Canine Distemper

[livingwith]

Do not read this story if you want to “hear” a happy ending about distemper A couple of weeks ago, I rescued a little puppy from my next door neighbor (who just left it outside to die, because she didn’t want it anymore). Other than being a little under-nourished, she seemed okay. She ate like a little pig and played joyfully with my other 5 dogs.
A couple of days ago, she started to lose a little of her puppy energy and didn’t seem to want to eat. I kept a watchfu...Read the full article

[HollyFree]

To Julie,
I don't believe in happy endings where distemper is concerned. I'm so sorry about Lucy. I only had a few weeks with my puppy as well. A few weeks or many years would have made no difference to me, I loved Holly from the minute I laid eyes on her. I felt like a part of me died with her. I will never be the same. She was not just a dog. She was my new best friend. Read my story, I'll tell you, it is a sad one as well. Did you get your other dogs to the vet? Watch them close. There is a risk now. I'll wish for as happy an ending as you can have now... your other dogs stay healthy & you find some peace. My Holly is free.

[Daveyo]

Greetings I am Daveyo

Hollyfree brought up a good point concerning your other dogs. I hope they are all vaccinated because Distemper hits dogs that are not vaccinated.

First of all I have some questions to ask you. You said this dog was a puppy. How old was it??? It would seem to me that this neighbor of yours apparently knew before hand that the dog was probably sick????

Distemper does not kill dogs in a matter of a couple weeks. From onset of symptoms Distemper is a stage by stage virus and it is an airborne and contact type virus. First it hits the body big time, causing a very high fever, and then you will see signs of the disease such as the nose snots, goop in the eyes, respiratory breathing problems, and hard pads etc. By the time it hits the latter stages you would have seen withdrawal symptoms, fecal matter being very soupy, and then you will see a chewing gum syndrome. At that point it is too late because the disease is destroying the brain completely. Dogs usually die about 4 days or less once you see the chewing gum effect because seizures follow shortly thereafter.

From what I am reading here it sounds like you had fading puppy syndrome which kills puppies and they do drop about as fast as you have described here. Yes these dogs can be saved as well. Its called NDV.

NDV will cure Distemper, Respiratory Herpes, and Fading Puppy Syndrome. All three of these.

If your dog had Parvovirus, you should have seen the stools being very dark with blood and soupy indeed.

Without going any further you should have that dog that died for a Distemper check to confirm. Yep or you will be in fear of it spreading to your other dogs.

The virus however cannot live in the host for long if dead. It dies with it too. You can extract CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) and have that tested out to confirm if Distemper is in that fluid. If confirmed then the dog had it. If not something else. You have about roughly 72 hours to get it before that too goes dead. The virus needs active living cells for it to thrive. Once the dog dies the cells begin to die out as well which of course kills the virus as the same.

There are symptoms to detect Fading Puppy syndromes which is in my site hopefully that it will educate you to some extent. This disease is usually passed on from the female to the litter because the female is sick. Once the first litter is gone and done, then the female is immuned and future litters will have the antibodies to this disease.

Puppies usually die from this disease within 2-4 days once infected.

However though, you mentioned that the dog threw up the medication. Obviously the VET misdiagnosed that dog very badly.

Secondly ANTIBIOTICS DOES NOT CURE DISTEMPER OR HERPES OR FADING PUPPY SYNDROME.

Antibiotics will cure Pneumonia, and Parvo (giving Tamiflu) plus others and the other standard diseases or infections.

So, if any of your dogs ARE NOT VACCINATED, do not vaccinate them now at all. Get them tested out first and the best test to confirm is doing the following which is cheap and not costly and hopefully the VET is smart enough to know how to do it. It is 100% accurate.

Here it is>>>>The very best test for rapidly diagnosing ACUTE distemper is to do what is called a brush border smear of the cells of the inside lining of the bladder. These cells ALWAYS have inclusions. So, easy to collect, easy to stain (quick dip) and instantly diagnosed with inclusions in these cells looking at it from a Regular Microscope.

Any medical person can tell you how to get cells from the bladder. Urinary catheter. Empty bladder flush with saline and collect some of the last saline. Spin down the saline and remove the cells. Place on slide and dry stain with diff-quick. Very common stain used by most medics or lab people who use medical microscopy. Everyone? I should hope so. Very fast, very cheap, very accurate for Dx of distemper. If present then Distemper. If negative then either kennel cough or respiratory Herpes.

Now in your case if not present, then VACCINATE IMMEDIATELY WITHOUT DELAY. Get that Unvaccinated dog covered. It takes 2 weeks before the first dose has any effect for protection. The second dose is the booster against it, then your on safe grounds. No need to give the third dose if your dogs are older than 3 months of age.

Keep posting to let me know what you did and its results.

Hopefully it is the good news.

[narnis]

im so sorry for your loss. at 6a.m friday morning i too lost my baby boy (Jager: a bull pittbull)to distemper. we only had him 4 days but in that short time i grew very attached to him. we decided to get him because he was the runt (1.6 lbd)and was being picked on by his litter mates. it happened so quick 1st day he was fine the next day he acted sleepy and the only thing he wanted was for us to hold him. then he threw up worms. we made a vet appointment for the next day. the vet said he was many types of worms and a parasite like an ameobia. so he gave us meds and told us to give him pedilyte and 24 hr supervision. by 10 that night we were rushing him to the 24hr vet. he had had 3 seizures by the time we got there his temp was 91 degrees and his blood sugar was so low they couldn't get a reading they tested for parvo but it came back negative. we decided to leave him there so in case something happened they might be able to do something i received a call at 4 am telling me his seizures were getting worse and more frequent. because of this he had severe brain damage and would never have any quality of life if they could save him. so we lost him . i just wish he hadn't suffered as much all i can hear is him crying. come to find out the people we got him from never had him or his litter mates checked by a vet. they also later told us that he stopped nursing at 2 days old and so they just feed him regular milk. because of there ignorance and neglect i lost my baby boy. i sure it broke your heart when you lost Lucy just as it did mine losing Jager. it is such a terrible thing for a innocent baby to have to go through. maybe Jager and Lucy are somewhere playing together happy and healthy and no longer suffering

[Daveyo]

To those making posts here saying your dogs are dying of Distemper inside of a week.

First Canine Distemper will not kill these dogs inside of a week.

Secondly you mentioned here a temp of 91 which is hypothermia to a dog. A dogs temp should be minimum of 100 Deg F.

Third, the dog is throwing up worms!!!!!! Distemper does not cause worms.

Fourth and last of all your dog died of Fading Puppy Syndrome. Yes it causes seizures in young baby pups. Only NDV can save dogs of Fading Puppy syndrome or the serum.

Fifth your dog was dehydrated. Chloroamphenical injection probably would have saved your dog of the infection of parasites and a course of Intense IV solution called Dextrose. Also a strong regiment of Pyrantel to kill the worms was in order here.

Again another horrible mis-diagnosis by a VET.

I have no idea what school these VETS are coming from but they should be put off and out of business. These VETS are killing dogs, not saving them.

So Lets get this Distemper here straightened out. What I have been reading lately it is not DISTEMPER

I hope you understand.

[Daveyo]

In addition the only time that the dogs will have accelerated Canine Distemper which will bring on these symptoms as others are describing here is when they get the Vaccine shot!!!!! The Vaccine shot reaction will cause this dog to have a rapid case of Acute Distemper because the virus does not need to incubate or develop. The body gets the full dose of this virus and it invades like there is no tomorrow. It is fast and these symptoms can show up quickly. So I do advise dog owners to always first weigh the dog due for their first vaccine shot, and get some NDV based on the weight of that dog (0.1cc for every pound) and have it on standby. If that dog reacts within 1-2 days after that vaccine shot, then give it the NDV immediately and you will save your dog in time. If it passes the first shot without any problems keep that NDV for backup because it is good for other diseases which it can cure if your dog gets it later on. On the normal course of this Disease it takes 30 to 35 days before you see the chewing gum syndrome.

I want to make this clear so people can understand. Never give a Vaccine shot to a SICK DOG. Only healthy ones are supposed to get shots and please give only 1/2 dose shots to the small dogs weighing less than 60 pounds. The vaccine shots are so powerful it is designed for dogs weighing 60 pounds plus.

Between 35 and 60 still only give the half dose to be on the safe side. Don't give more than 1/2 shot per dose otherwise you insult the immune system of the animals.

Also by giving just a 1/2 shot the impact of the virus will not be so great if the dog reacts and having that NDV on standby to give immediately will prevent any further Distemper inside 12-48 hours. Dogs that got 1/2 shot and reacted and then given the NDV within 1-2 days once reaction is obvious, are usually cured of this virus in between 12-24 hours. The virus breaching the CNS barrier from a vaccine shot will take place by the 4th to 5th day hence the seizures following inside 24 hours later. So basically you got yourself a small window of which to save your dog just 24-36 hours. Once you do this the dog can only have NDV just once per lifetime in the body (injection) and only once in the CSF(CNS) tap injection. That is all. Once that is used up, you are out of options except to get that Serum which is better and can be used for the other diseases should it happen later.

It is better to be safe than sorry. NDV is not expensive and it is a LIFE SAVER of all sorts to animals when it is really needed.

Bottom line>>>>>>> NDV is to be used only if it is needed for this kind of emergency either for the body part or for the CSF. One time for those two areas. The Serum can be used multi times with no immune side effects and it cures just as well and if not better and no problems.

End of my notice::::

[lissiewow]

Hi Daveyo, I just read your post and it seems that you know very well about this Canine Distemper illness.. I am really hoping you could help me too.. Here's my story:

I'll be completely honest with everyone -- I cannot afford to bring my dog to a vet so I rely on the internet and forums like these for help.

My Dog, a Labrador retriever (i think) has canine distemper He's 1 yr & 3 mos old. Never had any vaccines at all.. I first knew he was ill when he started to loose his appetite, he wouldn't eat his favorite food/s, not even drink any liquids; he was completely not playful at all.

I started researching via internet the following symptoms he has:
1. has runny nose
2. has cough
3. doesn't eat/drink
4. yellowish-green discharge from his eyes & nose
**followed by these symptoms are seizures. probably, 4-5 times/day.

Like what I said, I cannot afford to bring him to a vet, God knows how much I want to.. I am completely clueless, I don't what to do & where to start the "treatment."
I read that it can be an option to cure the symptoms and strengthen his immune system for him to fight the disease although it may not be curable.

My questions, please have a heart and help me:
1. what antibiotics or medicines should I give him?
- for his cold, cough, loss of appetite, seizures.
2. if I am to buy an IV to feed him solids/liquids, how do I do that?
3. What am I supposed to do while he is having a seizure? and what am I supposed to do after his seizure?
4. NDV - is it something I should look into?

Comments will be very appreciated. I need someone to point me to the direction. Thanks.

[Daveyo]

Greetings:

I am Daveyo. I will do the best I can to help you in your time of need. First you said your dog is 1 year and 3 months old, and never been vaccinated. What you did not tell me when you first noticed all these symptoms and when the seizures started. You also did not tell me the status of his stool condition. Is it soupy or not and how long have you notice this if soupy???

Some very key points on my questions to sort of gauge if your dog can be saved or not.

If your saying your dog is having 4-5 seizures daily now, it is extremely very bleak. You had *** to this so I am not sure of what you mean here.

From your description of what you wrote, it definitely sounds like a combo here happening. Pneumonia and Distemper or a long shot being respiratory herpes, but I doubt it.

You also said VET and financial concerns are important to you. Well so is the dog its life!!!!!

You need to find NDV ASAP. No doubt about that. You need to give the dog the body injection of NDV and also the CSF tap injection at the same time and only a VET can do this for you. Just copy the medical protocol here that I posted for those with Confirmed Cases of Canine Distemper (revised post) and it is listed here under the topic of Canine Distemper peer to peer.

Body dose is 0.1cc for every pound. For the CSF in your case your dog is going to need 0.2cc of NDV injected into the CNS spine at the Foramen Magnum. Also the VET will need to have 0.2cc of spine fluid to mix the NDV with it, and also have 0.2cc of Saline to flush the needle hub of any NDV left in the hub. What the VET takes out has to be the same amount or a bit less being put back in and HAVE NO AIR INSIDE THE SYRINGE OR NEEDLE ITSELF. The VET will also need to give the dog some IV Solution and anti-shock drugs and have it sleeping in happy land while doing this procedure. If all goes well the dog will wake up about an hour after the operation and you can take it home after it stands on its feet. Then have the VET give 0.5cc of Baytril and 1.0cc of penicillin G mix it and give the dog the antibiotic shot. The dog needs this to be done 2 times a day for 7 days. Why, it has to take care of the Pneumonia caused by Distemper

After that pray and hope it is not too late saving the Dog. It will take a good 48 hours for both areas being the body and the CNS to at least stop this Disease. If the dog makes it past the 48th hour you should see much better signs of physical activity and it will eat and drink again. The body part will be fine and you need not have to worry there. It is the neurological aspects such as seizures you need to watch and be careful of and have the most patience and give the dog time to recover. It will be slow.


I am worried of it being dehydrated right now!!!!!!!!!!! You need to have that dog under IV ASAP. You need to get this from the VET.

While your dog is in recovery and at home you need to get also some Phenobarbital to give to the dog orally of minimum 8.125mg every 24 hours for the first week. (Do buy the 32mb tabs like 100 of them and have a tab breaker and break it in 4 pieces. When done you will have 400 of these.) After that first week, then every 48 hours and don't miss a heartbeat on this part. This will control the seizures and hopefully give the brain time to recover. Try to give this medication late evening hours like around 10 to 11 pm so the dog will not get into a seizure in the early morning hours while your sleeping. I found that out myself.

Now whether this stops the seizures it is unknown. It does slow it down quite a bit if given on time and regularly. It is now known that the NDV will stop the progression of this disease in the CNS thus stopping the Death Sentence.

While the dog is having its seizure, lay a towel on the floor, and lay it on its side and hold on to it. You need to time this seizure and report back to me. Once it is out of the seizure it will pedal like its swimming and also want to eat like having the munchies and pig out. Be careful not to let it do this, but allow water. Wipe off the foaming from the mouth, and be prepared for piss and poo which happens involuntary. After this let it alone and hold it and talk to it softly and rub the head for awhile, and then give that phenobarbital to stabilize the condition.

The rest is up to God for recovery and if you got this done on time.

All I have given to you here is medically proven. The rest is up to you. You can find NDV at any Agriculture Poultry store. Use the phone book and call around. If they ask you why tell them you have chickens and save yourself a half day explaining why its needed for dogs. OK Use your head.

Keep posting.

[lissiewow]

Hi Daveyo, thank you so much for your reply..

**I first noticed the loss of appetite first (exactly 8 days ago). Then followed by another symptom, then another...
**The seizure started 3 days ago. BUT, I noticed that he was "like chewing a gum into thin air" just last night, then followed by the seizure right after. That's how his seizure goes now, he's first chewing a gum, jaws move up & down very fast then the seizure right after.
**Stool Condition: he hasn't pooped for 7 days.

TIME OF SEIZURES as of my last post:
1:30pm, 4:38pm, 6:00pm
(I monitored his seizures right after I read your posts)

Right after his seizure, you are right, he stands up as if nothing happened. However, he still refuses to eat nor drink. I tried putting bread into his mouth but he spits it out.

I will find that NDV right now.

Thank you so much for your help. I hope to hear from you again.

[Daveyo]

Daveyo back. Oh boy, you have described the chewing gum stage. I have to tell you this dog had Distemper for a good 30 days. You are in the final stage bracket right now.

I am surprised that the dog is still alive. If you do get that NDV inside him the next 8 hours, and that dog pulls through including having the VET do the CSF tap same time you will have the first dog to have survived Chewing gum stage worldwide!!!!!! I have the only two dogs to have survived paralysis and seizures worldwide of which NDV stopped the progression and now is allowing them to recover, but they never were at the chewing gum stage.

While your at it, make sure that VET takes out 0.2cc of that CSF fluid to be tested out for Distemper specific antibodies and puts it into a sterile vial so it can be sent to a lab for verification. You will need that proof, if that dog does survives the chewing gum stage. This has never been done in the history of medicine. That dog is now probably having severe brain damage being done by the disease.
You are welcome to visit my site at [moderator note: website address has been removed] so please register there and there is a wealth of information that will help you as you go along with this medical situation. Dr. Sears is very well aware of this site and he is Co-Administrator.

I suspected it and that is why I mentioned that higher dose of NDV into the CSF so it can be like a bomb to the disease.

If you do this immediately and have this done and it survives the next 72 hours which is most critical, including that you also give that Baytril and Penicillin G as I instructed you for the 7 days twice a day to stop pneumonia, then I will contact Dr. Sears myself and report back to him ASAP because this is his discovery. After the 48 hour period even do it now, get that Phenobarbital to the dog. You need to slow down the seizures quickly. I would think that 16.250mg would be a good start.

You got a dog that really wants to live on your hands. So respond for that dog quickly. Its fighting for its life.

I am pulling for you now and hoping that you are successful. Everything now is in your hands since I cannot be there. Make sure the VET COOPERATES WITH YOU, and does the NDV body and CSF injections same time. After that pray that it lives the next 48 hours. Also have that VET give IV immediately before it goes into shock for lack of hydration.

Your dog won't poo because it has not eaten. A dangerous situation. Even more so for not drinking.

Get going on it right now.

You can either post here or at my site. I will be watching for you.

Daveyo