Puppy died with foam and strange behavior. Is it rabies or distemper?

The stereotypical image of rabies is a dog with foam all around their mouths, but the reality is that this is not actually seen that often and can be seen normally in a dog that just exercised. The reason for the foam forming around their mouths with rabies is that they are not able to swallow when infected with rabies. This causes them to drool more and potentially develop this foam if they are barking/vocalizing a lot. Rabies also causes a dramatic change in behavior. The dog will either be very stuporous, or extremely aggressive. Rabies is spread through saliva, but requires a direct inoculation under the skin (usually by biting). Touching the saliva of a rabid dog is not very risky for contracting the disease; unless you have a cut or sore that is in contact with the saliva. It's also much less likely for a vaccinated dog to acquire rabies. For more information about rabies, I will refer you to the link below. cdc.gov/rabies/index.html I hope that helps and all is well with you and Chloe.

Please be very careful. Your puppy may have canine distemper or rabies. As you know, rabies is deadly and can also be given to people. Please make sure you do not get bitten and take the puppy to a pet doctor today.

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 can understand being worried. Foaming out of the mouth is never a good sign. The immediate concern I have is rabies. If he's never been vaccinated against rabies, there's a potential he could have it if he came into contact with a rabid animal recently. It could also be that he is nauseous or has a dental problem. Because I can't see him in person to rule out rabies and because I don't know his vaccine status, do not handle him if he's not vaccinated. Call your local animal control for help with him. Isolate him from other people and animals until they get there. Now if he is fully vaccinated against rabies, then he won't have it but I would still have him seen by a vet today. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Animals with rabies typically become progressively worse with other neurologic symptoms (such as muscle tremors and seizures), and die within a few days of beginning to show symptoms. So if this behavior has been going on for longer than that, it isn't rabies - instead, it's likely to be a behavior issue. From your description, it sounds like Max is very anxious and fearful. Many fearful dogs are also aggressive towards other animals and people. If you want to work on this problem, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate him in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan for his aggression and anxiety issues. This might include medication, as well as management suggestions to help him avoid situations that make him afraid, and specific training exercises you can work on to help with this behavior. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

HI, I am sorry to hear about your dog. While this MAY be rabies, it most likely is a different type of disease. I can be a primary problem with the brain, another type of infectious disease, or related to internal organ dysfunction. I would highly recommend having your dog evaluated by your veterinarian to try and determine the cause of the seizures and get him on medication(s) to help prevent/stop the seizures from occurring.

Based on your description of Gus's encounter with the new puppy I would not be concerned about Rabies. This was most likely related to the excitement of the encounter. You mentioned Gus is current on his Rabies vaccination so there should not be a huge concern here. However, if you want to be certain about Gus you can have him examined by your veterinarian if his behavior continues to be abnormal and if needed the doctor can actually check Gus's rabies titer (a blood sample) and send it out to the lab. Most likely, Gus is absolutely fine. Best of luck.