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My puppy has parvo. What can I do to help my small puppy at home?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 2 months and 28 days old

My 3-months-old puppy was diagnosed with CPV-2 just today. It wasn't active and it left from where we have it with two other dogs and went under a tree. The temperature here is rising day by day and during midday it is around 30°C (86 F). It still has strength, it walks around a bit, it shows some interest to its surroundings at time and it does not fall asleep out of nowhere. Apart from the antibiotics the vet gave us, how else can I help make it better? IV isn't easy to use since it is small.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Anna M., DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 27th, 2017

I'm sorry to hear about your puppy. Apart from antibiotics, providing fluids is the most important thing for a puppy with parvovirus. This is ideally done with hospitalization and an IV catheter, but if that's not possible your vet may be able to give fluids subcutaneously (under the skin), and may be able to teach you how to continue doing that at home. Otherwise, puppies with parvovirus can very quickly die of dehydration due to all the fluid being lost through diarrhea. I hope this helps, and I hope your puppy feels better!

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I'm very sorry your puppy has parvo! First off, I would not recommend leaving her outside in this hot weather. Leaving her outside in hot weather can lead to heat stroke, and since she is already sick, she cannot afford to have something else afflict her. I would keep her indoors where it is cool. She needs nutritional support and you can see if you can get Nutri-cal, available over the counter perhaps at your local pet store. As long as she is getting fluid therapy, she is getting much needed electrolytes which is greatly beneficial towards her improvement because dehydration is the number one cause of death in these pets. You can talk to your vet about giving her subcutaneous fluid to keep her hydrated, and I would discuss getting some anti-nausea medications if she starts vomiting. You can also offer her small amounts of Pediasure using a syringe or small turkey baster. I hope this helps!

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