Enteritis in dogs

Enteritis in dogs is a relatively new ailment, but has already won "notoriety." At the end of the 20th century, when the first cases of enteritis in dogs were recorded, most pets died, as they lacked immunity. And today more pets die from this disease than from the plague . What kind of ailment is this and is it possible to protect your beloved pet from it?

Who is at risk for enteritis?

Enteritis is a contagious disease in which inflammation of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract develops and the middle layer of the heart muscle, the myocardium, is affected.

Most often, the disease is diagnosed in individuals aged two months to a year. According to statistics, from this ailment 12% of sick pets die, among puppies this figure rises to 30%. If the bitch is not vaccinated, then only 20% of the puppies have a chance of survival with enteritis. In case of infection, gender, membership of a particular breed and other indicators do not matter.

In modern medicine, special enteritis vaccines have been developed. A vaccinated animal gets extremely rare in time, but infection is still possible. In addition, a vaccinated dog tolerates the disease much more easily and, in most cases, other than supportive therapy, no other treatment is required.

Infection occurs from infected animals, as well as their excrement, excreted saliva and urine, in which pathogenic bacteria can be up to a week and a half. The virus is resistant to chemical attack, high temperatures (up to 60 ° C) and acidic environments. At room temperature, it may not die before six months.

Types of enteritis in dogs

There are two types of disease - parvovirus and coronovirus.

Once the first type of virus enters the body, it affects parts of the intestines or heart tissue, but often both are affected. The virus begins to multiply rapidly in the intestinal cells, which leads to their destruction. Getting into the blood supply system, it negatively affects the walls of blood vessels, changing their structure. The composition of the blood also undergoes significant changes, and much earlier than the manifestation of the primary signs of the disease.

The mucous membranes of the digestive tract redden, and then erosion. All these effects are irreversible and cause severe intoxication of the animal organism and its depletion.

Parvovirus develops rapidly in a growing body, as cell division has a positive effect on its growth. That is why the risk of death with parvovirus is in puppies.

Coronavirus, unlike parvovirus enteritis, does not infect crypt cells, therefore its symptoms are milder and much less likely to result in the death of the animal. But in this case, it all depends on timely medical care.

Coronavirus is transmitted only through feces, but the risk of infection is still high, as dogs can touch the stool, as well as the place where they are located and bring the virus into the house.

Symptomatic manifestations of enteritis

There are several forms of this disease - intestinal, cardiac and mixed enteritis. In each case, the development of the disease proceeds rapidly.

There are a number of common features for all forms of signs:

• vomit in the form of white foam;
• repeated vomiting , with an interval of 30-40 minutes;
• the dog’s appetite is lost ;
• the pet lies almost all the time, not paying attention to others;
• a slight improvement occurs only during the walk.

Another important symptom of enteritis in dogs is diarrhea . The dog can not restrain the urge to defecate, the stool becomes watery, the urge is frequent. A putrefactive smell emanates from feces. In this case, feces can have any color - from yellowish to red. Redness of feces is not associated with the ingress of blood into them, they acquire a similar color from homolized red blood cells, which penetrated into the feces from damaged vascular walls. And this is a sign that saving the animal will not succeed.

Intestinal enteritis can occur in dogs of any age. Once in the body, the virus behaves aggressively, destroys the intestinal mucous membranes, which leads to tissue necrosis and secondary infection.

The intestinal form of the disease is accompanied by weakness, lethargy of the pet, while the body temperature does not increase or its slight increase is observed.

In some cases, the dog does not give out the presence of the disease in any way, eats well and is active, but if it is stroked on the sides, it will remove the tail between the hind legs and bend the back, which signals pain.

Also, with intestinal enteritis, due to severe painful symptoms, the pet may be anxious, it becomes difficult for him to lie in one position.

If a puppy born from an unvaccinated female is infected, then, in most cases, the disease develops instantly, and the animal dies within one to three days.

With cardiac enteritis, lethargy and drowsiness of the animal are observed. The dog may not experience severe pain, but often there is rumbling in the abdomen. With the development of the disease, symptoms of heart failure appear:

• imperceptible breathing, or, conversely, loud, heavy;
• mucous membranes acquire a pale or cyanotic shade;
• the pulse is barely palpable;
• The pet's limbs are getting colder.

With this ailment, most cases result in death due to acute heart failure.

Dog enteritis treatment

The question arises: "How to treat enteritis in a dog?". Enteritis is a dangerous and insidious disease, so any delay is certain death for your beloved pet. The sooner the owner seeks medical help and complex therapy begins, the higher the dog’s chance of recovery.

One of the important rules is that when a dog shows signs of enteritis, in no case should it be fed. Fasting in this case is a huge help in the fight of the affected organism with the disease, since the assimilation of food requires certain forces and significant energy costs. But you need to drink the dog and as much as possible. For this, boiled water cooled to room temperature is perfect.

As for medical therapy, it consists of a whole range of measures:

• taking antimicrobial drugs sulfonamides;
• the use of drugs to prevent heart failure;
• antibiotic therapy;
• novocaine blockade;
• the introduction of drip means to prevent dehydration.

Once the pet’s condition has stabilized, you can start giving a small amount of food, these may be the following products:

• rice porridge cooked exclusively on water;
• pasta;
• boiled low-fat fish, cleaned of bones;
• cheese;
• meat and fish broths;
• dairy products - cottage cheese, kefir, sour cream 10%, varenets, fermented baked milk.

In food, you can add chopped boiled egg.

It is forbidden to feed the dog fat sour cream, raw meat, fish during the illness. Do not give whole milk as a drink. All these products can trigger recurrent viral processes in the body.

The complex treatment of enteritis in dogs also includes the use of cleansing enemas and gastric lavage. Pet owners should know that at the first, even the most insignificant, signs of this disease, it is necessary to make an animal enema. Even if fears are in vain, in the case of enteritis it is better to play it safe. As a solution for an enema, a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) is suitable. The amount of fluid is calculated based on the weight of the dog.

The algorithm of this procedure is as follows:

• For a large pet, an ordinary syringe is taken, for a small one, you can use a large syringe without a needle.
• The end of the tool is smeared with petroleum jelly or oily baby cream.
• Pour in 100 ml initially, then repeat the administration.
• Fecal matter will come out of the animal. It is necessary to enter the solution until the feces are replaced by water.

This procedure will help cleanse the body of toxins and prevent their absorption in the blood.

Often enteritis goes away without diarrhea and it is often very difficult to detect it in the early stages. It is necessary to closely monitor the condition of the pet. If the puppy becomes lethargic, shows excessive anxiety, does not touch food, and lies for a longer time (this behavior is unusual for a young individual), you should seek the advice of a specialist. And if vomiting with white foam also joined everything, then this is a sure sign of enteritis. And if the pet is dear to the owners, you should not expect the worst, but you must immediately deliver it to the veterinary clinic for treatment.