How Do Dogs Get Rabies?

Our canine friends are curious pups with close ties to the wilderness. Unfortunately, this affinity for the outdoors can bring curious dogs in contact with rabid animals, the infected woodland and prairie creatures that carry the rabies virus. These innocent creatures of the natural world are potential harbingers of a painful and deadly disease that’s easily spread through saliva, and if there’s one thing dogs are generous with it’s their saliva, two things if you count a dog’s capacity for love.

Spreading the fatal disease through a bite or a curious lick to an open wound is terrifyingly easy when we consider a canine’s playful nature. A badger or a raccoon is viewed by the doggie as a possible playmate or an intruder, but one bite from the wild animal is enough to transmit the disease. We suggest you always keep your furry friend up to date with rabies inoculations. Our dog daycare in Oakland is always on hand to satisfy your buddies boarding needs, but you can do your own part with a simple inoculation. Rabies, once the infection compromises the canine immune system, is very hard to cure, but the inoculation removes this worry.

This is a virus that enters a dog’s body through saliva, passing through soft tissue to reach the nervous system and take up residence in the brain. After the incubation period has passed, a formerly loving and cuddly dog is transformed into a violent, snarling animal. Additional symptoms include hydrophobia, fear of water, and dramatic behavioral changes. The outcome is almost always death. If you want to protect your doggie from strange stray animals, team up with www.citizencanine.net to promote rabies inoculations. This is an imperative if you live near the outskirts of a woodland area or you reside within a district where bats, known carriers of rabies, are a common sight.