What are the first signs of rabies?

Question

All of our dogs are up to date on shots and the rabies vaccinations, but one just started drooling a lot which he never does. My boyfriend said when he walked him he had orange/white diarrhea. Could he just be sick from eating something bad? Recently we got infested w/mice, could they give him rabies?

Answer 1

Luckily, your dog is up to date on its shots for rabies. There is a great site that lists all the symptoms for each of the stages of rabies in dogs. http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/rabies/symptoms.shtml
I'd be more concerned that your dog has been poisoned or has eaten something contaminated. It would be prudent to visit the vet.

Answer 2

Change in Behaviour, sluggishness, snapping at the air, looking drunk, can all be signs of rabies. Mice can carry rabies but if you dog has had it's shot's the chances are very slim that he would contract rabies. But there are many other zoonotics that may be contracted with exposure to vermin. I would strongly recommend getting the dog to a vet asap and having him thoroughly checked out.

Answer 3

If your dog's up to date on their shots it's most likely something the dog ate.

Here's a link on signs and symptoms of rabies in animals. ( A couple of months ago a young man here in Texas died from a bat bite because he failed to tell his family and get treatment immediately. Sadly many people really don't know what Rabies is and what it's symptoms are in both animals and people who are affected. ) Hope this helps.. ( Pondering orange/white diarrhea talk about WEIRD *smile* I'll keep my fingers crossed *hugs* )

http://www.animalhealthchannel.com/rabies/symptoms.shtml

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&articleid=347

http://www.vaccineinformation.org/rabies/qandadis.asp

I suggest you contact your local vet and tell him/her your dog's symptoms ( including the color of the diarrhea and that you had a recent mouse infestation) and see what he/she say's. Till then keep your dog hydrated using plenty of water and gatorade is good too to replenish the lost electrolytes. I suggest orange gatorade I've found our animals ( dogs, bunnies and goats ) seem to like it best. Go fig huh?

I would love to know what the vet say's, as I said I really don't think it is rabies if he is up to date on his shots. As it say's in the links the first symptom is actually a change in their behavior, I believe foaming at the mouth in conjunction with the behavior is the only other really good symptom that it's rabies. Just remember, if you have Frogs or Toads and your dog comes in foaming at it's mouth and seems a bit distressed you can bet it was a toad the dog got a hold of. Their skin is toxic and causes the foaming and heavy salavating. Kind of why some people just assume when they see a dog foaming at it's mouth it has rabies.

Feel free to e-mail me like I said I really would like to know what the vet has to say.

*hugs*

Answer 4

Sudden death can be a first sign of rabies, but more than likely it will be a change of the personality of the animal. Mice are not usually carriers of rabies, but if your dog ate a mouse more than likely the mouse tasted nasty (which explains the drooling) and it has also probalby given him a stomach ache (explaining the diahrea).

Answer 5

For a dog, foaming at the mouth when it sees water. If you pour a pitcher of water in front of him, if it has rabies, it will foam at the mouth and bare its teeth. It's one of the reasons it's called hydrophobia (fear of water).

Answer 6

Change in behavior
foaming at the mouth
aggressiveness
tiredness

Answer 7

Maybe