Dog Disease: Canine Distemper

This is a very dead serious disease. Once your pet is infected, the virus makes it way to the lymphoid and nervous system. From there it will make its way to the respiratory system and then the gastrointestinal system as well. That's a lot of systems for one type of virus to infect. Because of its wide scope of infection, it can and will become fatal to your beloved pet. Aside from the primary symptoms an infected dog may show, there will be secondary signs as the virus makes its way through the animal's body, therefore it can at times be confused as other ailments.

It is a highly contagious disease, especially in areas with lots of wild or stray animals, who happen to be the carriers of the disease. Any pooch coming in direct contact with bodily secretions of a another carrying the virus will have a good chance of contracting it as well. Discharge fluids include piss, poop, saliva, nasal and eye secretions. It may be passed on through pet food and water. The disease can also be airbo
e. Once contracted, a pet won't be showing any symptoms for the first few days. It will be able to go about its daily routines.

The first sign that will come out is a fever, usually within 3 to 7 days. This will most likely be accompanied by a runny nose and “eye crystals”. After which your pet will experience problems related to its tummy, like a stomach ache and diarrhea. A sudden loss of appetite and weight loss will follow. The poor dog will vomit frequently, and drool all over the place. Another symptom may be heavy breathing and coughing. As the days past, like say a week, the dog disease will make its way to the central nervous system. When this happens, it will pee and poop uncontrollably.

Spasms will occur more frequently as well. This coupled with the other symptoms stated above will make it really unpleasant to look at. Imagine your pet in that condition – snot running down its nose, crystals around its eyes, vomiting, pooping, coughing, wining, and drooling while twitching on the floor. It can break anyone's heart. There is presently no cure for this dog disease. Treatment involves the use of antibiotics, but is only good for curing the secondary symptoms, not for the main cause of the arising ailments. Therefore, as always, vaccination of your pet will be the best thing we can do at the moment.

Have your dog vaccinated every year. Puppies are more prone, therefore consult your veterinarian for its vaccination process. Canine distemper cannot survive very long in sunlight, so if you live in a country with cold climate, there is a better chance of it thriving there. It can last for months in temperatures below zero degrees. To eliminate it, sanitation of your area is suggested. You may use detergents and other germ-killing products to rid the dog disease. By doing so, we can save the lives of our pets. Start caring for your pet today.