Hi. I have raised dogs for MANY years and have experienced Parvo myself in the past. Any good Vet will tell you (or
should tell you) that Parvo is airborne and is pretty much everywhere. Yes it can stay in your ground and probably always will but since it is airborne an infected animal can stray past your property and spread it. I have went as far as bleaching our entire property and inside my house but found this to be a waste of time and money (straight from my Vet's mouth). The key to this situation is to properly vaccinate your dogs. PLEASE listen to this if nothing else! Puppies need to have a complete series of shots starting at 6 weeks and I vaccinate every 2-3 weeks apart until the puppy is 16-18 weeks of age. Myself I will even vaccinate in the Fall (as late Fall and Winter seem to be PRIME Parvo season) and in the Spring. Some will say that this is "over doing it" but when you lose your best dog or in my case I had puppies that were selling for $1500-1800 each it sure seems worth that extra $5 a shot or two! Also, you take your dogs off your property to hunt so lord only knows what could be on the ground your dog is hunting on and they can bring it back to your kennel on their feet and so can you! Another piece of advice. Purchase your shots from your vet or order them from a Vet supply and overnight them to your door and immediately refridgerate them...not from the local farm store. Once the shot has become warm or room temp it becomes inactive so in other words it is no good. And I can't tell you how many times I have walked thru TSC and saw shots laying in the store somewhere and the kid working just picks it up and puts it back in the fridge for the next person to buy not knowing if it has been there 10 min or 10 hours! Go ahead and disinfect your kennels and the grounds around the kennel and return your dogs. DO NOT vaccinate them right away due to they have been exposed and you don't want to give them a double dose. Most healthy adult dogs will not aquire Parvo anyhow. Dogs that are weakened (including parasite infested), old, or very young are most succeptable. So sorry to hear of your loss...have been there myself.
Wait a couple weeks and go ahead and give the rest of your dogs a booster shot. If you plan to bring any more puppies in be SURE that have atleast 2 shots in them no more than 2-3 weeks apart. I can write you a book on here about how long the shot peaks in their system and antibodies in the mother's milk but...hate to bore folks and some may take it as I'm trying to be a 'know it all". Just trying to pass on good info from my past mistakes! I am also an RN (when i'm not coonhunting
) and dog medicine and people medicine are for the most part pretty much one in the same just different dosages. Vaccines all have the same principle...don't let them get warm! Hope this helps some!
