Glucosamine For Dogs

Canine distemper is a disease that frightens many dog owners, and with good reason as it is contagious, incurable, and often fatal. This multi-systemic viral disease affects the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems. It is caused by the canine distemper virus, a paramyxovirus similar to the virus that causes measles in humans.

The canine distemper virus (CDV) can be transmitted through the air or through contact with infected bodily fluids. The minute a dog displays any symptoms he needs to be taken to a vet and, if the diagnosis confirms distemper, the dog will have to be quarantined immediately.

CDV can affect dogs of any age with puppies in the 3-6 month age range particularly vulnerable. It’s therefore vitally important for your dog to get his puppy shots, as a vaccine against CDV is usually included. If you’re in any way uncertain, ask your vet.

The reason distemper is such a dangerous disease is that it targets many of the body’s systems at the same time. An infected dog will show many symptoms, including discharge from the eyes and nose, coughing, diarrhea, vomiting, seizures and convulsions. As the disease progresses it will also causes respiratory and heart failure.

Many dogs will not display all of these symptoms. If the infection is mild, the dog may only cough, and it is not uncommon in these cases for the disease to be misdiagnosed as kennel cough.

In other cases, the dog may develop pneumonia. It is also quite common for dogs that recover from the disease to suffer severe tooth enamel damage, as well as thickening of the nose and footpads. There may also be permanent damage to the dog’s vision as well as the nervous system.

If your vet suspects that your dog may have canine distemper he will run a number of test including an analysis of urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and blood. A skin biospy may also be necessary to confirm the presence of CDV.

Once the diagnosis is confirmed the dog will immediately be given intravenous fluids to prevent dehydration. Where neurological signs are present the vet will also administer anti-seizure medication.

Distemper is one of the most deadly canine diseases and can spread rapidly, taking a heavy toll on unvaccinated dogs. Not all dogs will die from it, but many will and it is particularly deadly to puppies and older dogs.

There is no known cure for canine distemper, but a number of new vaccines may be available in the near future. Hopefully, these will play a significant part in wiping out, or at least reducing the incidence of, this dreaded disease.

If you want to read more about distemper in dogs, dog care, dog breed info and other interesting dog advice drop by at www.dogsanddogtraining.com

Tags: distemper in dogs, dog care, dog health, dogs

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 25th, 2011 at 8:17 am and is filed under Dog Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.