My stray puppy twitches in sleep and bites. Is it rabies or distemper?

Hi Milna! I'm sorry to hear that your puppy was bitten. There are no symptoms of rabies that appear immediately. Since rabies is a fatal disease that can be transmitted through bodily fluids (saliva, blood) to humans, please take your puppy to a vet immediately. In addition to the concern of rabies, your puppy should have his wound evaluated, cleaned, and be started on a course of antibiotics.

If you were in a country that was known to have rabies in the dog population, then I would be concerned, but the UK is considered rabies-free. Canine Distemper Virus is more likely to be the cause of this and is more common with stray puppies.. However, distemper can be spread to other dogs through contact, so it's important to ensure your dogs are up-to-date on their vaccines. While adult dogs are usually not as seriously affected by this disease, it is possible that they could get similar signs as the puppy. One way you can test the puppy for contagious disease is to have the body tested by a veterinary pathologist. Your vet will be able to help with that. I hope that helps and all is well with the other dogs.

Please put a muzzle on your dog and immediately take him to a veterinarian. There is a possibility that your dog may have been infected with rabies, especially if he is not up to date with rabies vaccine. Please also see a doctor since he bit you. Rabies is a deadly disease.

I am very sorry to hear about Best, but it sounds like he truly needs veterinary care as soon as possible. I would be concerned about an allergic reaction but also it is concerning that he has drooling and shivering with aggression. This makes us very concerned about the possibility of rabies or canine distemper. He should be seen right away by a vet to examine him and try to determine what is going on and if he can be treated.

Hi there and thank you for using Pet coach to address your concern. Based on your description I would suspect this is due to pain and that the pain is not being controlled well with the medications you are giving. The UK is a Rabies free country so this is less likely to be Rabies, however, not completely out of the realm of possibilities. If she is afraid of water especially ans becoming aggressive these would be red flags and I would have her examined immediately. If she is attacking anyone, I would call the police to come and get her so thst you are not injured as rabies can transmit to humans and be fatal. For now, I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to discuss more options for controlling the pain better. For now, I would keep the dogs isolated from one another and monitor for now. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

I would be very concerned that Bella got into something toxic causing her symptoms, or she could have had a seizures. She needs veterinary attention now to diagnose the cause of her symptoms so she can be treated. Please take her into a vet right away.

I don't think you have to worry about either disease at this stage however, it is always best to check with a human physician. By law, we really cannot recommend any treatment for human conditions. You can start training as early as 8 weeks of age. Hope this helps. Happy Holidays!