# Puppy Parvo & Apartment



## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Before stressing, call a local vet to find out if Parvo is a problem in your area. Might not be a problem at all.


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## Eowyn (Aug 29, 2013)

Willow52 said:


> Before stressing, call a local vet to find out if Parvo is a problem in your area. Might not be a problem at all.


I second this. Don't forget how important socialization it though. Here is an interesting article on balancing risk but also socializing your puppy. A forum member whose name escapes me lives in a high risk area for parvo and came up with some pretty creative ways to socialize her pup, I will see if I can find her thread for you.


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## april.86 (Jan 14, 2014)

We used an artificial grass pad on our balcony with our puppy. We lined the tray underneath the grass with pee pads and Sagan learned to pee there almost immediately. It was great because we could get him out quickly when he was first learning. He didn't seem to have any confusion about peeing on real grass when he started going for walks and now at 6 months we really just use the bad for pees first thing in the morning. We are on the 6th floor of our building though so no issue of other dogs on our balcony. Good luck!!


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## ckshin05 (May 6, 2012)

Hello,

I agree. I was worried as well, but luckily my local vet said there is no parvo in my area. I would go with what everybody else is saying and check.


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## diordiah (Apr 7, 2014)

I will do as suggested, and call the vet early tomorrow morning! Thanks!

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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I checked with my vet before my pup came home - and so knew parvo is almost non-existent in my neighbourhood. Still, I only took her out on the property right around my townhouse (common areas, but I know all the dogs around me are vaccinated). Every time someone walked by with a dog, I just asked if he or she was up to date on shots, because mine wasn't. Every single one we ever encountered was. So it was fine. She got TONS of socialization because she was the cutest puppy people had ever seen - and because every other person around here has a dog, too. I think it's much easier just to train to outdoors from the beginning - pee pads and balconies just make it all confusing.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I agree- call your vet and discuss what diseases might be an issue in your particular area for your puppy before his vaccinations are completed. In our area, parvo and distemper were rampant in my area of town when we brought our puppy home. I totally understand your concerns about this. Our vet cautioned me not to even take our puppy out front for potty so he was confined outside. She came to our house for his first visit because there was an active parvo case in the clinic on our scheduled appointment date. We actually built a potty pen for him in our back out of artificial pet turf because we needed to keep his eliminations separate from our older Golden who has a lot of different health issues. 

In your situation, I'd try some sort of portable pet turf thing you can put up when not in use on your patio and in addition, keep pet disinfecting wipes by your door to the patio to wipe off paws. I also used crocs that I put on to go outside and I kept them at the door so I didn't track stuff into the house. One other thing you can do is hose down your patio periodically with a bleach solution, which is what vet clinics do (multiple times) to attempt to get rid of parvo in exam rooms and waiting areas.


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## diordiah (Apr 7, 2014)

Thanks everyone for the replies! I did call the vet this morning, and she did say that they see regular cases of parvo (which honestly made me feel worse). However, when I stated I lived in an apartment complex, she didn't seem to be concerned. Just told me to stay away from dogs I do not know, and avoid places like the dog park.

I feel like, my apartment complex is like a dog park, with how many dogs come and go. As bad as it sounds, we are investing a lot of money, and emotions into this puppy, and I will be completely broken if something like parvo happened to her.

That being said, I am not sure if I feel any netter after talking to the vet. More paranoid, maybe (knowing that parvo is common here). I am a worrier, obviously. If I could pay for a little invisible force field bubble to follow us around on walks, I would totally buy one.

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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Well, now that you know that parvo is in your area you just need to be more cautious. Are the dogs you are seeing strays or family pets? Family pets probably aren't a problem. I would certainly stay away from concentrated areas where dogs eliminate; outside the vet office, grassy areas near a pet store, the dog park etc. If there is a common area in your apt. complex that dogs use, go to an out-of-the-way spot for potty training.


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## diordiah (Apr 7, 2014)

I have honestly don't think I've seen a stray where we live. The majority of the dogs I have seen are leashed, and the ones that are not leashed have an owner right behind them.

I have noticed there is an area right behind the garages across from us, where owners bee line too to take their dogs potty. A friend who has a dog and has lived here a while, has told me that that is dog poo central. I intend to steer completely clear of that area.

If I do take her outside to potty, I wondering if I should maybe carry her over to the area right under my bedroom window? I don't think I have seen many dogs around there, considering the majority of them run over to the garages.

Maybe avoid grass completely? I hear parvo doesn't stick to pavement as long? However, I worry about how hot it will be because it will be early June when the majorty of this will be happening.

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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

diordiah said:


> I have honestly don't think I've seen a stray where we live. The majority of the dogs I have seen are leashed, and the ones that are not leashed have an owner right behind them.
> 
> I have noticed there is an area right behind the garages across from us, where owners bee line too to take their dogs potty. A friend who has a dog and has lived here a while, has told me that that is dog poo central. I intend to steer completely clear of that area.
> 
> ...



Where I live parvo isn't a big concern. My vet said letting puppies walk on pavement should be okay. Keep them off grass and dirt. I also live in an apartment building and I didn't let my puppy touch grass until she was 14 weeks old. Sounds gross, but she did her business on pavement. I had some difficulty potty training her, but once she started going on grass, it just clicked -- pretty much right away.


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## Sadiegirl128 (Mar 28, 2014)

*Potty solutions*


I live in an area where parvo is an epidemic. It thrives in the southwestern e
heat, so I am a nervous wreck over it.
My puppy is now 3 1/2 months old and got her third set of shots today. Her feet never touch the ground unless she is in my house and anyone who visits must take their shoes off.
I worried about potty training. I do not live in an apartment, but I use a method that I think could work very well with your situation.
I have a huge cement patio leading out to a rock filled yard. We got a wire dog pen off Amazon and placed a washable green potty pad from Bed Bath & Beyond inside of it. On top of that we put a potty training tray. Started with a small, but now have the extra large, which I would recommend. I just put them side by side for now. I also purchased these on Amazon.
This technique has been incredible since day one. I had potty training bells at the back door that led to the pen. She never used them, but we rang them with her paw each time she went out. Now she has started using them! She has been totally trained already except for an occasional "oops" when she gets excited at the sight of someone coming to visit!
I wash the green pad every other day. I put new liners on the tray when necessary.
It has been great for us, and maybe you can do the exact thing on your ground patio, and add the pen so others don't use it, except for your dog. 
I am attaching 2 photos to give you an idea of what I am talking about. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I am a novice at this puppy thing, but thrilled that we got this part right.
Now if I can only get her to stop eating me alive for fun!
View attachment 384041


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## Sadiegirl128 (Mar 28, 2014)

Second photo. 
Sorry, I still have trouble with attachments


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

A few more things since you do live in a parvo area-

1. When you take your puppy out to socialize, utilize a sherpa or pet carrier for as long as you can. I got one on Amazon for about $50 and we used it until our puppy was about 25 lbs. I took him everywhere in his "chariot" and it fit nicely in shopping carts so we could take him on store visits. 

2. Vet clinics are some of the worst places for puppies that don't have all their vaccinations. Since your clinic sees parvo cases ask them exactly how they disinfect the clinic reception area and exam rooms between clients and what they do for parvo cases. In our case the staff would call me before our visit and alert me to call them when I arrived at the clinic, stay outside with my boy, then when they called me they gave me directions on where to walk (what side) and what exam room to take him in. I carried him in his Sherpa carrier or in my arms and his feet never touched the clinic floor or exam room floor or table. I put a piddle pad on the exam room table for the puppy to sit on during the actual exam portion and the staff disinfected the scale in my presence. 

3. My dollar store sells $1 plastic table covers- those are helpful if you do take the dog out someplace in public and want to put the puppy down. 

4. Disinfecting wipes will be your friend, and don't forget you can carry parvo germs into your home on your shoes! Have outside shoes for potty purposes. 

5. If you have a good relationship with your vet and live close enough- see if your vet will make a house call if they have an active case in the clinic on your appointment days. 

6. Avoid Petsmarts with Banfield clinics inside. Sick dogs who might have parvo go in there! 

7. Parvo can live on sidewalks, don't be fooled. Here dogs poop on sidewalks as gross as it is. Heat doesn't have much effect on the virus either beause it can withstand heat and cold for months.

8. I asked our vet if the clinic ever traced where the parvo cases they saw originated. They were seeing about 2 cases a month at the time we brought our pup home. She told me they traced some of the cases to a grooming business near the clinic and others were traced to a local park/lake near my home and the clinic. 

Feel free to PM me when you have enough posts if you have questions. I did a crash course on parvo before we brought our puppy home. My boy is living proof you can properly socialize and bring up a puppy in the midst of a bad parvo epidemic. We were super cautious with him yet made sure to get him out in public to socialize during the critical socialization window. My thread about our efforts is in my signature.


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