Such a deadly viral disease, like rabies in dogs, does not initially manifest symptoms. And since the discovery of the initial signs of hope for the healing of the animal no longer exists. Protecting the pet from such a formidable disease with the help of vaccinations, the owner protects himself and all his environment, because the disease is unsafe for a person.
How can a dog get rabies?
On the question of where rabies is taken from animals, scientists give an unambiguous answer: infection occurs through biological fluids - saliva, blood. Often a virus is transmitted from a sick animal to a healthy one by a bite. The risk group consists of pets living near the steppes, forests, far from the central zones. Stray individuals become infected from each other, cats, foxes, raccoons, other warm-blooded animals.
Even in the house, a pet that does not go out into the street can suffer from a rat that can run into the dwelling. And if the dogs are old friends and did not bite each other, but simply licked, through the saliva and the slightest crack the virus will penetrate into a healthy body. He can also go to a person if the biological fluid of the infected dog (bite) gets to the damaged skin.
Stages of rabies in dogs
In the vast majority of cases, rabies in animals passes in a violent form of 6-11 days with clear symptoms and separation at the stage:
- Prodromal. To look at the wrong at the first stage can be very attentive breeder, knowing that his dog crossed with a suspicious animal. During the day (sometimes two or three) the pet looks too depressed - does not want to play, sleeps a lot, does not show interest in others. He hides from people in a dark place and does not respond to the call. Some dogs on the contrary cling to the master, they want tenderness and lick their palms. The animal starts yawning, saliva, it "swallows" the air. This period is the most dangerous, because the symptoms are not yet obvious, and the fluids already contain the virus.
- Manic. Consistently the dog's condition and symptoms of the disease regress - it is hidden in the dark, then crouching, then without a reason hoarsely growls and rocks. The animal is excited - trying to break off the leash, gnaws the floors, swallows the objects indiscriminately. The dog rushes at everything, and at the master, too. A street dog can run a huge distance, biting people and animals in its path. The saliva dribbles, a raucous bark appears. In a calm phase, the sufferer falls on his side, breathes heavily, swallows the air and suffers in cramps. The manic stage lasts 3-5 days.
- Paralytic. The dog lies and dies, the symptoms: deep apathy, severe convulsions, a complete refusal to eat and drink. It does not react to people, the throat is paralyzed, the saliva flows profusely on the chest. She has a paralysis of hind paws, the animal tries to crawl into a dark place, falls into a coma and dies of stopping breathing. The duration of the last stage of the disease is up to 7 days.
There is still a quiet, recurrent, abortive and atypical form of the course of the disease. In the first case, in the absence of aggressiveness, paralysis of the extremities and pharynx develops. With the return form, recovery is observed and in 3-4 weeks again the appearance of typical signs, with abortive (rare and poorly studied) - in the second stage comes complete healing. Atypical disease lasts a long time, up to 5 months without division at the stage.
The incubation period of rabies in dogs
The end point of the virus is the spinal cord and the brain. The closer to them the place of bite, the sooner it will hit these organs, and signs of rabies will appear in animals. The duration of the incubation period is determined by the amount of the virus that has entered the body. Susceptibility to the disease is due to age - young dogs fall ill more often and sooner than old dogs. The incubation stage is hidden, it is 3-6 weeks. Often it lasts a long time, in individual individuals the disease does not manifest until one year. In saliva, the virus concentrates already after 8-10 days, the dog is already dangerous.
Signs of rabies in dogs
The main thing to know is how rabies develops in dogs, in order to isolate the infected animal in time. Severe illness in the dog can be determined by the fact that it looks drained, the pet has salivation from the mouth, the tongue is pulled out, the corneal opacity and strabism develop. Rabies in dogs - symptoms:
- The animal tries to escape from the host, behaves aggressively, attacks without warning;
- one of the main signs is the fear of water, the animal is afraid even to drink it;
- the dog begins to bite the surrounding objects, and with such force that it breaks his teeth;
- the animal is afraid of irritating factors - blinding light, sonorous noises;
- saliva is abundantly allocated;
- barking becomes hoarse and muffled.
The first sign of rabies in dogs
Insidious rabies in animals, the first symptoms in pets can manifest themselves at different times. If they are observed after communicating with a suspicious animal, it is better to show the dog to the doctor. As a rule, young individuals fall ill faster than old ones, because the nervous system is more stable in the latter. Rabies in dogs - the first symptoms:
- frequent yawning;
- open mouth, the pet as it forgets to close its mouth;
- spasms of jaws, the dog as if "swallows" the air;
- weakness;
- hallucinations;
- changeable mood.
How to check the dog for rabies?
If the owner of the dog sees symptoms of infection of the pet with a terrible disease, it is necessary to take measures:
- Isolate the animal from other relatives and people.
- Deliver him to the clinic. Unfortunately, for living beings there are no exact methods - how to determine rabies in a dog. The doctor puts the animal in quarantine for 10 days and watches his behavior. No tests in living dogs on this disease do not produce, as the four-legged threat poses a threat to the workers of the clinic. If during the quarantine period rabies in dogs shows obvious symptoms, then the animal is euthanized, so as not to prolong its anguish. No treatment, even relieving the condition, does not produce. The exact diagnosis is put already posthumously.
Analysis for rabies in dogs
When asked how to understand that the dog has rabies, there is no exact answer. In addition to a violent form with frank symptoms, a pet can be sick and a silent version of the disease and be a virus carrier. It is important to monitor the pet and changes in its behavior, especially if there is an episode of communication with a suspicious mammal. Analysis for rabies is taken from a dead animal, if it bites someone. To do this, the lab needs to deliver his corpse or head. The diagnosis is confirmed by studies of the brain on the presence in the field of a microscope of Babes-Negri bodies.
Is rabies treated in dogs?
Unfortunately, rabies in dogs is not treated. Sick and suspicious animals are euthanized so that they do not suffer. An unambiguous and correct way out is the annual vaccination of pets. If the breeder has not previously given the animal an injection of rabies, then the dog may die from any virus that has affected its behavior. The doctor can hedge, quarantine a dog that has caught a plague or a coronavirus and a quadruped without therapy will die. And the dog could live if the owner instilled it in time from a formidable illness.
How long does the dog live with rabies?
During the incubation period, the symptoms of the disease are invisible, although the dog, sick with rabies, is already contagious. At the end of this period, the pet begins to show symptoms, the main ones are hydrophobia, inability to drink and aggression. The life of the animal after the appearance of the initial signs of the disease varies from 2-4 to 11 days, regardless of the type of disease. Then the sufferer dies.
How is rabies transmitted from dogs to humans?
People can become infected with a virus through the bite of a rabid animal. The person also has such symptoms: convulsions of the respiratory and muscular muscles, then begin paralysis, hydrophobia, spasms of the larynx, death comes. If a person is bitten by a dog, the first signs of rabies appear within a week - one year (after the expiration of the incubation period), depending on the place of injury. If symptoms are found, death is inevitable. Therefore, after a bite, it is better to go straight to the doctor and make a series of injections that will help to avoid lethal consequences.
Vaccination of dogs against rabies
Every year vaccination of animals against rabies will help to insure the pet from infection as much as possible. Any owner from the point of view of the law should make such a vaccine a vaccine. Without it, a pet is forbidden to be exported abroad, to drive to exhibitions, to get into public transport. Vaccination is inexpensive (in public institutions can be conducted free of charge) and absolutely safe, does not cause allergies.
The first vaccination is given to puppies at 3-4 months, then - every year. After this, the dog's heart is not terrible. At the time of the procedure, the dog should be clinically healthy, treated with external helminths and parasites 10 days before the manipulation. The injections are carried out with monopreparations or modern combined, which protect immediately from all formidable canine ailments.