How to Tell the Difference Between True Colds and False Colds in Dogs

True colds in dogs are systemic symptoms characterised mainly by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract. Colds generally occur most often in early spring, late autumn and when the climate changes abruptly. The cause is mostly sudden exposure to cold stimulation, such as being hit by a draught in winter, sleeping outdoors in the cold season, getting caught in the rain, or not drying a dog's coat promptly after bathing. The main symptoms of a dog with a cold are: the sick dog is depressed, has reduced or no appetite, the conjunctiva is congested and red, and the eyes are photophobic and run with tears. There is coughing, the nasal discharge is purulent, breathing speeds up, body temperature rises, and there is shivering from chills; if not treated in time, it may be complicated by tracheitis, bronchitis and other diseases. There is also influenza, which is caused by a virus and occurs epidemically. It mainly manifests as a high fever. In addition to cold symptoms, it is often accompanied by conjunctivitis and intestinal catarrh.

The early symptoms of many infectious diseases are very similar to those of a cold. For example, the early symptoms of canine distemper and the early symptoms of parvovirus disease are clinically mainly fever, sneezing, photophobia and tearing, and watery nasal discharge. Because of insufficient experience, some owners easily treat several common serious infectious diseases as colds, thus causing misdiagnosis and the wrong treatment measures, leading to the serious consequence of the dog's death. False colds are generally more common in the early stage of infectious diseases, and in fact there are other special symptoms. When a dog is infected with canine distemper virus and falls ill, the body temperature is generally a biphasic fever, with the temperature rising and falling, and most sick dogs show the symptom of eye discharge. In the early stage of parvovirus, on the other hand, the main accompanying symptoms are vomiting and diarrhoea, and it is generally vomiting first and then diarrhoea. As long as the owner observes carefully, it is still possible to distinguish and judge.