If there’s one common theme that we can see in many of the 850+ customers we’ve worked with over the past two years, it’s this: dog owners don’t seem to appreciate just how aggressive and fast-acting the Parvo virus is.

One night, you might go to bed, knowing that your dog is happy and healthy, and by morning, when you get up, that same dog is incredibly sick and maybe even near death’s door – and, yes, the title of this article is not just a play on a popular expression, because Parvo has an unmistakable smell, as the diarrhea, which can often be one of the first symptoms you’ll see with the latest 2c strain of this virus, is absolutely disgusting and unlike anything else you may have experienced before.

We had one customer, in the Pacific Northwest, whose dog first showed symptoms of Parvo on a Sunday morning, and by later that afternoon, it was already dead.

Even when this virus doesn’t claim your dog’s life quite so quickly, too many people sit around for days on end, with their dog clearly not well, and doing absolutely nothing about it, because they think they have time.

But they don’t!

If you know dogs at all, then you know that 99.9% or more of them love their food, so if you noticed that your dog skipped even one meal, wouldn’t you be concerned that something could be gravely wrong?

Even if one of our dogs throws up, if they’re healthy (and ours are), then they are ready to eat again just a few minutes later, so a dog that’s off his food for even a few hours (which is often the first sign you’ll see that your dog has Parvo, assuming that you’re observant, of course) should be a massive, red warning sign.

Unfortunately, there is so much bad advice around about Parvo that a lot of dog owners are lulled into a false sense of security.

These dog owners think they’re safe because:

• Their dog has had all of its vaccinations (including boosters). Here’s the reality: Parvo shots are ineffective against the 2c strain (which is why we are seeing more and more customers with fully-vaccinated adult dogs still getting Parvo and, if they’re not treated, dying), and your dog may even develop full-blown Parvo symptoms (particularly if your dog is given his shot after he was infected, which is just about the worst possible thing you can ever do).
• Their dog is no longer a puppy, and only puppies get Parvo. Oops, wrong again! It is true that Parvo still infects puppies more than adults, but we have also observed, after dealing with over 850 cases of Parvo, that an increasing number of adult dogs are getting this virus too. We’re sort of tired of saying this, but it bears repeating until people get it: vaccinations do not work like they used to – the latest 2c strain of Parvo is just too strong and most vaccines on the market today are only effective against the older 2a and 2b strains (and that’s not to mention the long-term issues with all vaccinations, which most vets won’t tell you about).
• They take their dog to the vet’s to have it tested, and the test comes back negative, so they do nothing. Time for another reality check: the 2c strain of Parvo often generates a false-negative result, and this particularly applies to the in-clinic stool sample tests that are very popular these days. This means that although you are told your dog does not have Parvo, he actually does, and that leads to more days of inaction while your dog is getting sicker and sicker.
• They never take their dog outside, which means it won’t get infected by the Parvo virus. Sorry to burst this balloon as well, but one of the most common reasons why dogs who are confined to living indoors all of the time get Parvo is because they get it from their owners / breeders! It’s true, people walk this virus into their house without realizing it (or take it in on their clothes or hands). That’s why we always recommend that people (including visitors) change their shoes whenever they go indoors.

So, with so many myths floating around, not to mention bad advice, where can you go to get accurate and up-to-date information that you can use, knowing that, rather than harming your dog and making matters worse, it will actually increase his chances of surviving this most devastating of viruses?

Because another problem we see all the time is that people have never even heard of Parvo – until their dog gets it, of course – and, somewhat amazingly, we even come across people who breed dogs commercially who don’t know what Parvo is. For people in the doggie business, this is basic knowledge that you simply should have!

Well, you’ll be glad to know that we have written a 100+ page ebook all about Parvo, called Parvo Treatment 101, that you can download to your computer in minutes – and the best part is that it’s 100% free.

This book contains more or less everything you need to know about Parvo (e.g. the symptoms, including the different types of stool to look out for, treatment options), which makes it a great place to start.

If your dog is already sick, however, and by that, we mean that a vet has confirmed that your dog does have Parvo, or he shows one or more of the standard Parvo symptoms, or even if you believe or know that he was exposed to the virus within the last two or three days, then you should delay reading this book, because you need to administer Parvo treatment at once, because there’s one thing you don’t have with this virus, and that is time. Although this book contains a lot of useful information, you would be far better reading it once your dog is successfully treated.

Well, we hope you have found this article useful – it may even save your precious dog’s life – but we have a load more Parvo treatment information available for you, over and above what’s in our free book.

If nothing else, we hope we’ve inspired you to find out more about this devastating virus, and about the various treatment options (because contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to take your dog to the vet’s and spend anywhere from $500 USD to over $10,000 USD, with a mere 50% success rate, because inexpensive, safe, effective home Parvo remedies are available), so please, if you know anybody with a dog, then do forward this article, and/or our free book, on to them – you just never know when they might might need it, and there’s nothing better than knowing that you’ve helped to save somebody’s beloved pet from the excruciatingly painful death that the Canine Parvovirus often brings.