A lot of pet owners think that dog parvo is such a very rare disease. Actually, it isn’t that rare. All dogs are prone to this disease, especially if they are exposed to the risk factors. If you have a dog, it isn’t enough to be informed about the disease. You also have to send your dog to the vet for the necessary vaccines.
It also isn’t enough to know that the rest of the dogs in your neighborhood are given dog parvo shots. Individually, your dog has to be protected from it too. One of the places where your dog can acquire this disease is right inside your yard. The virus could be lurking in the grass just outside your door and your dog may accidentally come in contact with it. You certainly don’t want this to happen.
A dog protected from parvo doesn’t necessarily mean that it is totally free from the virus itself. The dog can still be a carrier of the disease, without anyone else knowing about it. The most common way to transmit dog parvo is through sniffing, licking, or getting in contact with the feces of a dog that may have it.
The virus is so small, that you can’t see it. You never know if it is flying about in the air and your dogs have inhaled it. There are some studies being conducted to discover if the parvo virus is indeed air-borne. If proven, this could be the scariest fact about the disease. Just imagine your dog acquiring it as easily as the common cold.
The real cause of this disease is unknown. Right now, even veterinarians know little about the disease. What they do know is the fact that it was discovered sometime in 1978 in Kentucky. The disease was spread through a dog show and it eventually reached Australia and Europe. The symptoms of the disease showed in many of the dogs that participated in the show, although cats are not affected by it as much. Just like cats, humans are not prone to the parvo virus either.
There was a suggestion that the virus is actually a result of a vaccine mutation and contamination. However, this theory was not proven and a lot of experts disagree with it. What’s definite though, is the fact that the virus could be very near you, waiting to attack your pet. You can only do so much to keep your dog indoors and prevent it from sniffing or walking over other dog’s wastes.
Then again, you can’t really control the movements of your dog at all. Most of the time, you would rather let your dog out to play and enjoy itself. Dogs need regular exercise to keep strong. You can’t keep your dog indoors just for the fear of the parvo virus. The best solution to this problem is to take your dog to the vet and have it vaccinated. This way, your dog will be able to run around freely outdoors, and you won’t have to worry about acquiring this dreaded disease at all.
