The wise dog owner will protect his or her pet against this debilitating, sometimes deadly, disease. Adult dogs can also be infected, but are usually affected less severely. Cats, mink, and wild dogs are also infected by their own species-specific parvovirus. She notes that the virus is shed in the feces of an infected dog. If another dog has oral contact with the infected feces, they become inoculated with the virus.
Some puppies have more immunity to the disease than others.
If their mother was properly vaccinated, she will transfer immunity to parvovirus in the colostrum, or first milk. These maternal antibodies may be present in the puppy for up to 20-22 weeks, but may not be protective the entire time. Most of the maternal antibodies to other viruses commonly vaccinated against have disappeared by about 12 weeks, but the maternal parvoviral antibodies persist longer. In order to ensure that a puppy is adequately protected against parvovirus, no matter when its mom's antibodies begin to wear off, it needs to be vaccinated every three weeks starting at about 8 weeks, until it is 20-22 weeks old. Older dogs need to be kept up on their vaccines too.