Symptoms Of Parvovirus In Older Dogs
When your veterinarian examines your dog s abdominal area your dog may respond due to pain or discomfort.
Symptoms of parvovirus in older dogs. Parvovirus affects any gender size age or breed of dog or puppy. If our older dog is not having symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea it s easy to associate lethargy and lack of appetite simply to our dogs being older. Most commonly parvovirus causes gastroenteritis or inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Bloody diarrhea caused by parvo will have a strong foul odor.
Young puppies and unvaccinated dogs including those who have not had their booster injections are most at risk from becoming victims of parvo. Usually the first symptoms are rapid dehydration brought on by the vomiting and bloody diarrhea both of which are common symptoms of the disease. The wet tissue of the mouth and eyes may become noticeably red and the heart may beat too rapidly. Parvo often causes puppies to get dehydrated from excessive diarrhea and vomiting.
Some dogs have no symptoms except for weight loss and that means they could receive treatment too late. Parvo in old dogs can be extremely dangerous because it can be slightly harder to detect. Canine parvovirus also called parvo in dogs is a very contagious and potentially fatal viral disease seen in dogs. The most common symptoms to look for are diarrhea bloody stool and dehydration.
For this particular symptom pet owners can inject fluids that contain sugar minerals vitamins and potassium into their pet s body for a quick treatment before visiting the veterinarian s office. Treating parvo in older dogs dogs infected with the parvo virus will show signs of malnutrition and weight loss in most cases. Dehydration can be easily noticed in a dog s skin mouth and gums. Vomiting and diarrhea often containing blood are the most common reasons that dogs with parvovirus are taken to the veterinarian.
How do you know if your dog has parvovirus. Sadly parvovirus symptoms progress rapidly and the disease can be fatal. The dog s health and age will determine the severity of the disease. The cardiac form of the virus is typically seen in young unvaccinated puppies but older dogs can become infected too.
Who is at risk. At the earliest signs of parvo fever diarrhea vomiting lethargy shivering no eating or no drinking your dog has the best chances of surviving when you seek immediate attention. Symptoms of parvo include foul smelling diarrhoea with blood in it vomiting loss of appetite collapse depression fever and sudden death. While the skin will lose elasticity the mouth and gums will appear dry and without moist.