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My puppy has distemper symptoms but is active. Is it distemper?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Maltese | Female | unspayed | 3 months and 28 days old | 2.65 lbs

Hi my maltese 3 months old puppy was diagnosed with distemper. S Her symptoms are sneezing, coughing and yesterday she had diarrhea and vomited. But she' very active, she eats a lot and drinks alot. Is it really distemper? Thanks and God bless

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 16th, 2017

It could be Distemper, but for Halo's sake, I hope it isn't. Distemper often starts similarly to what you are describing and can quickly get worse. I understand that she may seem OK today, but that can quickly change with Distemper. If she becomes less active, or starts having seizures, then it's very important that she go to the vet for hospitalization in order to give her the best chance of recovering.

There are some tests for distemper, but they are not always reliable. Therefore, even if Halo did get tested and showed positive for distemper, I would not call it a definitive diagnosis; but I would definitely treat her for distemper. If no test was done, then the diagnosis is not 100% and the cause of the sneezing and diarrhea is possibly due to some other infection. However, I'm sure the vets there have seen many cases of Distemper and may know of an outbreak at this time - which would go a long ways to support their diagnosis.

I hope this helps and Halo gets better soon.

2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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