# A Rumor Mill



## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

Recently up here in Canada there are reports of dogs imported from the US mostly from mills that have introduced new viruses and whip worms which have never existed here before. I am wondering if anyone living in the US has heard of a new strain of Parvo that is rumored to be effecting vaccinated adult dogs as well as puppies that is not responding the current inoculations ? What's your opinion on the information in this link?

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/parvovirus/


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## The Laughing Magpie (Aug 20, 2009)

It never fails to amuse me that seeming educated people will fail to vaccinate their pets and administer preventatives, because they feel it is poisoning them, and causing a potential for cancers and other diseases, These same people will clean their household with many products that contain poisons, their gardeners will spray their lawns with herbicides, and least we forget the yearly spray for the ants…after all it was washed off.

There is a reason we have vaccinations and preventives, not to make the veterinary industry rich, many of these were developed to prevent the large out breaks of the past. In the 70’s in this country Parvo killed many beloved pets and neonatal puppies. Some breeds are more readily infected and others are more resistance. A dog that is older and had the core vaccinations are generally not at risk. Immune compromised dogs and puppies around 6 weeks are at risk, as well as those who have never been vaccinated not only are they at risk, once they get it, Parvo is shed in the stool and lives a long time in the environment. Parvo can be carried on your shoes, in dog hair, it is a virus it can hide anywhere. This is one of the many reasons why, many smart breeders do not allow anyone to visit there puppies in the first weeks of life. Parvo is very hard to kill; only a bleach solution will kill this virus and it needs to be left on the surface for a good amount of time to be effective.

The older protocol was to vaccinate your bitch several weeks before breeding to boast her immune systems; here in the south many of the old time breeders still do this, they remember the past. Today there are breeders who do not vaccinate at all and openly advocate the same. This may work in places like parts of California where there are not humid and rainy conditions and heartworms do not exist. Places with hot dry weather conditions where fleas and flies can not live in the summer… think Scottsdale, Arizona.

I live in the south; in the humid summer months Parvo outbreaks cause some of our poor shelters to euthanize all of the shelter pets to “sanitize” the shelter. Also some of the shelters have protocols during these times to euthanize all dogs with a cough, diarrhea, or runny nose, and all puppies under six months. Make no mistake Parvo is still a killer, it is a virus and there are different strains, and strains get stronger over time. My Vet is offering a new live vaccine for certain high risk pets (these dogs must be healthy). 

I don’t doubt that many dogs with Parvo or harboring the virus on their bodies is happening in Canada as transporting shelter dogs is big business. The conditions some of these dogs have been sheltered in with the crowed conditions they are transported in are ripe for this to happen. Also the protocols for cleaning practices in your shelters may not address an outbreak such as this. Depending on where you live Parvo may have been low risk, transporting animals from places like the south and also Mexico (yes, right up hwy 95 heading north) increases the risk for what was once considered low risk, diseases entering your area.

As for whip worms they are easy to treat but whipworm eggs a can stay in the soil for up to 5 yrs. I have written before I have my dogs checked 1 a year for all worms…not only heartworms and I do use a preventative. I live in the south; many dogs are not a preventative here, people to not clean up after their pets, many dogs are not vaccinated and some only get a rabies shot. This is not because their owners are worried about the vaccines, these owners are often poor, ignorant, and sometime just don’t care…dogs are expendable and cheaply replaced.

The best thing a pet owner can do to is clean up after their pets, keep your pet away from other dogs poop. If you are in a high risk area or there is an outbreak use a preventative. Do your dogs “core vaccines” there after, if you want do try titers, do it once a year. Find a Vet who will work with you and keep current with what is prevalent in your area. 

It is possible that the shelters in Canada will need to change their cleaning procedures and monitor rescues closely as many of these dogs end up in these places also. 

Parvo is a form of dysentery…in some countries babies and the elderly die from different forms of dysentery more then any other disease or illness. 

Ok, I’m done with my rant.


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## morriscsps (Aug 17, 2010)

Back in the 80s, we adopted a puppy, Rascal, without knowing he had been exposed to Parvo. It was horrific. I can vividly picture him being so very sick. Poor little guy. He didn't survive - too young. The vet had us wait an entire year before we got another dog. He wanted to be sure there was no trace of the virus left. Because of that, I always vaccinate. I must have been 14-15, my little sister 8 or 9 years old. It made a huge impression on us.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I think it is true that most dogs are over vaccinated. However there is a HUGE range between not vaccinating at all, and over vaccinating. Before the Parvo vaccine, Parvo was a death sentence for young puppies, and TERRIBLY contagious as well. I follow Jean Dodds minimal vaccine protocol as a way of balancing the real need to protect my dog (and others... Remember that if YOUR dog gets Parvo, they have been shedding that virus eveery where they've been!) and at the same time protect him as much as possible from the serious side effects of overvaccination.

I get and read Dog's Naturally Magazine, and I think they have some good information. But they are also terribly slanted in their point of view. You have to read the magazine recognizing that slant and make your own decisions based on information from all sources.

As far as new strains of Parvo making their way into Canada, I really don't know. I don't know any Canadian dog owners other than the ones on this forum. But I am sure that anything is possible when it involves trafficking in puppy mill dogs. 

I know from many years working with horses that parasites like whip worms are always changing and developing immunities to available wormers. That's why they need to keep developing new ones. Because horses routinely eat off the ground while grazing, it is almost impossible for them not to become reinfected with parasites. For this reason, we worm regularly, and rotate between wormers to avoid the worms building a resistance to any one product. I don't know if this this is done in dogs or not. (not the routine worming... That's probably unnecessary, but the rotation of worm medicine)


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

ancient history. Only a localized issue. More hype from the paranoids.


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

The article I posted is repeatative news but at the last dog gathering I attended it was the topic of the day and for a number years there's been complaining about rescue dogs being imported into Canada and the diseases possibly introduced by them. There's always debates back and forth about all species of animals and disease control and they give me lots to think about.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Cailleach said:


> The article I posted is repeatative news but at the last dog gathering I attended it was the topic of the day and for a number years there's been complaining about rescue dogs being imported into Canada and the diseases possibly introduced by them. There's always debates back and forth about all species of animals and disease control and they give me lots to think about.


yeah Deb I hear ya there. We've talked about this and the behavioral problems with these imported dogs on our IAABC list. Sad indeed.


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