200 Puppies who were at the ASCA national have come down with parvo? That is really surprising to me. What is the new strain called? Is it limited to one area so far? It seems every year there are warnings about a new strain but they are never substantiated. I tend to follow Parvo stories and news since having a litter with it 5 years ago. The Parvo strains are all very similar, so much that I have heard that feline distemper (which is actually Parvo) will test positive on a canine Parvo SNAP test. So far the last newest strains of Parvo seems to only have an environmental advantage over the older strain which I think it has replaced but the vaccines are still effective against it. Dogs who have had Parvo are considered immune to the virus, regardless of which strain they had. That was according to Dr. Dodds when I had my Parvo litter. She told me once a dog has had Parvo they never need to be re-vaccinated.
Parvo is horrible and it is scary...but it is also everywhere. You have to assume your dog has been exposed multiple times already and will continue to be exposed throughout their lifetime. I thought the ASCA thing was more of a "scary because we know" incident but I didn't hear that it affected so many puppies who were there. I really thought it was that one puppy there had it and later heard there were maybe a couple others who had been there who got it. If so many fully vaccinated puppies have gotten it, I would start to wonder if there is a faulty batch of vaccines because fully vaccinated puppies should be better protected.
I really do hope your pup's littermate makes a quick and full recovery. Nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing a puppy get so very, very sick so very, very fast. Is she being cared for at a clinic or at home? I cared for my Parvo litter at home and used Parvaid and I think it really helps, always have some on hand now with puppies.
One of the vet techs at my work breeds Aussies and was at the ASCA nationals. She said that at first, it seemed like it was fairly mild, but it has spread and they are hearing of new cases every day, all over the country, but especially in the Bakersfield, CA area. It has spread to other breeds too- I believe an English Setter who was 2 or 3 years old got it, and of course Lily. Lily's vet said this is a particularly nasty strain of Parvo, and 95% of known cases have been in vaccinated dogs. I am not sure if it is an unknown strain or not, honestly- all the information I know has been posted already. There were over 2,000 dogs at the ASCA nationals, and a lot of the cases have been people who traveled home, gave it to other dogs, and so on. The 200 puppies came from my vet tech who was at the national, but I am not sure where she got that. My guess is, that number was released by ASCA. Part of the problem is that because it was a national, people traveled from all over the country, which has increased the spread of the disease. It was that vet tech who recommended that I leave my dogs at home- and I definitely agree with that- it is not worth it.
She is being cared for at a clinic, and unfortunately is doing even worse today than yesterday. Hopefully things start to improve soon.
The Border Collie people showed their true colors and are starting a hissy fit about people who decided to pull their entries. Lily's owner, who is new to showing and this breed, has been told that she should have kept the information to herself, and that because she came forward, she is directly responsible for people pulling their entries and may be kicked out of her local breed club. I don't think they can actually do that, but its still ridiculous and shows how vicious people can be. If anyone is willing to risk their dog's health for a major, they are no friend of mine.
