A question for other vet nurses and techs. - Page 1

I know that there are many on this site that work within the vererinary field and I would like to know what precautions you take when you go home to your dogs and especially when you have puppies ?

I have recently come out of retirement and gone back to work part time but I am not sure that it is worth the risk to my own dogs or especially to my young puppies.

When I arrive home I don't go anywhere near my dogs until I shower and change but other than this do you vaccinate your puppiess earlier or more frequently ?

I do not do annual vaccinations but all of my dogs were vaccinated upto the 2 year booster, my puppies are my concern.

I used to work as a vet tech, what I used to do was to use a spray that the vets kept on hand [can't remember the name!] before I left work. I had a 20 minute ride home and then went in through the basement, washed clothes and then took a shower, our dogs didn't have access to the basement so it worked out fine. The vets always said that after a 20 minute or so car ride anything on us would have died.  I still was cautious though with our dogs/cats.  Worked at our local animal shelter for 15 years we had parvo pups/distemper dogs come in, not one of the staff has ever brought anything home to one of their animals. I think you just need to use common sense and you'll be fine.

Amy

Echoing what's already mentioned... I also made sure that bitches to be bred were updated on vaccine for Parvo before their second trimester.  (in the first couple weeks that they're bred if they hadn't had a vaccine within a year of being bred) this I felt increased the titer in the pups at birth and thru their first 6 weeks of life.  I then vaccinated @ 4,8, 12 and 16 weeks for parvo especially if we'd seen any cases suspicious of parvo in that time.  (the 16 weeks because dogs don't take a solid imunity to parvo until all maternal imunity is gone which can be anytime from 6-16 week... A titer could also be done instead of continuing to vaccinated to see what the pup's titer is )

I doubt   the parvo virus will die on a twenty minute car ride home.I've known plenty of vet techs that brought the virus home with them.All precautions should be taken,Don't the vets have a spray for virus and infectious disease they use??I'm sure i saw a spray bottle labled for this in one vets office. It was not bleach,It was blue in color.

For my adult dogs, nothing for the most part.   Unless I know that we've had something in the hospital that we are unsure of.  My dogs also come to work with me not infrequently.  When they were younger too.  Just have to use common sense, but also not be paranoid!  So, they've been exposed too and have built up immunity to whatever might be out there.  It's not like I work in an area where there's is a whole lot of parvo or distemper.  Just overall practice good hygiene, wash hands, etc. etc.   I can't say that I ever even thought that I brought anything home.  

I used to work at a kennel and the dogs also came to work with me there as well.  

Even when I got pregnant my doctor wasn't worried about me and the various things that I might be exposed to.   Because I most likely, already have immunity against the various things that I could come in contact with.  Hence when I was tested for toxoplasmosis, I was already exposed and immune to it. 

If I had puppies here, I would take precautions. Ie:  shower and change before going to the puppies. 

For those who think that parvo virus dies quickly upon exposure to the environment, you are absolutely and dangerously incorrect. While it is true that certain bacteria, and a few viruses of interest in canines would die quickly upon exposure to the environment, this is not true of parvo. it can survive many, many months, perhaps even years, unless it is killed through some means of disinfection or other extreme environmental condition. This is exactly why it is an issuew to be very concerned about, and why disinfection with parvocidal agents is critical in a kennel or vet clinic situation, or a home where parvo has been. Most people are not terribly rigorous in their disinfection methods, or even in the choice of chemical. Any vet who says that a 20 minute car ride home likely was enough time to let pathogens of concern die needs to go back to school and take some basic microbiology and virology courses.

For situations where puppies are at risk, proper vaccination of the dam is crucial to provide initial immunity, but then a series of vaccinations is critical at appropriate times. This is also one reason to not allow people into a kennel area when coming to look at dogs or puppies, especially if they have been going from place to place to see pups, for example.

Kennel jumpers are not welcome here.If they do not know what there looking for they should stay home and do more research before leaving their house.I threw one guy out of my yard,, after he handled my pups he told me his pup he got from the pound had died of parvo,just the week before. Yes i blew my cool on him I asked him what pound the pup came from took his name.he claimed his vet told him it was fine to go get another pup as long as he cleaned everything with bleach.I also got the name of his vet.the phone calls I made to the pound and the vet were not so nice..I told this guy never come back or id turn the dogs loose on him.I feel sorry for the next person he went to visit.The ass.

We used Nolvasan (blue) for some things and Rocol (green) for others in spray bottles. Nolvasan is acutally used in surgical prep, while Rocol we used on cages, tables and if parvo was around on the walls of the exam room and any surface that the dog might have sat on.  We also used a disinfectant in the water to wash floors.. HOWEVER as hodie says Parvo can cling and last a very long time... SHOES are the one area that tends to be forgotten.. not just the souls, but the entire shoe... and as it's an airborne virus it can spread very easily.  Thank God that we now do have vaccines for it... but when it first popped up vets were scrambling to find a vaccine that would help and even used Feline vaccine for a while.  In those ignorant days I lost most of a large litter of Akita babies... as well as the two 4 month old babys I was keeping from another litter... after treating a litter at work.  

For those who are fortunate enough to have missed those days... At 6 weeks of age I had to watch as one by one 9 of the 11 pups went from hale and hearty one day to listless and death in one day... the HORRIBLE smell of parvo poop and vomit you will never ever ever forget... it smells like death.   My 4 month old female was fine @ night... droopy in the AM, and died as I pulled into work 20 minutes later.   We chloroxed the house repeatedly for a month afterwards just to get the smell out.  Bless your luck if you never have to deal with an outbreak... I know I'll never omit vaccinating for it though many current vaccination plans don't include Parvo vac... Once you've experienced it you wouldn't either.

The problem with parvo and many other diseases, be they animal or human, is that far too many do NOT vaccinate. We cannot eradicate diseases when there is always a reservoir out there. In my area, many people are proud of the fact that they do not vaccinate. It is one thing to think ok, perhaps I need not vaccinate annually or bi-annually, but it is arrogant and irresponsible to not vaccinate and then bring an unvaccinated dog into society.

windwalker18,

I am sorry for the loss that you suffered and yes we all know the smell of parvo, it smacks you in the face the moment you enter the clinic door and you remember it for ever.

Hodie I will vaccinate all of my dogs ASAP and if I breed a litter this year I will vaccinate 4,8,12, &16 weeks. Other than that I will take extra precautions and disinfect everything including my shoes.

Thank you all for your input