Parvo or distemper?

Question

My friend's dog is very sick. He shows all the symptoms of parvo. I was just looking around the internet and i came across a virus called distemper. The symptoms are similar to parvo. But when i was reading about this distemper virus the one of the symptom is diarrhea. It doesn't say bloody diarrhea and my friend's dog has bloody diarrhea. Is it possible for a dog with distemper to have bloody diarrhea also? Her dog is also coughing. Do you think is more likely parvo or distemper? Which virus has a higher chance of recovery with care from a vet? Which virus is more dangerous or deadly?

Thank you very much for all of your answers but i just want you to know that my friend actually lives in China. She is an internet friend. She has actually taken her pet to the vet already. She has had the puppy for 13 days and 11 of those days she took her puppy in to the vet. The vet told her that if he is eating and drinking then it doesnt have a problem. Just yesterday her pup started not to eat. She took him to the vet again. She said the vet gave the pup 2 shots and sent him home. The pup is now eating but not drinking. He still have diarrhea but its no longer bloody. I have fedex her a bottle of parvoguard and she is now using that. She said after using the parvoguard her pup started to eat again but still wont drink. She said her pup seems tired and sleepy all the time and he does hang around the food and water bowl but wont drink. She has tried everything in her power but there is only one vet in her city and he seems like he isnt very professional.

Is there anything that she can do to help her puppy. I dont know if the vet she is going to unwilling or just doent have the proper equipment or training to do a test. But i think at this point the best thing for her to do is to take this matter into her own hands. Like i said i have already fedex her a bottle of parvoguard just in case its parvo. Is there anything like parvoguard but for distemper? Is there a a kit to do the testing by yourself at home? Any advice or information would be helpful thank you. I want you guys to understand that both my friend and i are trying really hard to get this puppy treatment and we are not neglecting the pup. Its just she is from a small city in China and i think they are not as well trained and equipted in terms of medicine,technology and research like we are here in America. As soon as she got the pup she has tried on numerous occassion to get to pup vaccinated but the vet said she must wait until the pup is healthy.

Answer 1

Canine distemper virus is an RNA virus from the morbillivirus family. In humans, measles is caused by a member of this virus family. Distemper virus is more likely to affect puppies than older dogs. This is probably due immunity acquired through vaccination or exposure to the virus naturally, leading to immunity. It can affect dogs of any age, though. It causes very variable clinical signs which makes ruling it out in a young sick dog a difficult process. In some dogs a transient fever, perhaps accompanied by a lack of appetite or mild depression may be the only signs of onset of distemper. Other dogs are affected by a systemic illness with nasal and ocular discharges, coughing, fever, depression, lack of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea. It is not uncommon for dogs to have some but not all signs associated with this disease. Since the inapparent infections often go undiagnosed and the severe infections often are present in dogs who die from distemper virus the mortality rate of canine distemper was always thought to be very high. Over time, it was recognized that a number of dogs were surviving the initial infection only to develop neurologic signs from one to a few weeks after infection. Seizures, behavioral changes, walking in circles and other ambulatory problems commonly develop. Many dogs who develop neurologic signs develop rhythmic motions or "tics". These are known as chorea. Sometimes affected dogs appear to be chewing gum due to the steady contractions of the muscles of the head. Dogs that survive both the initial infection and subsequent neurologic disease may go on to develop retinal damage, corneal discoloration or extreme hardness of the skin of the nose or foot pads. Infection with the distemper virus can be hard to diagnose with certainty.

Parvo" is a virus that attacks the lining of the digestive system. It causes dogs and puppies to not be able to absorb nutrients or liquids. Puppies are especially prone to it because they have an immature immune system. When dogs and puppies contract parvo, they often have diarrhea, vomiting and lethargy. Usually they stop eating and develop a bloody, foul-smelling, liquid stool.

Symptoms usually begin with a high fever, lethargy, depression, and loss of appetite. Secondary symptoms appear as severe gastrointestinal distress, such as vomiting and bloody diarrhea. In many cases, dehydration, shock, and death follow.

Parvovirus is characterized by severe, bloody diarrhea and vomiting, high fever and lethargy. The diarrhea is particularly foul smelling and is sometimes yellow in color. Parvo can also attack a dog's heart causing congestive heart failure. This complication can occur months or years after an apparent recovery from the intestinal form of the disease. Puppies who survive parvo infection usually remain somewhat un-healthy and weak for life.

The best thing is to take it to the vet.

Answer 2

Parvo Distemper

Answer 3

Distemper Parvo

Answer 4

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RE:
Parvo or distemper?
My friend's dog is very sick. He shows all the symptoms of parvo. I was just looking around the internet and i came across a virus called distemper. The symptoms are similar to parvo. But when i was reading about this distemper virus the one of the symptom is diarrhea. It doesn't say...

Answer 5

From the symptoms you've described, either virus is equally likely. It will take a physical examination, fecal test for intestinal parasites, parvo test, and a CBC in order to properly diagnose this dog. It could be one or the other, it could be BOTH viruses at the same time, it could be a different intestinal virus altogether, it could be HGE, it could be rodenticide toxicity (rat poison), or it could be 'just' a severe case of hookworms or whipworms. You haven't provided enough history/information to determine which is most likely.

Do not delay....get this dog to a DVM right NOW!!!! The odds for success of treatment are dependent upon how quickly and how aggressively treatment is started. Do not wait around for more answers here. That dog needs to be SEEN by a professional ASAP.

Answer 6

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/tHhdO

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 7

Parvo is usually the term for the dog disease, distemper is what is used when cats are afflicted. I think the viruses are different and specific to the species.

Vaccination for these diseases is extremely important. It usually affects puppies and kittens. The kittens usually die from it, a puppy can be saved and it's a hard, long treatment. The virus attacks the intestinal tract and destroys the cells there. Diarrhea is a common symptom. It sometimes is bloody, sometimes not.

Your friend must take the pup to the vet immediately or it can lose its life!

Answer 8

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Just because you never know how the vaccines are handled, getting the vaccines from a feedstore really isn't the best way to go. If you for some reason give it to your animal when he/she is not in the best of health, then the vaccine is void. It is mandatory for the patient's immune system to function properly in order to respond appropriately to a vaccine challenge. If the immune system is immature, it cannot do so. If the patient has a disease that suppresses the immune system, it will not respond. If the patient has fever, the immune system will be so “occupied” with the fever that it will respond poorly to vaccine. If at any point during transfer the vaccine because warm and then was re-cooled, the vaccine is void. Vaccines made by FDA-licensed manufacturers are potent at the time they leave the factory; however, several things may happen to inactivate them. If the vaccine becomes too warm during shipment to the distributor or while being stored at the distributor, it is inactivated. This is a common problem associated with vaccines purchased by internet, mail or from feed stores. The buyer has no way to determine whether the vaccines were handled properly during shipment to non-veterinary suppliers. Veterinarians routinely refuse to accept shipments of vaccine if the vaccine is warm at the time of arrival. I work at an emergency hospital and we too often see animals come in with diseases that they wouldn't have if vaccinated through the vet, but owner was buying feedstore ones and vaccinating themselves. Not to say this will happen to you. In fact, it might not happen to your animals. But, it is not a scheme to get you to pay more money, it's for the well-being of your animal. The vet is not always out to get you. It's just not good medicine to tell people it's okay to vaccinate their own animals when they really have no idea what they are doing...

Answer 9

Not trying to sound mean but get off the computer and get that dog to the vet. Both of these diseases are leading causes of death in dogs. If left untreated not only will it likely kill the effected dog, it can be carried to other places and get other dogs sick. Just make sure you tell your friend to get her dog to the vet, he or she may be saved. Also make sure she gets the parvo/distemper shots as recommended.

Answer 10

Both Parvovirus and distemper can cause bloody diarrhea, but parvo often causes it because it causes moderate to severe damage to the gastrointestinal mucosa. Distemper can also attack other organs and sistems, like the respiratory apparatus and de nervous system, central and peripheral. it can also cause skin lesions and a very caracteristic finding is hyperqueratosis of the foot pads, known as¨hard pad¨, these lesions look like foot cales. if the puppy is exibiting both gastrointestinal and respiratory signs, I would think of distemper as one of the possible causes. If the dog is apuppy, some times large amounts of parasites( round worms, i.e.:Toxocara spp.) can cause gastrointestinal and respiratory signs, due to migration of the young larvae from the bowels thorugh the liver and then the lungs, then back to the guts to complete their life cycle( known as¨hepatic-pulmonary¨migration). Parvovirosis has higher mortality rate than ditemper, generally, but distemper causes multiorganic damaege, can leave secuelae, specially if it has attacked de central and peripheral nervous system, sometimes severe ones, wich lead to the owner andor vet to strongly consider euthanasia.