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My puppy got parvo after shots, no dog contact. How is this possible?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua (Smooth Coat) | Female | unspayed | 7 months and 21 days old | 6 lbs

I have an 8 month old chihuahua and she has always been perfectly healthy and last Saturday I took her for her first set of shots and by Tuesday she was deathly ill after taking her back to the vet they tell me she now has parvo. She has never been around other pets. Any ideas about how this could happen???

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on October 22nd, 2018

I'm so sorry Coco has parvo! Parvo can live for months in the environment, so if she was out on a walk and came into contact in an area where a dog has been who has parvo, she could have contracted it that way. I hope she gets better!

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    Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I am sorry your pup contracted parvo and is so ill. Parvo has an incubation time of 7 to 10 days, so Coco likely was infected a few days before she received her vaccinations. Even if not in contact with any other dogs, she could have contracted the virus by sniffing some body fluids by an infected dog when going potty outside, or you could have stepped into some and brought it home on your shoes. Parvovirus is a very tenacious virus and can survive for quite a long time in the environment. The best way to protect puppies from parvo and distemper is to start vaccinating them when they are about 6-8 weeks of age. I am glad that you are having her vaccinated now, as this first and the following rounds of vaccines will protect her from the other viral diseases. She will have immunity to parvo for a while after surviving this parvo infection. Unfortunately some dogs succumb to parvo, so let's hope your puppy will recuperate soon.

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