spread by contact. For example if you cat happens to wander through your neighbor's yard and picks up the virus on her feet, she can bring it into your home and may infect your dog that way. Unfortunately, our 8 month old puppy that we acquired from the pound recently came down with parvo virus. She had all of the classic dog parvo symptoms, yet we did not realize what was wrong. We took her to our vet and treatment was commenced immediately. After a four day stay at the veterinary hospital, Lucy was ready to come home. And although we have since found out about more natural parvo virus treatments, we were actually very pleasantly surprised by our vet bill!





The parvovirus works in one of two ways through the intestines or the heart. The intestinal infection is picked up by the animal through oral contact with contaminated feces. In other words through the feces of another canine who is infected. The virus then attacks rapidly dividing cells in the lymph nodes, intestinal crypts and bone marrow. This will allow normally occurring bacteria from the intestine to enter the blood stream making the animal septic. The virus will be shed in the stool for up to three weeks making this disease very contagious to non-vaccinated pets.





The cardio form of the infection is most often seen in puppies that are infected in utero or shortly after birth. It must be noted that the cardiac form of CPV is less common since the mother usually passes immunity on to her pups from birth. The virus will attack the heart in the infected pup and result in death shortly thereafter.





Symptoms of CPV usually present within 3-10 days of contact and they include lethargy, vomiting, fever and diarrhea. The diarrhea then causes severe dehydration and secondary infections. These are the actual causes of death rather than the virus itself.





The survival rate depends upon how swiftly parvo virus is diagnosed and parvo treatment is begun. If the virus is not caught early on, the usual treatment is given through an IV line in which fluids are pushed to re-hydrate the puppy or dog more quickly. In addition to giving fluids, anti-nausea and antibiotic shots may be given intramuscularly. Given the proper care, the prognosis is good, but if care is withheld your dog will die prematurely. Most vets will strongly suggest that your pet be vaccinated against parvo about eight weeks after a puppy is weaned.


For more information on parvo virus and ideas on treatments for parvo without needles and potentially harmful chemicals, think about a completely natural parvo treatment for your dog.

dog problems: dog problems

dog problems: dog problems

Article Source: www.articlesnatch.com