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The earliest signs of this disease is a fever lasting for 2-3 days which recurs about a week later. Dogs of any age may be affected but young dogs are the most susceptible.

The clinical signs vary from dog to dog:- fever, respiratory symptoms (coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, pneumonia), eye discharge, vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, listlessness and dehydration.  Nervous signs such as muscle tremors, convulsions, loss of balance and progressive paralysis usually occur later in the course of the disease.

The recovery rate, even with careful treatment, is fairly low. Dogs which have apparently recovered from a clinical episode of Distemper may develop permanent nervous system problems later in life.

Dogs can be protected by being kept in complete isolation. This may be sufficient to protect pups until they have been vaccinated, but it is impractical for older dogs. The only reliable method of preventing infection is to have the dog vaccinated by your Veterinary Surgeon.

Distemper vaccination is very effective, but it must be done before the dog is exposed to the disease. Infection can be present for two or three weeks before clinical signs appear. Vaccination of dogs already incubating Distemper will not prevent the disease and in such animals disease symptoms can appear a short time after vaccination.