My daughter has a Jack Russell puppy who is 12 weeks old. She will be having her third round of vaccinations on wednesday. My query is this....

Every weekend (before we got this puppy) my boyfriend comes to stay for a night and brings his 8 year old mongrel dog (Max) with him. His dog was vaccinated as a puppy but hasnt had a booster jab since. The dog is in excellent health but I dont know how much of a parvo risk he might be to our puppy.
I have been trawling the net trying to find the answer to this question but all I seem to have learned is that the virus can survive almost anything indoors or out....which makes me think that if Max had the virus he wouldve infected my house with it as he has been here every weekend for the last 9 months. Also..my neighbours mongrel (also vaccinated as a puppy but not since) used to wander in and out of my house whenever he felt like it.
Any advice on this would be much appreciated..im torn between concern for puppy Gem's health and my romantic life!
Thanks alot..love the site.

Hi, it is a worry isn't it. I would phone up your vet and ask if there is any Parvo around in your area at the moment? I expect she had the parvo part of the vaccinations in the first one - so she is probably safe from it anyway. Just check with your vet and hopefully you will have a romantic weekend :-)

Hi,
i would never allow any of my dogs to be round other's that have NOT had annual boosters,
best to be safe than sorry !

I don't think I'd be willing to risk my puppy's life. Not for the sake of a couple of weeks.
:)

Protective antibody titres last in the body for around 2 years. In this case your boyfriend's dog is almost certainly not protected against the disease.

It is also worth bearing in mind that in domestic dogs, canine parvovirus (CPV-2) infection does not necessarily result in apparent disease; many infected dogs never develop any signs. CPV-2 is VERY stable and can persist on inanimate objects (in medical terminology "fomites") e.g. clothing, kitchen floors etc. for longer than 5 months.Most detergents and disinfectants fail to inactivate CPV-2. The exceptions are sodium hypochlorite (common household bleach) and virucides that have been proven to inactivate parvo.

Infection is via mouth/nose exposure to infected faeces/ fomites. Your puppy will be protected 7-10 days after her second jab.

I should point out that parvo is a really nasty disease and I'm sure older members of this forum will remember the problems we used to have; I personally remember the surgery being full of puppies on attempting to maintain hydration. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Hope this helps!