Rabid Dog Problems

Are you afraid that your dog might have or will get Rabies? In this case you should be informed on the topic so that you know what to do about it, right? Let us take a look at what you do need to know about Rabid Dogs.

What is Rabies?

Rabies is a virus and it can affect all animals that are warm blooded and not just dogs. When you get bitten by a pet you do have the risk of getting rabies. Not that money humans suffer from this but you should know that around 30 thousand people go through treatment in the US because of this. This virus ends up attacking our nervous system and eventually causes encephalitis. Rabies is transmitted through saliva of an infected animal, usually through a bite. The real problem stands in the fact that we are faced with an incubation period that is variable from man to man. In most cases it is around 2 to 8 weeks and in less than 10 days from the appearance of symptoms the virus will appear in saliva.

Both domestic animals and humans usually get Rabies from the bite of an animal that is infected. Although most are usually wild animals like bats, raccoons or skunks, pets can be a problem. You should also know that more cats than dogs are currently infected but this does not mean you should not pay attention to your dog.

Rabid Dog Symptoms

Rabies comes with 3 stages: prodomal, furious and paralytic. When the signs start to appear the rapid dog will end up dead in 3 to 7 days. The prodomal phase lasts 2 to 3 days. Symptoms that usually appear include fever, changes in behavior, chewing at the bite site and slow eye reflexes. Then we have the furious stage that lasts 2 to 4 days. This is when the rapid dog is really dangerous due to erratic behavior. The pet can attack inanimate objects, show aggression, irritability, restlessness and will roam without a reason. Seizures and disorientation can also take place. The last phase is the paralytic stage and lasts 2 to 4 days. This is when paralysis appears and in most cases it starts in the limp that was bitten by the rabbit animal. After a shor while you will notice coma, depression and eventually death caused by respiratory paralisis. Keep in mind that if clinical signs appear in the rabid dog then you can not treat him.

Rabid Dog Prevention

The best way to prevent your pet from becoming a dangerous rabid dog is to vaccinate him against rabies. If your dog gets bitten by a rabid animal or a wild animal in general you do need to go through these steps:
- If the dog was vaccinated in the past you have to do it again and keep him in quarantine for 3 months.
- If the dog was not vaccinated it should be euthanized and you have to submit tissue samples for testing. If you simply do not want to euthanize the dog then quarantine for 6 months needs to happen and the dog has to be vaccinated 1 month before he is released.

Your dogs have to be vaccinated at all times against Rabies. I recommend that you consult your veterinarian in order to go through the vaccination protocols you need to respect. You might have to go through vaccination once per year or once in 3 years, all based on the current laws. Rabid dogs can be a problem for both humans and other animals. We are talking about a disease that is very dangerous and you should not joke around with it.