Distemper

Canine Distemper is characterized by a large number of signs and symptoms. Early in the disease, the infected dog will exhibit a fever from 103.5 to 105.5 degrees, but the dog's body temp will soon decrease to the normal 100.5 to 102.5 only to become elevated again in about 2 days. Typical signs are exhaustion, vomiting, diarrhea, tonsillitis, coughing, mucus type discharges from the nose and eyes, hardening of the foot, toe, and nose pads, and central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) disorders ranging from the minor nervous tics to major convulsions. Typically, if any 4 of these signs are seen together, a tentative diagnosis of distemper should be considered. Often the affected dog appears to recover from the first signs of gastrointestinal and respiratory disease, only to begin to exhibit signs of severe brain damage about 6 weeks after the illness first began. The death rate from distemper may be as high as 75%. The virus of canine distemper is spread from dog to dog via eating, drinking, inhaling infected materials in mucus secretions, vomit, or stools. The virus may be spread by humans that have handled sick dogs shedding the virus. This virus may also be carried on the shoes of people who have walked where an infected dog has discharged the contents of its stomach, intestines, or mucus from its lungs.