Nala is a friends dog overseas. She was a stray and was found with her mother and two siblings outside (one made and female). Nala has been diagnosed by a vet with parvovirus and is undergoing recovery. Her male sibling and mother passed from it. How can we strengthen her immune system and speed up her recovery? What types of food can she eat, and what things should be avoided? what are signs that we should look for? Are there supplements she can take?
-
Need to see a vet? Find the best vets near you
I'm sorry to hear Nala is fighting parvovirus!
Ideally she should be under the care of the veterinarian as this tends to give her the best prognosis. Here is a link: https://www.petcoach.co/article/parvovirus-serious-diarrhea-in-puppies-dogs/
The best thing you can do for her is provide good quality food and make sure she is getting lots of water and fluids.
I recommend this food: https://www.royalcanin.com/ca/en_ca/dogs/products/vet-products/canine-gastrointestinal-puppy-dry-dog-food
It comes in canned and dried. It is really easy to digest and has higher calories than other GI foods. Any of the prescription gastrointestinal foods will be good however because they are easy to absorb.
You could also feed her plain boiled white meat chicken and plain white rice. This will be easy to digest but it is not as nutritionally dense or balanced.
You can add water to any of these foods to increase her fluids. For now, don't worry about supplements. She needs things that are easy to digest until her system is healed. It takes 7-10 days after the virus leaves her body for her intestines to return to normal.
When she is better, I also recommend to discuss when to start vaccinating her against other diseases when she is ready to prevent her form getting sick with another illness with her veterinarian. This will generally start within 3-4 weeks after recovery.
I hope this helps and that Nala recovers. Please feel free to post any additional questions.
You marked this answer as helpful, we appreciate your feedback
You marked this answer as not helpful, we appreciate your feedback