Petco Text Logo
Petco Pet Logo

Parvo yard safety for new puppies: How to clean and protect mom?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cocker Spaniel | Female | unspayed | 7 months and 8 days old | 26 lbs

We had a parvo pup 10 weeks ago that survived unfortunately my 7 year old let my female cocker spaniel out with my male while she was in heat.My question is can I burn my yard and the wash it with wysiwash system? Puppies will not being going outside they will be kept indoors.what do i wipe the mother down with when she comes to nurse

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Image profile

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on June 9th, 2020

You can disinfect the backyard. With the mother, walk her away from the yard as you don't want to wipe her down with anything as the puppies are very sensitive to many things. If you walk her away from the yard and make sure she is up to date with her vaccines, the puppies should be safe. I hope this helps!

Vote icon

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Image profile

    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 31st, 2018

    Do not forget the puppies get immunization from their mother in the first few weeks of life. i would recommend bleaching the yard indeed just to be on the safe side and have them vaccinated a little early (6 weeks).

    Vote icon

    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

See More Answers

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi. I’m wondering about a situation where there was a litter of puppies who contracted parvo. They were sick all over the back yard. This would have been a year ago and now mom is pregnant again. How can I prevent this litter from contracting parvo f
Hi. Most likely after that long, ot wouldn't still be in the environment. It wouldnt hurt to definitely clean everything out there really well. As far as vaccines, it is not recommended to vaccinate a pregnant pet or a lactating pet. So to vaccinate mom, it will have to wait until the puppies are weaned. The best way to prevent parvo in the puppies is to keep them.home only, keep a clean area, and begin vaccinating puppies with their veterinarian at 6 to 8 weeks. And then every 3 to 4 qeeks until 16 to 18 weeks old. Good luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
We lost a dog to parvo, and now we have one that is pregnant and due soon. What can I do to protect the puppies? Do I need to bleach the yard? It's only been 6 months since she passed. Our other dog has been vaccinated but I'm very worried the puppie
Do not forget the puppies get immunization from their mother in the first few weeks of life. i would recommend bleaching the yard indeed just to be on the safe side and have them vaccinated a little early (6 weeks).
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Within few days of receiving pups 1 & 2, 1 died of parvo &2 became ill but recovered. 2 weeks after getting pups 3 & 4, 3 became ill and the day after she came back from the vet, pup 4 was suddenly ill with parvo. All of our pups have now been sick&
Parvovirus lives in the soil for a minimum of 5 to 7 years, and young puppies are very susceptible. In the future I would recommend not bringing home puppies less than 5 or 6 months and fully vaccinated as your house and yard are contaminated. Ideally the mother dog would have also been vaccinated to assist in the pups immunity. If pups are weaned early then they also need to start vaccinations early. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
How long does it take for the parvovirus to become unactive in a back yard after having a dog that died from parvo?
Sadly parvo virus is resilient in the environment and can live for years. Where ever your previous puppy went to the bathroom is where it is most concentrated. If it is a hard surface such as concrete, you can bleach the area to kill the virus. In soil and grassy areas, it is impossible to get rid of it completely. If you get a new puppy, get them vaccinated every 2-3 weeks and keep them indoors to protect them. After 3-4 sets of vaccines, they should be protected enough to start going outside.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My 6 month old lab puppy just passed from what we hink was Parvo, we have a 18 month black lab in the same kennel as him and a mom puppy who just had 11 puppies (5 weeks old) she is separate from them. What can we do for prevention of spreading the v
Unfortunately parvovirus can be active in the environment for years, even if you clean with bleach. I recommend making sure all of your dogs are up to date with vaccines as well as looking into getting the puppies onto a different premise for the time being until they are ready to be adopted out. Parvovirus is a highly contagious and highly fatal disease and there is not a whole lot you can really do at home to ensure that they do not get it because it cannot be inactivated readily.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
hey I have a question about what type of a disease is this and how can I prevent it. the 1st day my dogs did not want to eat anything at all, then the 2nd day they were throwing up and had excessive saliva everywhere, then they started to have diarrh
I would be very concerned they all have parvovirus. This is a life threatening infection of unvaccinated puppies and dogs, and it causing them to vomit, have diarrhea, and be extremely. It's also very deadly. The best way to prevent this is to make sure the mom and dad are up to date on their vaccines, the puppies have zero contact with any other dogs, and the environment is thoroughly cleaned as parvo can live in the home for a long time. Unfortunately, if the mother isn't up to date on her vaccines, it may be too late to vaccinate her. It's typically not recommended to vaccinate a pregnant dog due to risks to the unborn puppies, but it may be able to be done in cases where the dog does not have immunity to a specific disease and needs to be immunized. In those cases, a killed vaccine should be used. I would speak to your vet to see if they feel it's safe to vaccinate the mom if she isn't up to date on her vaccines.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I had a puppy which had parvo virus. Im afraid my 3senior dogs may get infected by it.. to be honest i have no moneyfor the vaccines.. is there any other way to prevebt them from getting sick?? 2 of them are 11 years abd one which is 3 years old. Tha
If they had enough vaccines as younger dogs, then they hopefully have adequate immunity. They have likely already been exposed, but the best you can do is to disinfect everything the puppy touched with 1:32 diluted bleach and to keep them separated for 2 weeks (puppies can continue to shed the virus for several days after recovering from illness). Make sure to change clothes and wash well after being with the puppy.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Recently had a pup who died of parvo. Pup stayed in our place less than 48hrs before she showed signs. Disinfected 3-4x already all places she stayed in, pooped and vomited. Discarded all her stuff already. This happened 6-7 days ago. Just tonight, m
It sounds like you've done a good job disinfecting your home - if the new pup is finished with her vaccinations, the risk should be minimal. To be safe, you could certainly try and keep her in the areas of your home where your previous puppy never spent time or used the bathroom. But from what you've said here, it seems unlikely that Kiki would get sick - the parvo vaccine is usually very effective, so most cases that I see are in unvaccinated pups.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
I just got a 6wk old rot puppy. How do I know if my yard has parvo? I have never had a dog for the back yard. I just gave him his first set of shots today.
It is impossible to know for sure if you have parvo in your yard. If you know for certain that your yard has never had another dog in it, Taz is likely fine to be in the yard. However, if you don't know for sure, I would limit the amount of exploring Taz does in the backyard to play it safe until 1 week after his final vaccination. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
My puppy is 37 days old .... And she is going to receive deworming medicine tonight,at 45 day she will receive parvo vaccine...i have lost a pup a month ago due to parvo...how to take care of my new pup..? When is it safe to start toilet training? Am
Parvo virus is transmitted from the feces/vomit of one infected dog directly to another (it can survive in the soiled environment for over 12months if not adequately cleaned and disinfected with bleach). She should be isolated from any areas where she may have contact with non-vaccinated dogs or their feces until after her second parvo vaccination but your own house (or enclosed garden) should be relatively safe as long as any accidents from your previous pup have been removed and bleached/steamed
Updated on September 24th, 2025
image
Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Book Now

Sponsored