Botulism in dogs is a rare disease that affects the nervous system causing paralysis, is related to the consumption of unhealthy meat, although there are also other causes, as we will explain in this article of Animal Expert.
Keeping the food that the dog has access to is part of preventive measures, this is important because the prognosis will depend on each case, some people recover spontaneously, while others may suffer a fatal outcome.Read and learn more about botulism in dogs.
- Botulism in dogs is an acute paralyzing disease.
- This effect is caused by the action of a neurotoxin.
- A substance toxic to the central or peripheral nervous system.
- Produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum.
- Which is very resistant in the environment.
The dog gets the disease when he eats rotten meat, this can happen when he eats carrion or if someone inadvertently offers him meat that has been stored for several days, even if it is cooked, so avoid giving leftovers to your dog or at least not offering them if they have been cooked for several days.Garbage and buried food are sources of contamination, so botulism is more likely in dogs that live in rural areas or roam alone.
Another way to acquire botulism is to eat vegetables or meats that are not properly preserved, finally, it is important to know that botulism in dogs has an incubation period that varies from 12 hours to 6 days.
The most important symptom of botulism is paralysis, which can also progress rapidly, that is, it is progressive, it begins to affect the hind legs and moves forward, in addition you can notice an uncoordination, weakness or falls, the dog can lie down, with weakness and paralysis in the four limbs and even in the head and neck.You can only move your tail a little, feeling anesthesia.
In these more severe cases, the dog cannot change position or turn the head, there is a widespread state of sagging.Muscle tone also decreases and pupils appear to be slightly dilated.Paralysis can affect swallowing, so you’ll notice sialorrhea, which is the inability to hold saliva in your mouth, although your production is also likely to be affected.
Aspiration pneumonia is a complication of this image.When breathing-related muscles are damaged, there is an increase in breathing rate.The severity of the disease depends on the amount of toxin ingested and the resistance of each dog.
The first thing the veterinarian should do is confirm the diagnosis, there are several diseases that cause weakness and paralysis, so it is important to identify what it is, the differential diagnosis is made with paralysis by ticks, myasthenia severe or hypokalaemia or low potassium level.blood levels.
The presence of this disease can be confirmed by finding botulinum toxin in the blood, urine, vomiting or faeces.A blood sample is usually taken and sent to the lab for testing.This should be done at the beginning of the disease, so it is important to consult a veterinarian immediately.
Dogs with a very mild condition can recover without treatment, however, even in these cases, it is necessary to go to the veterinarian to confirm the diagnosis or not, in any case the treatment will be supportive.
Dogs with a more serious clinical condition need help changing positions, receive fluids intravenously, and their bladder should be manually emptied three times a day if they can’t urinate on their own, if the dog has trouble swallowing, it will need support to feed.A light diet may be offered and it is also common to prescribe antibiotics.
It is not possible to give a single answer to this question, as the prognosis will depend on each case and the amount of toxin ingested, if the disease does not progress rapidly it is likely that the healing is good and complete, even in dogs with paralysis.all limbs or swallowing problems. In addition, it should be remembered that there is no home remedy for botulism in dogs and that treatment should be carried out in accordance with professional guidelines.
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest taking your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
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