I just wondered if anyone knew of a dog recovering from distemper once it had reached its central nervous system? My Lab has been diagnosed as having it, despite having had all his vaccinations and his boosters being up to date (so it doesn't always work - it shocked me, but not the vet). I thought I had lost him on Thursday when I got up to find him totally out of it, incontinent, knuckling, gasping for breath and then to top the lot he started fitting, he had about 4 fits whilst I was getting him to the vets which were horrendous to witness. He stayed at the vets overnight and they managed to stabalise him by giving him sedatives. Friday morning I expected though to be advised to consider euthanasia, but instead they told me that he had not had any further fits but was still very seriously ill but they hadn't given up on him. To cut a long story short they carried on with supportive care and he came home Friday night and today he has actually eaten 4 tiny meals but he is still seriously ill and isn't showing any signs yet of any improvement from last night (other than he has eaten). He hasn't had another fit yet but I know not to be too hopeful. Before all this he was a seriously fit dog (we have lots of exercise together, he was NOT a fat Lab), so he has that on his side, but he is very unsteady on his legs and obviously depressed in himself. Anyone any suggestions to help him along, and am I doing the right thing by not giving up on him yet, or am I just going to prolongue his agony?

Reading through the vet book, it appears the prognosis isn't all bad. It sounds as if he is severely affected, but it says about half will make a full recovery, though those with the nervous system affected are likely to be left with a permanent 'twitch'.

Recovery may take two months or more, and he will be excreting the virus for 2 months after infection. Once he has fully recovered (fingers crossed) he will not transmit the virus.

Hope all goes well - don't give up hope.
:)

Hi, sorry to hear about your dog. I have a herbal remedy from the book The Cure of Canine Distemper & Hard Pad, written by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. It`s an old remedy but has been widely used with great success that I could pass on to you if you want.
Does he have a temp, when you say he was incontinent do you mean diarrhoea, is he coughing, whats his eyes like & his mouth & how old is your dog? What treatment has the vet given you & how was the distemper confirmed & what have they suggested for him? Sorry for the questions but just trying to get an idea of the condition he`s in now.

Christine, Spain.

My dog is only 5. I think this has been going on for about 6 months on and off. There has been no official diagnosis (i.e. blood test not done to test him for the virus), he had his bloods done about 1 month ago for general functions i.e. kidney etc and they were all fine. However, it started around May time when he came out of the kennels after we had been on hols and he had watery eyes, I just put it down to a slight allergy, lasted a couple of weeks then went, then came back, then went. About a month later he had serious vomiting and diarrhoea, which I put down to him having picked up a bug, took him to the vet, no temperature or anything so she gave him an antibiotic jab, he had it again about 2 weeks later, took him to vet, he had antibiotics and seemed to get over it. Then on September 17 he was really down, no particular symptoms just severely depressed and not wanting to move, dragging his feet, really not himself, not interested in food etc, he went to the vets, antibiotics again, he rallied, no problems then went down again (which is when he had his bloods done), more antibiotic jabs and he bounced back big time. On Wednesday (of this week) we had a nice long walk and he seemed himself again, he was on oral antibiotics at the time, then this Thursday morning was when I awoke to find him in this terrible state. When I say incontinent I mean he was urinating anywhere, not really lucid, and he had pooed a few times on the utility room floor, not diarrhoea though, then he started fitting and the rest of my story is on the first post. His eyes are now a little watery but not anything like you would expect them to be, his mouth is fine, still plenty of colour in his gums etc. I would be very interested in your 'remedy', I will try anything to help him, the vet says there is nothing really they can do other than treat each symptom as it arises, I have oral antibiotics for him but he had a jab yesterday and I don't want to overload him with them as I've heard they can cause nausea so I will probably start him on them tomorrow. He is eating small amounts of recovery food suggested by the vet and has had electrolytes in his water. Thanks for your interest.

Hi, I really think if you suspect distemper you should tell your vet to test him for it, at least then you`ll know what your dealing with if the test is positive for it but at the moment noone really knows what he`s got or not got without testing. You could also suggest to your vet to that you`d like him to test for a variety of diseases(blood faeces, urine testing) after they`ve taken all your dogs symptoms into consideration, I think that would at least be a start to finding out whats wrong with him. Or go to another vet for a second opinion which your certainly entitled to do. You need to find out whats wrong with him.
Basically the treatment for distemper is fasting with water only allowed till the temp is normal & stable with treatments of garlic & other things then slowly getting them onto a natural rearing diet but I wouldn`t recommend you doing it without a definite diagnosis. If he`s not that interested in food just now don`t force him but you could put some honey in his water & try not to worry, good luck. :)

Christine, Spain.

Yes,
My friends dog (small long haired mini dachsi cross about 9 months old) had it in the early seventies, even had to see the vet!! (that didn't happen much where I grew up) He was fitting and had severe yellow gunge in his eyes and nose (gross) his pads and nose were hard and dry and cracked. It came on quite quickly and he was a very poorly little dog. I don't know what treatment he was given but he was quarantined for about 4 months and my friend lived with his aunts family during this time because his dog had to be kept very quiet.

When he recovered he was easily tired for about 3 months and still needed lots of rest but gradually his energy returned. His nose was always dry afterwards and his pads never really got as soft as before but this didn't seem to bother him and he was back to his old self, running with the neighbourhood dog pack and keeping them in order (I never understood why the neighbours let their dogs run out in a pack, mine was kept in and exercised by the family) I think this dog survived because he was given such love and care by his owners (they let him run with the other dogs because they didn't like to confine him :rolleyes:)

Your boy seems to have everything going for him, he was fit and healthy and you are doing all you can for him, it will take time but it sounds like he will get better. Hang in there.

Regards
Dill

Thanks for your encouraging post, I am lucky in that we can keep very quiet (no kids just us) and am doing just that. Lots of TLC and just bits of food and liquids. His pads aren't hard yet, hopefully he will get past this stage and not get onto hardpad, it is such a sad waiting game. I can't see the point in getting the vet to do the bloods to really diagnose it because it won't alter the way in which he is being treated. There is no cure. I know that. Saying that I am open to any further suggestions. Keep them coming please for the sake of my dog! He is just sleeping masses at the moment, is that a good thing? Is is a positive sign that there has been no further seizures? Or will it all start up again? Anyone with any first hand experience here? When do we know he is over it?

Hi Christine,

Our German Shepherd has been diagnosed with Distemper and it has already reached the Neurological stage. I am determined to do anything I can to treat this and would appreciate it if you could send me Juliette de Bairacli Levy's remedy.

Hi Bonnie, I`ll have to copy it out from the book. Will make a start now but probably finish tomorrow, will take me a while cos not a fast typer & don`t want to make any mistakes. Will do it as fast as I can tho & then give you a shout & send it to you direct OK cos it`s a bit long? :)
First thing from it I remember tho is if there is any temperature stop feeding at once until it has gone down to normal. Also start giving straight away tablet of garlic with fenugreek or fresh/raw crushed clove & pure water sweetened with pure honey

Christine, Spain.

Thanks Christine. I really do appreciate it. I will in the meantime start with what you have said. My email address is bonnie@tvcsa.co.za.

Hi Bonnie, just sent it. Let me know if you want the chapters on paralysis & fits.
I`ve taken it word by word from her book, it`s not my words at all, all from Juliette de Bairacli Levy. I`ve forgotten to say she says the treatment should be started as soon as the disease is diagnosed.

Hope it helps all the same tho :)

Christine, Spain.

Just to let you know my Sam gradually deteriorated after my last post and was in such a bad state that I decided to have him put to sleep on Saturday as he was so much in distress and had not eaten for 5 days and was merely skin and bone (he stopped eating soon after my post), he could hardly walk, had no control over his bladder and when he did he walk he was crashing into things and kept falling, we had been syringing water down his throat as he had even been too weak to drink. As you can imagine I was distraught, but whilst at the vets the vet decided to give one last try as he said his heart was still strong and despite being unable to walk well he said his muscle tone was still there. So he gave him a shot of vit B12 and a shot of anabolic steroids, he also gave us Prednicare 5mg tablets to be given x2 three times daily. This was Saturday morning. By Saturday evening he had his first 'voluntary' drink of water and wagged his tail at me and acknowledged me for the first time in 5 days, tears all round. Sunday morning his bed was dry for the first time in a week (luckily the local Glynwebb was selling double duvets for £5 each, one of those each day!) By Sunday evening he had eaten half a chicken and had walked round the garden a couple of times and was still wagging. Monday he had a whole chicken and was starting to trot instead of walk (he used to trot everywhere, never just walked) yesterday 2x chicken and some 'recovery' food. He is wanting to play but I'm trying to keep him quiet. As I write he is sitting happily in the kitchen looking like my old Sam but still very thin. I am not getting my hopes up too much as the nature of this disease is that there are ups and downs, it tends to come in waves, I am just praying that it was his last 'down'. I know there are side effects to steroids but as the vet said the benefits in this instance have outweighed them. I would rather that he had recovered due to natural remedies but we do not have one available. We still don't know what his fate will be but his eyesight and sense of smell have definitely come back, not sure what long term damage yet but if he gets any further will cross those bridges as they come. Good luck with your GS.

Hi Sarah,

I hope Sam goes from strength to strengh. Your story has given me hope. Despite eating well yesterday my Misha was very wobbly on her legs this morning. I am worried that she is deteriorating but I keep trying to be hopeful and am giving as much love and attention as possible.

Regards
Bonnie

Well good luck Bonnie, hopefully you will now have the remedy from Christine, just don't give up, this is not a terminal illness, it is a virus and it can be beaten, it is usually 50:50 I'm told. On Saturday morning when I was preparing myself to lose him if anyone had said my Sam would be bouncing around again by Wednesday I would have considered them crazy and living with the fairies. I'm still feeling very cautious though. Just a little note, there are ups and downs with this disease and I think that we may have done too much with him on his last 'up' which resulted in a horrific 'down', so this time I'm trying to keep him calm and trying to rest him in between small bouts of steady exercise, difficult as he's a silly black lab who still thinks he's a pup. One last thing, has your dog been vaccinated against distemper? Mine has, and had his yearly boosters, the vet says he is seeing more and more cases lately after going for about 10 years without seeing hardly any, it makes me wonder if this is a new more virulent strain? Anyway, all the best

Regards

Sarah

Hi Sarah & Christine,

Thank you for your encouraging words Sarah. I am determined to beat this but I go through phases of hope when I think she is getting better only to be devastated again when I notice more deteoration. We adopted her from the local pound 2 weeks ago and they actually gave her the distemper vacine a few days before they gave her to us. She had been abandoned so I don't know if she had ever been vacinated against it before.

Christine, thank you for copying out all those pages for me. I have started on the cleansing fast but am allowing the milk and honey to treat the fits. I am also going to see if I can get scullcap from our local herbalist to treat the fits. I know Juliette de BL is against most medicines but I am also giving her the Thiamine tabs that my vet prescribed.

Regards
Bonnie

Oh Bonnie, must be awful for you. I see you say she was vaccinated just a few dys before she went down with it, I`d say thats it`s more than likely vaccine induced. Put vaccinosis in google & have a read what it comes up with. I`m on my way out now but will get back to you later :)

Christine, Spain.

Hi Sarah, I did consider that the vaccine may have caused it. I will definitely read up on it.

Hi Bonnie & Sarah,I really hope your dogs pull thru this.
I`ve sent you both the follow up will send the rest of the diet tomorrow. Also have more info on cough, sceptic gums, marked teeth, eye ulcers-keratitis, hysteria, deranged heart, scurf & canker. Let me know if you think any of them would be of use & I`ll send it. :)

Christine, Spain.

Hi Sarah, I`ve sent you the remedy from the book I have, I`ve not finished it all tho but there`s enough there for you to read & start it if you wanted to tho. I`m going to finish typing the rest of it out today so if you`d like that as well let me know & I`ll send it you.
Sorry to hear the rotten time your dog`s having, hope he pulls thru. :)

Christine, Spain.

Thanks Christine, have emailed you.

Regards

Sarah

Christine..... Do you still have the copy of Juliette de Bairacli Levy's Cure for Canine distemper?
If you do could you please copy the detailed information and e-mail it to me?
I am in desperate need of it.
Thank you very much,
Tina-Marie

Yes I do Tina Marie, would you like to leave your email addy & I`ll send it to you.
Christine, Spain.

although i am going back about 20 years my dog had the same condition and made a full recovery within 6 months
cost a fortune in chicken and fish though

Hi Sarah

Don't know if you remember but you replyed to my post about a week ago regarding my Maltese pup who was showing neurological signs already. Just wanted to tell you how glad I am to hear Sam is making a recovery. Francesca looks very strong as well. When I took her to the vet on Tuesday morning for a checkup he was very impressed - although the constant falling over her feet is heart-breaking to watch, the vet is very positive about her recovery.

Actually, I mentioned your case to him. I wanted to know if Francesca could come down with it in a few weeks/months again and if we would see her getting worse over time. He told me that in his experience (quite extensive in the case of distemper), distemper is a quick disease, especially if neurological signs appear (he says 5-7 days mostly the dogs have to be put to sleep). Last Saturday-Sunday I was out of my mind watching her every move (total paralysis can set in 12 hrs and that IS the end of the road).

Although the recovery period is long (could take months), you should pretty much know within a week or two if you are out of the woods. So far, long term side-effects on Francesca seem to be her teeth that have the enamel stuffed up. Garry (the vet) said though that there are options even for that (specialist dentist vets can cap the teeth!).

In the end I'm not sure what really worked and gave Francesca the strength to get through it, but she had been on a distemper homeopathic remedy and the constant attention and love that we've given her made sure that she didn't even get a chance to feel down.

Thinking forward to the next couple of months, I want to start her on some immune system boosters, carry on giving her bowl of warm milk with honey (she's crazy about those).

Yes I do remember your post about your maltese pup, and I wish you all the best. Advice/information is sometimes quite conflicting, my vet says it can be 3-4 weeks with peaks up and down, then again as I said he has hardly seen any cases of distemper over the last ten years until recently, so its v doubtful that he has got as much experience as your vet. Saying that though, my dog definitely started on or around 17 September (I remember the date because I had just returned from holiday). I am pretty 'torn' at the moment as he is on steroids and I would much rather him be cured 'naturally' and whilst I am tempted to try Christine's remedy I am also worried about changing anything at the moment given that he is definitely on the 'up' on his (questionable!) diet of chicken, recovery food and steroids (put the dose down yesterday on advice of the vet)! I am certainly concerned about fasting him again whilst he seems to be recovering (possibly any thoughts on this??). I have never given him milk and he has always been a VERY fussy eater (and tends to go up & down with his appetite anyway) he has never had any interest in sweet things, I can see the milk & honey benefit but wonder if he will try it, but I will certainly give it a go this afternoon. Thank you so much everyone for your help/advice/interest.

Sarah

In Francesca's case, as soon as the doc diagnosed distemper I started giving her as much food (Eukeneba puppy) as she'll take. I was really worried that if she comes down really badly with it and she would stop eating that at least she'll have something to work with. I read about the honey on the net and she really took to it (also in combination with the milk it hasn't upset her tummy at all). I also read about including some raw garlic in her diet - but she wouldn't go close to it. Both honey and garlic are excellent for people so I don't see why they wouldn't be just as good for dogs. One thing I thought of, was to switch to organic milk rather, but I haven't had a chance to do that yet.

Maybe you could start adding to the food some booster to improve his appetite and immunity naturally since I believe recovery food is only used for a week or two?

Yes I think I should add something but at my local pet shop there really isn't much, just vit powder, perhaps you can point me in the right direction or will human 'booster' food be ok? I was thinking of the type they sell at the local pharmacy for people who are convalescing? Can't remember what it's called. My Sam had no fat reserves on him to start with, but he was very fit and muscular, he looks too thin now bless him, and there has been some muscle wastage. Trouble is he seems to be bored now as opposed to 'down', I'm worried about doing too much with him too soon but he loved his daily long walks, do you think I should take him on a short one? We have a fair bit of land and I've been walking him around that a couple of times a day but he doesn't consider it a walk unless he has his lead on and we go outside his 'territory' where the lead is eventually removed and he is allowed to run around freely, he likes his routines (he never used to get excited about going out unless his lead was produced - sometimes had to physically push him out, especially if it was raining). I never meet up with anyone around here as the bridleways and footpaths are quite remote, so not much chance of him passing on the virus to another dog, but am I risking tiring him out, which could result in another 'down'?

Thanks, Sarah

I remember reading that one of the big brands (Iams, Eukenuba) has a special "recovery" food. Perhaps your pet shop could help you to track it down (otherwise an internet search should prove quite useful). I'm not quite sure what booster you can use - I mean to ask my vet the same thing when we're going for the checkup next Wednesday. I know Bob Martens make those "conditioning" tablets that also improve appetite but I'd rather go for something more "natural". Perhaps there's someone out there that knows of other products??

I was also in a bit of a dilemma with Francesca about the walks. I decided not to do it on grounds of distemper being very contagious between dogs. What I'm doing is just trying to keep her "busy" at home. Playing in the garden - getting her some new toys. Taking her for rides to the petrol station to fill up (better than nothing I suppose - but at least she gets to see new faces) etc. What also keeps her busy for hours is those smoked pig ears that you can get in pet shops.

Maybe you could take him for a walk just every few days rather than everyday. Just try to keep them within limits.

I made some enquiries locally and was directed to another pet shop, they suggested Enervite, which I now have, it is a kind of paste described as "a high calorie, high energy nutritional supplement" has all the vits plus some minerals, not entirely natural but no nasties, I mixed it in with his food and he ate it all. I also got him some garlic tablets which I placed in a ball of chicken and he wolfed them so hopefully these things will help in the long term. I decided to take him on a short walk this afternoon down a disused railway embankment at the bottom of our land, not an official footpath and never seen a dog down there in 5 years, it did the trick, he felt like he had been for a walk and was all bouncy and enthusiastic. Its amazing how much time we have had to devote to him over the last 3 or 4 weeks, luckily I'm self employed so can manage my time around him, I've no idea how I would have gone on if I'd had a job to hold down too!

Sarah

I'm also planning to take my girl on a short walk once I get home this afternoon. I just know how happy she'll be.
Her distemper has not been as bad as in your case, but I still have had to alter my schedule quite a bit and take time off to take her to the vet. I'm still driving home each lunchtime to give her medicine and spend 20 minutes or so with her.

That's a good idea with the garlic tablets instead of the actual row thing - I'll get some on the weekend.