Parvo false positive in older puppy?

Honestly, it would be more likely to have been parvo.  I, personally, haven't heard of a dog testing positive who wasn't (and usually the other symptoms are a pretty good likelihood before they even test). 

As far as the other dog -- no, it wouldn't be at all uncommon for a dog like that NOT to have gotten the parvo.  If the dog had been vaccinated even once in early years with a modified live parvo shot (not the combo but the modified-live shot) then that often provides lasting immunity for even up to 14-15 years.  It's simply that it hasn't been definitively "studied" and proven to last that long so they don't claim it (beside the fact that vets have in recent years built their practices on the idea of 'annual shots';)

But it's generally not uncommon when the body is generally debilitated and coping with a long-term very serious disease, not to succumb to something else quite different from what it's already dealing with.  There's a difference between an elderly dog in general good health whose immune system isn't wonderful -- THAT dog is likely a more serious risk to the dog who is already very very ill but whose body is more or less focusing on that one broad-spectrum illness.  Again that's not something common medical opinion might espouse, but it's a pretty common tenet held by a lot of holistic practitioners.  Not that the critically ill animal is "immune" but rather the body is so focused on one disease system that some totally different disease may not have any effect. 

4-5 months old is very early to have *completed* the initial vacs.  If the vet is using the 'combo' shots if the first set is done too early (while maternal antibodies are still active) that can nullify the first shot, and those combo shots are dependant on being reinforced within a certain time period.  Was there 2 or 3 shots in that initial range of shots? 

My sympathies on your loss -- it is so difficult to lose one so young.

The chances of a false pos. on a dog that has not been recently vaccinated is slim - very slim. Having dealt with many parvo + dogs - the key to getting them over the 'hump' is to pump them full of fluids. Drinking little amounts of water is just not enough to replace the water they lose from the vomit and diarrhea.

 I'm very sorry for your loss.

Beauceron.Akita.Golden

Whats even stranger i feel, is that from what ive read parvo virus being so contagious, just a few days before he got died, myself, my bf (who lives with me) and my golden were all over at my moms playing with her then 4 week old GSD puppies...they are now 9 weeks old and all are fine. 

At four weeks the pups were still protected by the maternal antibodies from their mother's milk.  The mother probably had had her shots and passed that (temporary) immunity to the pups.  Please read all of the article briefly quoted below.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2102&aid=467
"The primary cause of failure of canine parvovirus vaccines is an interfering level of maternal antibody against the canine parvovirus.  Maternal antibodies are the antibodies present in the mother's milk during the first 24 hours after the puppy's birth. The age at which puppies can effectively be immunized is proportional to the titer of the mother and the effectiveness of transfer of maternal antibody within those first 24 hours.  High levels of maternal antibodies present in the puppies' bloodstream will block the effectiveness of a vaccine.  When the maternal antibodies drop to a low enough level in the puppy, immunization by a commercial vaccine will work. The complicating factor is that there is a period of time from several days to several weeks in which the maternal antibodies are too low to provide protection against the disease, but too high to allow the vaccine to work. This period is called the window of susceptibility. This is the time when despite being vaccinated, a puppy can still contract parvovirus. The length and timing of the window of susceptibility is different in every puppy in every litter.

In one study of a cross section of different puppies the age at which they were able to respond to a vaccine and develop protection covered a wide period of time. At six weeks of age, 25% of the puppies could be immunized. At 9 weeks of age, 40% of the puppies were able to respond to the vaccine. The number increased to 60% by 16 weeks, and by 18 weeks of age, 95% of the puppies could be immunized."

calliecritturs

4-5 months old is very early to have *completed* the initial vacs. 

Callie, all the protocols that I am familiar with complete the initial vaccinations within 18 weeks - 4-5 months is about 16-20 weeks.  At what age do you give the last shot of the initial vaccination series?

Beauceron.Akita.Golden

so any thoughts/experiences like this? 

I am very sorry for your loss.  I haven't had a pet that came down with parvo, but you are not the first forum member to do so when they thought their pup was protected by vaccines.

A titer (blood test for antibodies) after the initial vaccination series is the only way to be absolutely sure that immunity has been developed.  The more I learn about Parvo the more I like the idea of doing that titer 3-weeks after the end of the initial vaccination series.

 Having dealt with many parvo + dogs - the key to getting them over the 'hump' is to pump them full of fluids. Drinking little amounts of water is just not enough to replace the water they lose from the vomit and diarrhea.

 Erica- in my post i said he had been hooked up to IV fluids since Friday morning.  And for just vomiting as insignificant amount as he did (mainly dry heaving), rather it wa sparvo or not, i dont think it was dehydration that killed him.

callie- all my dogs last vac. was at that age...Tessa and Diesel were both out in the public extensively (probabloy too much at such a young age) and we never had a problem...  every vet ive tlaked to has said vacs are generally done between 4-5 months until boosters the next ye3ar

Beauceron.Akita.Golden

callie- all my dogs last vac. was at that age...Tessa and Diesel were both out in the public extensively (probabloy too much at such a young age) and we never had a problem...  every vet ive tlaked to has said vacs are generally done between 4-5 months until boosters the next ye3ar

But was it a 2 shot or 3 shot series and how old were they went it started?  Breed and individual genetic background has a ton to do with this,

Beauceron.Akita.Golden

rather it wa sparvo or not, i dont think it was dehydration that killed him.

The parvo virus itself is not deadly. It's what it DOES to the body that is dangerous - and that's the dehydration. It's not the virus that kills - but the enormous loss of water.

It takes a bit, even after being hooked up to an IV, for a parvo pup to start showing improvement. He was started on IVs friday and passed Sunday morning..not a significant amount of time. I knwo Grimm looked horrible for about a week on an IV, and it was unsure if he'd make it. I'd guess, going by symptoms, that your pup did have Parvo. It's a horrid disease and can take pups so quickly

 I believe that your pup was a victim of the "window of susceptibility" that Janet mentioned in her post.  Years ago, vets would titer pups to check their immunity levels against distemper for that reason.  Now, no one titers puppies for either disease, they just make a best estimate when the vaccine will be most effective and they issue them at those intervals.  Once in a while, a pup is lost.  I'm very sad for you that it was yours.  Despite the fact that your relative's puppies did not get sick, and your Golden was not affected, Parvovirus is hard to eradicate in the environment, so be sure you don't have young puppies or unvaccinated dogs visiting until the danger has passed.