01/16/2026
❗️Important information for dog owners❗️
Recently we have seen a number of dogs affected by Distemper virus in our surrounding areas. Distemper is a contagious and potentially life-threatening virus that mostly affects dogs and members of the canine family (coyotes, foxes), but can affect other animals including raccoons and skunks.
Signs of infection can depend on the dog's immune response (which is impacted by prior vaccination), the amount of virus causing infection, and the stage of infection. Disease commonly starts as respiratory signs like nasal discharge and cough, and/or gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and diarrhea. Later on, the disease can progress to neurologic signs including seizures, muscle twitching, and head tilt. Infected dogs can show some or all of these signs or can shed the virus to infect other dogs without becoming sick themselves. There is no “cure” for distemper, and treatment is aimed at supportive care and protection against secondary infection. This makes vaccination crucial to prevention of disease spread.
What can you do? Luckily, there are very effective vaccines to help prevent distemper. All puppies should be vaccinated against distemper beginning at 6 to 8 weeks of age (commonly given in combination with vaccine for parvovirus), repeating the vaccine every 2-3 weeks until at least 16 weeks of age. The vaccine should be boostered annually after puppy vaccinations are complete. It is important to realize that puppies can still become infected if they are exposed to the virus before they have developed complete immunity, and it is best to avoid exposing young puppies to unvaccinated dogs or areas frequented by wildlife until the entire series is finished.
We know that diseases like this can be scary and stressful for pet owners. If you have any questions or concerns, or your dogs need to be updated on their vaccinations please feel free to give us a call at 775-296-0178 and we would be happy to get you scheduled 🐶
