What is canine distemper? How should convulsions be treated when they occur

Dogs are good friends to humans. They are smart, cute, and understanding of human nature, so many people now keep pet dogs and treat them as members of the family. In the process of raising a dog, you can not only feel the dog's love for you, but also make yourself more caring and responsible. Whether animal or human, it is hard to avoid being attacked by disease. Canine distemper is a disease that can appear when raising dogs, and it is also very harmful to dogs' health. Let us take a look below at what canine distemper is and how to treat it when convulsions occur.

1. What is canine distemper?

Canine distemper virus is a common virus in dogs and mustelids. If infected with this virus, symptoms of the digestive tract and respiratory tract can appear, and in severe cases neurological symptoms can occur, namely the common phenomena of paralysis and convulsions. Generally speaking, if secondary infection occurs with canine distemper, it is very serious or can lead to death.

No matter the breed, age, male or female, all dogs have a chance of infection. Susceptible dogs are those younger than one year old or purebred dogs. The incubation period of canine distemper is about one week. If infected, generally within four days a high fever similar to cold symptoms will appear, and after two days there will be improvement, then repeated high fever. Throughout the process, the dog's mood is low, it does not want to eat, or breathing becomes heavier, and a small number of dogs will develop neurological symptoms.

So what are the infectious agents of canine distemper? Things like the eye discharge, nasal mucus, and urine secreted by dogs can all possibly spread this type of virus. In severe cases, as long as a dog has stayed together with a dog suffering from canine distemper, it may become infected, so everyone should pay attention and keep dogs away from sick dogs.

2. How should convulsions be treated when they occur with canine distemper?

The course of canine distemper can reach one to two months, and some cases are even longer. If medication cannot control the condition, it will damage the dog's central nervous system and cause various symptoms. For example, convulsions of the limbs and chewing muscles, circling, epilepsy, unstable standing posture, and other neurological symptoms. Different dogs react differently. There is still no good medicine that can cure it, but some drugs can be used to stabilize the dog's condition and reduce neurological symptoms such as convulsions.

So how can the development of canine distemper be controlled? Generally speaking, if cold-like symptoms such as not wanting to eat and poor spirits as mentioned above appear, canine distemper hyperimmune serum can be injected to control the continued development of the condition. This type of serum can reduce some symptoms in the early stage of canine distemper and produce antibodies that strengthen the body, thereby allowing the dog to recover well. However, this serum cannot play a curative role when neurological symptoms appear in the middle and late stages of canine distemper. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some individuals are different.

After canine distemper appears, timely fluid replacement, glucose supplementation, and fever reduction should be carried out to avoid secondary infection, and strengthening the management of feeding is helpful to a certain extent for the treatment of the disease.