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What You Need To Know About Distemper If You Have A Pet

Dr. Casey is Rocco’s vet. There are many reasons why I adore her and her practice, and here is just one of them. Backstory: This morning one of our employee’s puppies was diagnosed with distemper. She is so sad as she just lost of of her other puppies to this virus two weeks ago. As it is in the news recently, I thought it would be best to go straight to the expert. I emailed Dr. Casey this morning and six hours later I have the short and long version of what this virus is and what to look out for.

Short Answer:

Distemper is a virus, just like many other viruses, it is spread by contact with other dogs and/or excretions- just like the common cold in people. It will not infect people, cats, or most other pets, but can be spread to ferrets, coyotes, foxes or wolves.

The recent outbreak has affected the local Humane Society and Animal Shelter, but that means that it is in our environment! Dogs of any age can be infected if they are not current on vaccinations, but young and stressed dogs are the most susceptible. It is spread through contact with infected dogs – so dog parks, kennels, shelters and boarding/daycare facilities are all possible sites of transmission. The good thing is that with proper disinfection, the virus is easily destroyed.

Checking to see if your pet is current on his/her Distemper vaccine would be a very good idea! If he or she is not current- getting a booster would be highly recommended. If handled and administered correctly, the vaccine is extremely effective, almost 100%.

This virus starts out looking like a cold, but progresses to much more severe illness (including pneumonia, vomiting, diarrhea, thickening of the foot pads, and finally seizures). If your dog is coughing, sneezing, has green nasal discharge, fever or any symptoms- please have him/her examined by a veterinarian.

Don’t be scared, this virus has been around for a very long time, the vaccine was created in the 1950′s. So we know it well and do not believe that this new strain is resistant, it is just a particularly nasty version, meaning infected dogs are getting really sick.

If you are adopting a rescue pet (which I highly recommend), please keep him or her separated from your other pets for 10 days or so, to ensure that the new pet is not carrying any bad bugs into your home

Longer answer:

In-depth
Distemper Virus
Most of us have heard of distemper infection for dogs and gather it is bad. The basic vaccine for dogs is “the distemper shot,” which vaccinates against distemper, parvovirus, hepatitis, and some minor kennel cough agents. Luckily, this is all most people ever hear of distemper.
Symptoms begin with:

Gooey eye and nose discharge
Fever, which often comes and goes unnoticed
Poor appetite
Coughing and development of pneumonia

The virus is attacking interfaces of the body with the environment (the mucous membranes) and starts with the nose/lungs, hence the pneumonia, but it does not stop there. The virus moves on to produce:

Vomiting and diarrhea
Callusing of the nose and foot pads (hence one of the old names for distemper – “hard pad disease”).

Finally, the virus proceeds to the central nervous system for its neurologic phase leading to:

Seizures, classically starting with snapping or tremors of the jaws that progress to convulsions of the whole body. This distemper classic sign is called a “Chewing Gum Seizure”.
Seizures are not the only distemper sign by any means. Tremors, imbalance, and limb weakness all may occur. Signs may progress to death or may become non-progressive and permanent. Recovery is also possible.

This means that the some dogs appear to recover only to break with neurologic disease 1 to 3 weeks later. Younger puppies or individuals with weak immunity often die during the mucosal phase while stronger individuals may have relatively mild mucosal signs and not appear ill until the neurologic phase strikes. This makes determining when we are “out of the woods” very difficult!

Diagnosis

Unfortunately, diagnosing Distemper is not clear cut- it has many of the same symptoms of Kennel Cough or other viral infections. Also, recent vaccination can create false positives, so it can be frustrating to understand.

Because of this, distemper is a clinical diagnosis, which means that rather than confirming infection with a test that is negative or positive, the veterinarian must look at the whole picture: what symptoms are there, is the history typical, etc. The virus itself remains elusive so that positive test results are meaningful in confirming the infection, but negative results do not rule it out. The following are tests that can be used:

Distemper Inclusion Bodies

Distemper Antibody Levels

PCR Testing

Cerebrospinal Fluid Antibody Levels

Treatment

The treatment for distemper is all about supporting the pet- just like a virus in people. While this virus can be fatal, some pets do recover.

The fact remains that recovery from distemper is all about immunity and the only real treatment is supportive care while the patient mounts an immune response. If the patient has pneumonia, antibiotics are used on the secondary bacterial infections. Airway dilators are used as needed. Physical therapy is used to promote coughing. If the patient has diarrhea, fever or is not eating, intravenous fluids are used to prevent dehydration.

Distemper is extremely variable in its ability to produce symptoms and recovery occurs at any stage (some dogs only get a snotty nose, some have ALL the signs). This has led to assorted therapies being credited with effect when what was more likely witnessed was the natural removal of the infection by the pet’s immune system.

Neurologic distemper is particularly difficult to treat. Still, it is possible for dogs to recover with livable deficits even from neurodistemper; euthanasia is best left for progressive, incapacitating neurologic symptoms.

Prevention

The “distemper shot” is the basic immunization for dogs. It is generally combined with vaccine for canine parvovirus as well for parainfluenza, adenovirus 2 and sometimes coronavirus. Puppies are vaccinated beginning at age 6 to 8 weeks, and then every 3-4 weeks thereafter until age 16 weeks. The next vaccine is one year later. After that subsequent vaccination boosters are given every 1 to 3 years or based on antibody levels or depending on the lifestyle of the pet. Prevention is the best medicine- no one wants to get sick!

Hope that helps- distemper is a bad bug, let’s hope that we can stop a major outbreak with education and vaccination!

Dr. Casey can be reached at McDowell Mountain Animal Hospital 17050 N Thompson Peak Pkwy, Scottsdale, AZ 85255-2555
480-419-6300 http://www.mcdowellmtnvet.com/

Pet Health Alert: Distemper Cases Up (myfoxphoenix.com)

What Goes On During A Pet Sit When Clients Are Away

Ever wonder what happens when you go away? Ever wonder what to expect? Here, we share a glimpse of some cat sitting in Scottsdale:

Quan Yin…

My blackberry has also been acting strange … hence why I’m using my laptop right now. Sorry that yours is causing you problems while you’re on your trip. I hope everything else is going okay!

I don’t believe you that Quan Yin can hold a grudge. I have to shove chicken flavored goo in her mouth and she’s purring in my lap moments after. She is a lover and playing hard to get haha.

There has been absolutely no sneezing the past couple days but she is very strange with cleaning herself … she kinda just throws herself on the ground and flops around and then starts licking where ever. She doesn’t make any noise and it doesn’t look unintentional so it’s more so kinda amusing because you would think she’d be more graceful about it. Apparently not haha. She really is a sweet girl.

Are you sure you’ll be back in the afternoon? If so I won’t leave a light on tomorrow morning.

Hope you have a great night!

Bailey…

I hope you all made it there [India] safely and didn’t face any of the inconveniences that the media has been so frequently reporting. Everything was in order at your house, you received a package from Cuisinart that I put in the foyer. Bailey won’t disturb it will he?

Speaking of, that cowardly cat was held up under your bed so I attempted to lure him out with bribes of treats and play. Didn’t work. He made a dash for the office where he sat in the corner. So I sat down and ignored him … within moments he was in my lap. (Funny how that works with guys huh? haha) Anyways, I attempted to brush him while humming the Harry Potter theme and either he isn’t a HP fan or I’m terrible at humming because he took off again! He watched me from afar as I prepared his dinner and ran the faucet. I don’t think you need to worry about him being too bashful around me

Have a great day!

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Adventures with Bailey continue…..—–>

I couldn’t find Bailey for at all yesterday. While I was putting together his dinner I heard some noises that I dismissed for normal wood creaking, after searching all of his usual spots I decided to investigate.

Yep. Bailey was on top of the cabinets, stalking me. He decided he wanted to watch me prepare his food, all I could see was his whiskers and the top of his ears but if I moved further into the dinning room I could see him crouched, looking over his domain haha.

Does he usually eat a lot of his dry food? I don’t want him to get too chubby under my care haha.

Bella, Why Do You Do So Many Events? (bellashouseandpets.com)
From Rocco: North Scottsdale, Cave Creek & Carefree Pet Sitting (bellashouseandpets.com)

Whisker Writings: Cat Sitting in North Scottsdale

This note to the clients was just too good from one of our staff members that I just HAD to share it with you. It is about her recent Cat Sitting in North Scottsdale adventures What do you think? Comment below!

Good Morning Client,

I arrive in the morning, for my special boys Bubba & Owen (not to worry only temporary ownership while you are away!!!! lol )…I don’t readily see them upon entering the front door. No sooner I say that out comes Bubba first dressed in his cowboy outfit., then ever so slowly I spot Owen who is dressed in his cute but different cowboy outfit, peeking around the corner, Bubba gives him a quick glance as if to say, she is alright I met her last week…it is safe!!! So Owen, still not quite sure of me, comes up slowly I hold out my hand and pet him gently on the head, I introduce myself and tell them I will be seeing them the next three day and to please let me know their likes and dislikes…they tell me immediately they love their big roomy house with so many places to hide!!! , so if I don’t find them right away they are playing hide and seek or might be catnapping..I tell them I will always look for them, just to make sure they are ok….they both say at the same time ok (one meow means ok (cat talk) LOL….. =)

After breakfast, I entice them with their morning grooming I tell how important it is too keep up their whiskers and fur. J they seem to like the idea but then Owen tells me he has his own routine of grooming which he showed me, first he says I like to lick myself all over and then I take my one paw and I lift my tail while I groom myself, (this was so hilarious to watch!!!! ) =)

Bubba immediately shoots Owen a glance as if to say how unrefined that is!!!! (LOL) =) .Afterwards Bubba walks into the family room to catch a few rays of sunlight coming into the room, there he basks in the morning sun with his beautiful shinning black coat and piercing green eyes so handsome!!!! . Now Owen comes to where I am sitting by the fireplace and starts purring so sweetly and snuggles just for a moment….my heart just melts!!!!. Our morning routine this morning is just petting and letting them get used to me, I watch them with curiosity and wonder what they are thinking about…

I let the boys know it is time for me to leave, I promise them I will be back in the morning once again to check and feed them…Owen so sweetly sees me to the front door as if to say thanks for stopping in, see you tomorrow!!!! =)

Adios Caballeros, = (translation for see you later cowboys) =)

Pet Sitter

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Bella’s visits Hillside Animal Hospital

This week, Bella’s House & Pet Sitting was invited to go speak to Hillside Animal Hospital. We were so honored that we got to come and get acquainted again.

Hillside Animal Hospital Staff and Bella

Hillside and Bella’s actually began our relationship years ago, and had lost touch. Cathy (Office Manager) and I met for coffee a few weeks back and just shared with each other the adventures in both our businesses. Clearly, we were very like minded, and we arranged a meeting between the two of our businesses. Read the rest of this entry »

[Video] Puppy Sitting in Scottsdale for Lucy

Here is our newest 2x/day puppy client. We love Lucy!!!

Pet Sitting, Dog Walking, Scottsdale, AZ

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Archive for the ‘Pet Care’ Category