Symptoms of rabies in dogs

Dogs with rabies will show symptoms such as extreme excitement, mania, drooling, loss of consciousness, and eventually death due to local or general paralysis. The salivary glands and saliva of an affected dog contain a large amount of virus, and the closer the wound part is to the head and forelimbs, and the deeper the wound, the higher the incidence. The incubation period for rabies varies in length, ranging from 14 to 56 days, with a minimum of 8 days to a maximum of several months or even years. The general length of the incubation period is related to the depth of the bitten area, the amount of virus, and the virulence.

Usually dogs do not show symptoms during the incubation period of rabies, which is generally divided into three periods: the prodromal period, the euphoric period, and the paralysis period. The prodromal period is 1-2 days, and dogs with rabies will show symptoms such as mental depression, dilated pupils, and increased salivation; the euphoric period is 2-4 days, and dogs with the disease will show symptoms such as mania, aggression, and paralysis of the throat muscles, when they will alternate between rage and depression; the paralytic period is 1-2 days, and dogs with the disease will show symptoms such as lethargy, open mouth and drooping tongue, and walking and wobbling.

Dog rabies is also known as hydrophobia. Dogs with rabies will also show symptoms such as red eyes, fear of light and water. Rabies is a highly contagious and dangerous infectious disease, usually infected by a bite from a rabid animal or by contact with the rabies virus at the site of injury, and can be diagnosed initially by clinical signs to determine whether the dog has rabies. Rabies can also be initially identified by taking the cerebrospinal fluid of a sick dog for antibody titer analysis, and if the cerebrospinal fluid is positive for rabies virus IgG titer, the dog can be initially identified as having rabies.

Rabies is preventable, controllable and incurable, so when you find a dog with symptoms, you need to stay away from the sick dog and report it to the relevant authorities. Do not take your dog out to contact pets of unknown origin before vaccination, and avoid direct contact with injured or dead wild animals.