My dog has distemper. What should I do and what food is best for her?

Unfortunately, with distemper there is not much you can do for them. There is no treatment, only supportive care which is already being done. If it progresses to the neurological form, the chance of recovery is minimal. They are doing all the treatment they can based on your description. Nothing else can really be done other than trying to force feed him, which many animals do not take to having done. If they want to try something, I would recommend force feeding either canned dog food or human meat flavored baby foods (in a jar). I am really sorry that his has happened to Rex. Distemper can be easily prevented with vaccination. So, let your friends know that in future all their dogs need to be vaccinated. As puppies they get a series of 3 vaccinations and then as an adult it should be boostered every year. Below is a link to an excellent article about canine distemper. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/distemper-in-dogs

If your dog has been diagnosed with distemper virus you definitely need to seek veterinary care immediately - this is not something that can be treated at home. Distemper has a high mortality rate and is highly contagious. I would not recommend starting antibiotics without the direct supervision of a veterinarian who has performed a physical exam.

If your pet was diagnosed by a vet with Distemper then your vet should treat Sky according to the symptoms, Distemper is a viral disease and there is no treatment for it but medications can be given to help deal with the disease such as antibiotics for example.

I am sorry to hear that Mackle is so sick. Keeping her hydrated is important. Is she won’t drink then she may need to be hospitalized in IV fluids. However, if she is drinking water well then I usually recommend that my owners take their pets into the bathroom when they shower to help loosen the mucus. There are appetite stimulates that you can ask your veterinarian for such as Entyce or Mirtazipine. Distemper is a virus and must complete its course. As long as it does not cause neurological disorders then most dogs will recover. If she begins seizures then the prognosis is very poor. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Neurovet is a product which I have not ever seen used before and is a supplement. An antibiotic will only help with secondary bacterial infections as Distemper is a virus. The best thing you can do for Olive is supportive care in a veterinary hospital and provide adequate hydration, pain medication, anti-seizure therapy (if having seizures), etc. Distemper can be fatal and the best change Olive has is in a hospital receiving the most appropriate care. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Poor Pando! It is unusual for a dog to get distemper if properly vaccinated and boostered over their life. It is not impossible though. It is great news if he is getting better from the distemper symptoms but still concerns me that he is suffering from distemper or some other issue with the large amount of weight loss and loss of appetite. I would talk to your vet about rechecking any bloodwork to see what it looks like and also make sure he is on antibiotics. If he isn't eating, he may need to be on intravenous fluids and injectable antibiotics. Also, if possible, you may talk to your vet about doing some x-rays to see what his chest and abdomen looks like to see if there are any additional problems. I have seen dogs with distemper develop pneumonia and other secondary issues. He may also need a feeding tube if he is refusing to eat. It sounds like he has been in good hands but just needs more treatment and maybe even more aggressive treatment to help him continue to improve. Unfortunately, if he truly does have distemper, it is very tough for them to recover. Hang in there and I hope he start to gain weight and improve soon.

IT is very possible that Cookie has distemper but I will say it is not very common in the united states. I have seen a few cases but they were from rescue dogs in over crowded situations. I would first make sure Cookie has a good exam by a vet to confirm that distemper is the problem. Other disease can look like distemper for example low blood sugar and a liver shunt in small and young dogs will cause seizures. Typically distemper causes neurologic disease and the best way to help is with supportive care with your vet. This includes hospitalization with medications for seizures and muscle relaxation. until the patient recovers even possibly supplemental feedings. I hope that helps and hopefully it is not distemper and Cookie will make a fast recovery