# I was told my pup has canine distemper....



## OverSt (Sep 17, 2009)

Ok so my 6 month old pup has had a very bad cold this past week. It has progressed to the point that he has mucus coming out of his eyes. I brought him to the vet yesterday only to be told that he has canine distemper, and that there is no way to treat or test for it. 

Now my pup is fully vaccinated except for rabies. His appointment for that is next week. I know rabies is supposed to be done at 4 months but I got to the vet on base and appointments are far apart. His first 3 shots and boosters were done at the breeder. I have shot records to prove so. I've also taken him to get a 4th shot just in case. 

So what I'm wondering is. How can a vet be so sure that my pup has distemper when there's no way to test? He's only displayig a few of the symptoms such as runny nose and eyes and sometimes a red discharge from the nose. 

He still eats like a pig. Has decent energy for being so congested. And does not have diarrhea, his paw pads aren't hard and his teeth are perfect. His nose however is very dry. 

Does anyone here know of any conditions that can be mistaken for distemper and good ways to treat it. 


On another his symptoms started to show after a day at the Colorado river. He was doing quite a bit of swiming. Also hes spends alot of time in the backyard where's it's really hot and dusty.


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## gamer (Feb 1, 2010)

Some bad cases of Kennel cough can be mistaken for distemper. I would just keep him away from other dogs and make sure he gets plenty of fluids. I had an adult dog with Distemper I rescued from a pound and I put him on Cephalexin 3 times a day and made sure he got plenty of water and he pulled out of it.


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## leatherman-cowboy (Feb 10, 2010)

Hey OverSt
Look up distemper on Wikipedia.From what I read there are many things that can done now to help with this problem.
And like gamer said: keep your pup away from other dogs.
Hope all works out ok.
Thank you,
Henry


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## OverSt (Sep 17, 2009)

gamer said:


> Some bad cases of Kennel cough can be mistaken for distemper. I would just keep him away from other dogs and make sure he gets plenty of fluids. I had an adult dog with Distemper I rescued from a pound and I put him on Cephalexin 3 times a day and made sure he got plenty of water and he pulled out of it.





leatherman-cowboy said:


> Hey OverSt
> Look up distemper on Wikipedia.From what I read there are many things that can done now to help with this problem.
> And like gamer said: keep your pup away from other dogs.
> Hope all works out ok.
> ...


Thanks for your help. It's tough watching him like this. I really hope the vet is wrong. @gamer where's a good place to get Cephalexin from? Is it something i can get from a feed shop or pharmacy?


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Don't treat with antibiotics if you do not know what it is, If he starts coughing and displays more symptoms of Kennel cough then I would treat for it.

There are tests you can do and my suggestion is to get another vets opinion. If it is Distemper let the vet treat him with the correct antibiotics and other symptoms but there is not cure for distemper they either can pull through or they don't. Dogs can still get Parvo, distemper, or other diseases they have been vaccinated for if the mothers antibodies stayed with the pup longer than normal. That means any vaccine you gave the pup is worthless if they antibodies were still present and sometimes that can be as long as 20 weeks of age. The same thing happened to Crush, she got Parvo at almost 8 months old and she was fully vaccinated. It was a mild case and she recovered quickly but it does happen. Go to another vet see what they say and keep your pup well hydrated and fed and do not do anything stressful to weaken their immune system. You had mentioned giving the rabies, you need to hold off till this is all done with.

Chephalexin is an ok antibiotic but not really that strong so for Distemper I would go to the vet for antibiotics because you are going to need something stronger. Again go to another vet and watch the god closely for new symptoms.

Good luck and keep us posted on how he does.

info on testing

Distemper diagnosis is difficult.
There are blood tests that can help to diagnose the disease but they are not always effective. For instance, finding that white blood cells are very low suggests a diagnosis of distemper, but it can indicate other illnesses as well. Vets also look for evidence that white blood cells have produced special antibodies to fight distemper. However, if a dog has been vaccinated in the past, these antibodies will often be present, whether or not the dog actually has distemper. There are other blood tests that actually look for the virus itself, but these often show false negatives as the virus “hides” inside the cells and does not show up in the blood.

Another test for the disease is a cerebral spinal fluid test (CFS). This involves taking a sample of spinal fluid and examining it. It is a costly and somewhat dangerous test, however. And it will not always be accurate.


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## Indigo Bully Connection (Dec 21, 2006)

Canine influenza fits the bill as well. Research that a little.


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