Need answers

[chante730]

My dog got sick and stop eating for a day and later that night she was weak and she died .I am thinking it was parvo but i am not a vet so i was wondering do any any know how contagion it is to my other dogs ?

[Ghilly]

Parvo doesn't usually kill within 24 hours.  The puppies or dogs present with vomiting and diarrhea (usually bloody) that has a gawdawful odor to it, and until it gets to this point there is usually at least a few days of not eating and general lethargy.  What breed of dog was this?  How old?

The fact that she stopped eating for a day and was dead later that night makes me suspect bloat, or gastric dilatation/volvulus.  When a dog bloats, the stomach flips over on itself, essentially switching positions with the spleen.  The ends of the stomach are sealed off so that nothing can get in, nothing can get out.  There will be attempts at vomiting but except for foam and saliva they'll be unproductive with respect to emptying the stomach contents.  The intestine and spleen die from being deprived of blood supply and only emergency surgery can save the dog and sometimes, depending on how much time elapsed before diagnosis, even surgery cannot save them.  If left surgically untreated, bloat is ALWAYS fatal and it is always fatal within less than 24 hours.

I'm very sorry for your loss.  Unfortunately, only a necropsy would have told you what the cause of death was, so at this point it can only be guesswork, however even though I would keep a close eye on the other dogs for a while, it happened so suddenly that I really do not suspect parvo was the culprit in this.  If you see any of your other dogs following this same pattern, please get them to the vet ASAP even if it's during the night.  An unnecessary trip to the emergency vet is better than not going and having a disaster follow.

Ghilly

[ginger899]

Parvo usually presents with the most terrible, foul, bloody diarrhea. The diarrhea can then progress to watery bloodstained stool with a terrible odour. If your dog was just off her food, and vomited, it doesn't necessarily suggest Parvo (though of course, it's possible)

I am so sorry you lost your dog. It's very sad, and sudden.

[tonyb286]

Your enquiry is too brief for anyone to really answer this. Harlie09's question about vaccinations is key - but also, how old was your dog? Were there any other symptoms other than not eating for a day? Was she off her food earlier than this? Did she have any bad breath odour? Was she drinking water excessively? Tony

[harlie09]

Parvo is *highly* contagious.
Have they ever had any vaccines against it?