TAMWORTH vets and breeders are calling on dog owners to vaccinate puppies against the deadly Parvovirus as warmer months approach.
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Dr Isaac Roebuck, of Piper Street Veterinary Clinic, warned the oncoming climatic conditions were a prime time for an outbreak of the virus.
“It’s a very common cause of death in puppies, but is easily preventable with vaccinations,” Dr Roebuck said.
“Ideally for best coverage, you’d vaccinate your dogs three times – at eight weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks.
“Parvovirus is a type of virus that dogs get that attacks fast-replicating cells in their gastrointestinal tract.
“Common clinical signs such as diarrhoea, vomiting, particularly characterised by blood in their diarrhoea.”
With spring starting on Friday, it’s important to vaccinate before it’s too late.
“With our climatic conditions and the warmer months coming up, we’re going to see more young dogs and older dogs mixing and socialising in the environment,” Dr Roebuck said.
“Places like the park and dog-walking areas often have a higher load of the virus in the environment because of this.
“So we often see spikes of the disease in times of more puppies socialising with other dogs and the environment, predisposing the virus to a better survival rate.
“For optimal coverage, you’ve got to isolate a puppy for at least two weeks after their third and final vaccination, so it allows them to have that maximal immune response to the vaccinations and be able to defeat the virus if they encounter it.”
Jess Low, a registered breeder with Dogs NSW, has just moved to Tamworth from the Central Coast and wants the city to shake off its “Parvo hot spot status” through education and vaccination.
“These are things that are killing our dogs and puppies,” Ms Low, of Jaspire Border Collies, said.
“I just want to get the knowledge out there. We need the herd immunity across Tamworth. It’s about educating people how important (vaccination) is.”
