Cleaning Up After Parvo

[Buster's Mum]

Relating to my other thread about my rescue dog having parvo, could someone please help with a few questions.

I am going to bleach the floors, all his bedding etc and the yard where he went to the toilet. How do you treat carpet where he was sick? At the moment I have urine absorber on it to soak up the smell and waste but that will not kill the virus if it is in the carpet.

Do I have to treat the car? He has been in the car (not sick in it though) and I have been patting him then touching other things like the steering wheel etc.

What else should I be doing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[petmezz]

hi

all i can surgest is to have the carpet profeshionally cleaned by some one. but i would ask what it kills befor doing it. also call your vet and ask him about how to disinfect the enviroment. be carfull with parvo and do your reserch it will stay in the enviroment for years if it isn't delt with properly.

keep a close eye on your other dog, vacinations arn't 100% and their is still a SMALL risk off your dog caching parvo. you now know the symtoms off it so can get help asap. also sit with the dog offering water every 3 min or so.

i hope all goes well good luck

[lilypily]

Bleach EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!

As for his bedding, i'd throw it out.

As for your carpet and car upholstery, I don't know what you could use that wouldn't take the colour out. Sorry

[Mana]

There is also a veterinary disinfectant called F10 - you can't buy it off the shelf but your vet should be able to order some in for you - mine was willing to but I haven't yet gone through with it so can't give you a price - karlie would know if you want to pm her.

I think F10's quite expensive but it can be diluted and so goes quite a long way. It is also safe to spray onto furniture and clothes etc - or at least my clothes didn't show any ill effects. Smells ok too - not a horrible caustic smell. I think it and bleach are the only things that can be relied on to kill parvo - not normal disinfectants - though you sound like you know that already. I'd be burning everything you can - especially bedding, soaking what you can in bleach or F10, and spraying F10 over everything else.

Sending good luck vibes. It's a horrible disease.

Edited August 5, 2005 by Mana

[kimjm]

Contact your local vet and ask what they use and ask if you can buy some off them. Clean absolutly everything that the dog came in contact with. Chuck the bedding out not sure about the carpet and car,

[Ashley]

Sorry to hear this tragic news.

I agree with others, I would be asking the vet for advise.

I went through this about 18 months ago.

Picked up my puppy from Melbourne airport, flown in from Sydney on a Friday night.

Died at the Vets on Sunday night, from Parvo.

I cleaned all areas that he had been to the toilet, and all flooring with Swimming Pool Chlorine .

Threw out all his bedding and towels that were used to clean up his mess.

Then had to wait 12 months until I could put another puppy in the yard.

I do have another dog, he was just under 2 years old at the time, and was not effected.

Good Luck, I am sure the Vet will have good advise.

Take Care

Ash..

[Buster's Mum]

Thanks everyone.

I have bleached the floors and yard and washed all blankets etc in a really strong bleach solution. Unfortunately he laid on every bed and blanket that Buster owns except for the one he sleeps in. Hopefully this will kill whatever was on there.

[Pup's mum]

When I had a pup diagnosed with parvo I threw out all the clothing i was wearing when with him, threw out all his bedding, threw out car seat covers, threw out all carpeting in the house, disinfected EVERYTHING including the front yard - killed the grass off pouring very strong disinfectant on it...I took absolutely no chances. I have had varying opinions as to how long this virus can live in the ground....one very senior vet told me 80 years (yikes) so better to take NO chances.....

[Buster's Mum]

I have been reading up on this disease and even if you threw everything out you could still walk the virus into your house after your next visit to the park.

The little bloke in question was found on the street and had never been desexed or microchipped so there was a good chance he was never vaccinated either.

Isn't this why we vaccinate our dogs? Anyone could have this in their home at any time. The vet has advised me that as long as a dog is vaccinated, even if they do contact the disease it will be very mild and only last for about a day.

Edited August 6, 2005 by Buster's Mum

[Pup's mum]

Yep - certainly you could walk it in BUT knowing I DID have it in the house left me no choice except to get rid of as much of it as possible hence the monumental spring clean. Certainly it's the reason we vaccinate....or at least most of us do......

[KOE]

Go and ask the vet for the stuff they use when a parvo case has been in. We use it at the pound and I keep a bottle in the work car to scrub out the back as at times parvo is rife here. I just went to have a look but the label has worn off. I will try and find out the name of it tomorrow.

[Buster's Mum]

I went to my local vet and asked them to order some F10 if that's the product you mean.

If they only get parvo from sniffing an infected dog's faeces or vomit surely you only need to treat areas where these have occurred. I have treated everything as best I can but ripping up an entire house of carpet and digging up an entire lawn and garden when I can walk it back in a week later seems pointless.

[Pup's mum]

BM - i am not going to debate this with you :p you asked for opinions - you have mine - take it or leave it....it doesn't bother me...your dogs, your risks...do whatever you want to - I did.

Edited August 6, 2005 by Pup's mum

[Buster's Mum]

Sorry pup's mum, didn't mean to offend you. Whilst I can understand what you are saying I am not in a position to get rid of my carpet so I have to treat it as best I can.

Don't get me wrong, I am sick with worry for Buster even with the vet's reassurances, but he has been exposed no matter what I do now.

[Jed]

Hi, Buster's Mum I've had it a couple of times (rescues), and none of my adult, vaccinated dogs were affected, so I hope Buster is ok.

A vet friend got a new pup - which had been vaccinated - it had parvo, and her adult staffy got it and was very ill, but recovered.

Use a parvocide - I have used Microcide and Trigene (don't know about F10, but your vet can advise). I washed all bedding - everything - all my clothes - in the parvocide in the washing machine. I sprayed it, at correct dilution (the strongest one) all over the carpet, floors, walls to above "pup height" with it. Wiped down the cupboards, sprayed it onto the car upholstery, and floor carpets,wiped it all over the inside of the car.

I used pool chlor on the wooden verandah and the steps, and sprayed it everywhere outside the pup might have been.

Note - bleach WILL NOT kill parvo in the presence of soil - but Microcide at the higher concentation will. The parvocide needs to be in contact with the virus for a certain amount of time, so I wet everything pretty thoroughly.

I had other pups in the house after that, with no problems.

It's a mongrel thing, and while you are working your fingers to the bone trying to get rid of it - and wondering what you have missed - you have the addedd worry of whether your own dogs will contract it.

Good luck! :p

[Jed]

Re walking it in from the park -

first - you have to stand in it

second - it has to not wear off your shoe on the way home

third - the dog has to find one bit of virus on your property

fourth - some authorities believe long exposure to sunlight kills it

but

if you have a dog with parvo, the virus is everywhere, there is no chance of it being worn off your shoes, so your dog's odds of contracting it are multiplied by zillions. Too big a risk to take, IMHO

[Buster's Mum]

Thanks Jed. The vet still hasn't got back to me about the F10 so I'll have a look for the products you have mentioned.

I have bought all new bedding today and bleached the carpet where he was sick. Luckily it was in a corner and a spot where no one ever walks so I have had the spot covered until I could treat it.

[Nekhbet]

Hey BM

luckily we never had parvo in any of our dogs but I worked at a vets clinic and say many cases. One breeder was a yearly regular, no matter how much she bleached her kennels, she would bring in young pups with parvo.

about the blankets and bedding throw it out. No amount of bleaching will guarentee it becuase it can get deep into the fibres. Throw it in a plastic bag, tie it up and chuck it in someone elses bin who has no dogs or take it straight to the tip.

There are 2 viruses that contribute to Parvo not just one. As with the suggestion of ripping up carpets etc: remember you had a dog that carried a high viral load. It was constantly shedding the virus in large concentrations all over the house (not just like a near negligible amount from walking in the park) That is why they took extreme measures.

For your home get a carpet company that steam cleans/washes the carpet right through to the bottom layer. No good washing the top pile the stuff soaks right through. Get yourself a hospital grade BROADSPECTRUM + ANTIVIRAL disinfectant. Try searching online ar call the local hospital and ask what they use. Its usually not as corrosive as bleach. Spray the furniture with a dulite solution, along with any clothing that was in direct contact with the dog. Air out the house and let in a good amount of sunlight, and get the carpet cleaners to add some disinfectant to their cleaning solution so your carpet is sanitised. As for outside, one website I found said to rinse poo areas with water to try and dilute it out (personally i'd grab the disinfectant and hose the yard with it)

Outdoor decontamination:

Freezing is completely protective to the virus. If the outdoors is contaminated and is frozen, one must wait for it to thaw out before safely introducing a new puppy.

Shaded areas should be considered contaminated for seven months.

Areas with good sunlight exposure should be considered contaminated for five months.

Maybe worry more that if this sick dog comes back home and is still weak from the infection he could get it again?

Remember: parvo is a protein coat virus - heat, UV and protein corroding chemicals (such as bleach) are your ticket to success in eliminating it.

ETA: SynPhenol-3 is apparently a good product for Parvo, Benzethonium chloride too. Look for products with 'chloride'

http://www.bacto.com.au/disinfectants.htm Cavicide would be good

Edited August 8, 2005 by Nekhbet

[Buster's Mum]

I didn't think that steam cleaning the carpet would get rid of it but if it does then I'll start phoning around tomorrow and get it done. Thanks