Certainly there are other diseases and conditions that may cause some of the same signs, many of which aren’t so serious and aren’t so difficult to treat. This causes some problems for diagnosis of the distemper in dogs, since a certain diagnosis can not be made based on symptoms alone. Confirmation of a diagnosis can only be done based on complex procedures of isolating the virus and fluorescent antibody technique. But experienced vets can make a reasonable informed diagnosis based on their clinical experience.

There Remains Much Research To Be Done

Like the majority of viral diseases, no specific drug that can attack the canine distemper virus in the body exists. Existing treatment focuses on preventing secondary infections linked to the disease, as well as controlling and limiting some of the symptoms like cough, diarrhea, and convulsion. Vitamins and other supplements are used to ward off infection and improve general health and immunity. Drugs like ether, and vitamins like vitamin C are often cited as therapeutically useful, though the evidence for this is not conclusive.

There are also dog distemper antiserum and vaccination available, but according to studies dogs who show symptoms of the disease already have antibodies, so these may not be therapeutically useful.

One important thing to point out is that animals raised in clean and hygenic environments show mild symptoms when they contract canine distemper. Secondary and opportunistic “bacterial-invaders” cause most of the severe and debilitating symptoms. The main effect of the virus itself seems to be to break down body tissue and lower the body’s immunity to other diseases.

The rate of survival of dog distemper isn’t particularly high, especially if the dog is exhibiting symptoms like convulsions and muscle spasms. Treatment and care is often a long and prolonged process, but in spite of aggressive therapy and care, many dogs eventually have to be euthanized in order to be humane and prevent the dog’s suffering. Prevention is of course the ideal scenario to aim for.

Vaccines and How They Work

It is useful to understand the basic facts of immunity and vaccination in order to understand the treatment of your dog’s condition. When a foreign substance enters into the body, the body reacts in an attempt to kill the foreign substance.

The formation of antibodies is one kind of reaction to such invaders. Antibodies are proteins circulating in the bloodstream, which attach to the foreign substance, forming a “harmless complex”. Antibodies start being made by the body after a few days, but once they are present, they remain for the longterm. Every new foreign substance will stimulate the creation of a different antibody.

Most people are familiar with the term “distemper”, and the majority of people with dogs are aware that their dog needs some kind of shot in order to prevent distemper, but they likely don’t know much more than that.

While we talk about distemper in this set of articles, please remeber that we are speaking with generalizations based on scientific research. The averages based on those research findings are the basis of vaccine doseage recommendations and those averages obviously don’t take into account the specific characteristics of your dog and its condtion.

All programs of dog distemper vaccination are based on a compromise of the prevalence of the disease, the convenience to the owner, financial considerations, and a number of other factors. The dog owner needs to trust his vet to help him devise an effective program that balances those considerations.

The Disease

Canine Distemper, also known as “Carre’s Disease”, results from a virus that attacks the cells of the epithelial and nervous tissue. Organs that can be affected include lymphoid tissue, nerves, footpads, the brain, the intestinal tract, lungs, and other epithelial tissue of the dog’s body. You might have heard of “Hard Pad Disease”, which is one of the numerous manifestations of distemper virus.

Just one singl;e strain of canine distemper exists so the various resulting syndromes simply reflect individual response to the virus. The virus infects not only dogs but also dingoes, coyotes, foxes, ferrets, wolves, raccoons, mink, weasels, and skunks.

The Canine Distemper, or CD, virus is transmitted via eye, mouth, and nasal discharge of infected animals. If such a discharge enters another animal’s respiratory system via direct contact or through dust or droplets containing the virus, the animal can contract the virus. It can also be transmitted manually by flies. Contact with the feces or urine of an infected animal can also transmit the virus.

In cool environments the virus can lie dormant for a long period of time and become active again when the environment warms. But hot temperatures outside of a host destabilize the virus so that it may only survive for up to a few hours. At temperatures over 140 degrees the virus will die after 30 minutes or so. Many chemicals will also kill the virus.

If you are considering bringing a new dog into a home where a case of distemper in dogs has occurred, the above can provide you with some guidance as to when it is safe to bring the new animal into that environment. In warmer weather, the environment should be fine after a few weeks. But in a cold climate, the CD virus may be lying dormant in the back yard and become a danger once the weather warms up a little.

The incubation period of Canine Distemper is around a week. This is how long it takes for the virus to cause the disease after entering the dog’s body.