Crap! (Literally)

[enklined]

I took Mina (~10 weeks) to my girlfriends brothers house last night to hang out. He doesn't have a dog, so I thought it would be safe for her to be there (she doesn't yet have all her shots).

I took her out to pee, and she made contact with something elses poo! It looked too large to be from a cat, but it wasn't that big. My girlfriends brother said that sometimes the neighbors chuiwawa (sp?) poo's on their lawn. Mina had the poo in her mouth! I don't think she swallowed any, though.

So, how at-risk is she? Mina has had 2 rounds of shots, with the 2nd one being just on Friday. I went to the vet this morning to drop off a fecal sample (as part of the "puppy package" - looking for different types of worms), and asked if there was any preemptive things we could do, and was told there was not.

I would hate to have my dog fall victim to Parvo or something....

Any idea how bad this is? I'm kinda stressing out about it. How long would it take symptoms of Parvo (or any other disease she could contract) to show themselves? Is her young age a benefit, because of the "temporary immunity" puppies receive from breast feeding from their mothers? Is the fact that she had her 2nd shot on Friday a good or a bad thing?

Wow....I'm really stressing out. I hope she's going to be OK. Hopefully it was cat poo, or if it was a dogs, that that dog doesn't carry any diseases!

[bliss7373]

Take a deep breath.

It's probably okay. I can't answer your questions specifically - but I would think that, statistically speaking, there is a relatively slim chance of Mina being endangered from this incident. You are right, it is very important to protect them from exposure when young - but it happened, there's nothing to be done now, and in all likelihood, it's okay.

Just keep an eye on her - like you would normally. If she seems off or starts showing symptoms of not feeling well, go to the vet - for your peace of mind as much as anything else.

It might also make you feel better to ask the chihuaha's owner if the dog is up to date on shots, etc.

[enklined]

Bliss, thank you very much - Your post was what I needed to hear. I've been stressed out all day! Hopefully more people will post the same thing!

Yea, Mina isn't leaving the house anymore - not even out to the front yard. She'll be confined to the house and backyard until shes good to go.

Also, I was just thinking about going to talk to the owners of the chihuaha to ask that very question, but I'm not sure they speak English :(. It's a very large Mexican family, so maybe one of the kids that goes to school or something would be able to translate...I guess I'll have to go find out. The only problem is that this was at my girlfriends brother's house, who lives ~20 mins away, and I'm busy with school after work for the better part of the week. Doh!. I'll have to see if my girlfriends brothers can talk to them and see whats up.

Anyway, I hope this all works out OK. Poor Mina already has a UTI (which is getting a lot better), the last thing she (or any dog) needs to get Parvo!

[bliss7373]

Parvo is awful and you are right to fear it.

That being said - I think that sometimes we can go too far in protecting our puppies. Don't forget that Mina is right in the middle of a critical socialization period! Mental health is just as important as physical health.

I think that confining Mina to your house until she's done with shots might be a wee bit too drastic. You had the right idea all along - take her places that you are confident she will be safe from exposure. Just make sure you call ahead and ask questions so that you don't run into a situation like your friend's yard!

One of my favorite puppy socalization excursions is go to Home Depot (which is often dog friendly) with puppy and a big, clean towel. Put the towel down in a cart (to catch any accidents and keep the pup on a clean surface) and socialize with the customers! Basically, you don't want her walking where other dogs are likely to be. There are tons of ways to avoid that problem and still get Mina out and about.

It's also okay to arrange visits with safe, healthy, gentle older dogs in a controlled environment.

Plus, puppy class should start for Mina soon, right?