1 year, 3 months ago
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What is distemper?
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The canine distemper disease is a virus closely related to the measles. It usually only infects domesticated dogs and ferrets. Vaccinations for the virus have helped to reduce the number of cases, but distemper is still one of the top diseases for dogs, especially in young puppies under six months old.
Distemper is passed from dog to dog by contact with urine, feces, sneezes, and saliva in food or water. Thus staying up to date on vaccinations is very important in keeping your dog from becoming infected. Once a dog has contracted the virus, the symptoms are: fever, refusal of food/treats, nasal and eye discharge, diarrhea, and coughing. If left untreated the dog will suffer from swelling in the brain, spinal cord, and paw pads, seizures, grand mal convulsions, and even death.
Due to this disease having the potential to be fatal, it is imperative to get your pet tested, if it is not immunized for distemper, at the first signs of illness. Veterinarians will perform a test called a Brush Border smear to be sure the symptoms are distemper and not another disease, such as canine herpes or hepatitis.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_distemper
http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/distemper/index.shtml
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_distemper.html
Distemper is passed from dog to dog by contact with urine, feces, sneezes, and saliva in food or water. Thus staying up to date on vaccinations is very important in keeping your dog from becoming infected. Once a dog has contracted the virus, the symptoms are: fever, refusal of food/treats, nasal and eye discharge, diarrhea, and coughing. If left untreated the dog will suffer from swelling in the brain, spinal cord, and paw pads, seizures, grand mal convulsions, and even death.
Due to this disease having the potential to be fatal, it is imperative to get your pet tested, if it is not immunized for distemper, at the first signs of illness. Veterinarians will perform a test called a Brush Border smear to be sure the symptoms are distemper and not another disease, such as canine herpes or hepatitis.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_distemper
http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/distemper/index.shtml
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_distemper.html
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