WHAT IS CANINE DISTEMPER?WHAT ARE THE SYMPTONS?

Adapted From
http://www.healthypets.in/
Todays Tips-What is Canine and what are its symptons?
This is a very serious, but luckily fairly rare disease. It is an infection caused by a virus that starts out sort of like a bad form of pneumonia, but gets progressively worse until it starts damaging the nervous system of the dog. It is fatal in many cases, but many dogs also fully recover with no problems afterward.
Symptons of Canine Distemper:
Distemper has three distinct stages, and each one has different symptoms. The first stage will seem relatively minor. The symptoms here are coughing, discharge from the dog's nose, fever, and a lack of appetite. Even though they seem minor, it can still be fatal at this stage.
The second stage involves hard pad disease, which is a condition where the dog's pads and nose become very hard to the touch. The dog may also have digestive issues such as vomiting and diarrhea.
The third stage is the most dangerous. This is when the distemper begins to affect the nervous system of the dog. The most common symptom is seizures, but there can be all kinds of effects - tremors, convulsions, weakness, and loss of balance are all common.
The dog may survive the final phase with permanent damage, it may die from it, or it may survive with no remaining problems at all.
I should also note that just because your dog gets to one stage does NOT mean it is definitely going to go all the way through. Dogs can recover at any stage, and many dogs recover at the first or second stage without ever getting to the final one. Adult dogs tend to recover more easily, while puppies are more likely to die from it because they have weaker immune systems.