[silent watcher]

I am very sad , anxious, dreadful right now. My vet told me to get antirabies right away coz my 5-month pup bit me 2 days ago and since then he is very weak and lays down the whole day!

im afraid he has rabies coz he' behavior really changed and im afraid that i get rabies too!!! mu pup, a border collie used to be super energetic, and playful but now is always tired and sleeping the whole day and lost his appetite! but when i take him for a walk he is fine but is walking tiredly, not his usual energetic walk.

i also think it is a possibility that he is weakened after i let him out to a field. he just keeps on running as fast as he can and plays around for 2 hours... the next day when i was bitten he is very weak... im not sure if he has rabies or just weakened by that play!!! i need a "helpful" advise!

[Bacis Dad]

I wish you the best of luck w/ your BC!
I think your vet would be able to tell you if he has rabies!?
I have a 10 month old BC and she definitely went through her phases, but they are Border Collies and they shouldn't be lethargic for 2 days.
If you haven't had him seen by a vet yet, get him in right away.
As far as why he bit you, i doubt it's rabies. Many people perceive puppy bites as aggression and most are just play bites, or he is feeling really ill and you touched a sensitive area and that was his way of telling you "Hey, I don't feel well in that area".
I wish you the best of luck!

[pinsnpugs]

I agree with the last poster.

[FarmMedley]

I'm not so sure that it is rabies, but you'll definitely want a vet to check him out. Is he eating normally? One of the first signs of rabies is loss of appetite, along with other symptoms like fever, behavior changes, and change in tone of voice.

[Lara's mom]

A dog his age should already have been vaccinated for rabies but, if you're concerned, go to your Dr. and get the shots and keep your dog quarantined until you know for sure.

BTW, I've worked with animals for years and have had to have that series of shots - not pleasant but not a bad as you hear people say.

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by silent watcher

I am very sad , anxious, dreadful right now. My vet told me to get antirabies right away coz my 5-month pup bit me 2 days ago and since then he is very weak and lays down the whole day!

im afraid he has rabies coz he' behavior really changed and im afraid that i get rabies too!!! mu pup, a border collie used to be super energetic, and playful but now is always tired and sleeping the whole day and lost his appetite! but when i take him for a walk he is fine but is walking tiredly, not his usual energetic walk.

i also think it is a possibility that he is weakened after i let him out to a field. he just keeps on running as fast as he can and plays around for 2 hours... the next day when i was bitten he is very weak... im not sure if he has rabies or just weakened by that play!!! i need a "helpful" advise!

Being that I know a little background here from previous posts we have shared I am pasting most of a post I had made to another member last summer when we were concerned about Rabies. I am hoping this is not the problem --But being from the Philippines and how rampant you told me Rabies was there especially with the 'street dogs' and then saying that your dog may be a mix with the 'street dog too--I am a little concerned. DID YOU EVER HAVE YOUR DOG VACCINATED FOR RABIES?? And if this does turn out to be Rabies--You better have gotten those shots you need for yourself as you must know the consequences if you don't!!! Here is the Quoted post:
This is a quote from my home vet book: The rabies virus, which is present in infected saliva, enters at the site of a bite. Saliva on an open wound or disrupted mucous membrane also constitutes exposure. The average incubation period in dogs is 2-8 wks., but it can be as short as 1 wk. or as long as a yr. The virus travels to the brain along nerve routes. The more distant the bite from the brain, the longer the period of incubation. The virus then travels back along nerves to the mouth. Entry into the salivary glands occurs less than 10 days before the appearance of symptoms.

The symptoms of rabies are due to inflammation of the brain (encephalitis). During the prodromal phase, which lasts 2-3 days,the signs are subtle and consist of personality changes. Affectionate and sociable pets may become irritable and aggressive.Shy and less outgoing pets may become overtly affectionate. An infected dog often chews at the site where the virus entered the body. Soon, the animal becomes withdrawn and stares off into space.

There are 2 characteristics forms of encephalitis: the FURIOUS form and the PARALYTIC or dumb form. A rabid dog may show signs of both forms as the disease progresses.

In the furious or "MAD DOG" type of rabies, the dog becomes frenzied and vicious, attacking anything that moves. The muscles of the face go into spasm, drawing the lips back to expose the teeth. When running free, the dog shows no fear and snaps and bites at any animal in his path.

In the paralytic form, the throat and jaw muscles become paralyzed, causing the mouth to drop open and the tongue to hang out. The dog is unable to swallow his own saliva and drools, coughs, gags and may foam at the mouth. As encephalitis progresses, the dog loses control of his body movements, staggers about and collapses. Death from respiratory failure occurs in 1-2 days. In some cases paralysis may be the only sign of rabies.

TREATMENT: There is no effective treatment. The disease is always fatal.

Any dog bitten by an animal not known to be free of rabies must be assumed to be rabid until proven otherwise. The recommendations are as follows: If the dog has previously been vaccinated against rabies, revaccinate immediately and observe the dog under leash confinement at home for 45 days. In the case of an unvaccinated dog, either euthanize the animal (this is preferable) or confine him under strict quarantine without human or animal contact for 6 months. Then vaccinate 1 month before he is released. If this seems harsh, keep in mind that it would not have been necessary if the pet had been vaccinated.unquote

I hope you are keeping your dog isolated--away from everybody (including other animals)--You do not want him to bite anyone else and infect them with Rabies if he does have it!!! I hope to GOD he doesn't have this!!!

Are there any other symptoms that are different than usual? Is the poop the same? Remember that I had told you that raw fish from warm waters could make your dog sick! There could be many things that could be wrong with your dog. Is he eating and drinking water now? Has he been throwing up (vomiting) or have diarrhea. Check for blood in the urine and poo. Did he eat something poison? Did he injure himself while doing all that strenuous playing you mentioned? He would not be acting this way just from heavy activity (play) ---not be weak from being tired! But if did something out of the ordinary and injured his spine or other areas---Is he walking differently--like he has painful legs or back? Give all the subtle differences you can see in his actions and bodily functions if there are any (besides what you have already mentioned.) I am not a vet---I hope you have had him examined by a vet by now!!! Maybe the dog has an obstruction--- mouth/throat or in the stomach/intestines, although I sure wouldn't be sticking my hands in his mouth right now!!!
Please take him to the vet if you haven't done so yet!! And take care of yourself too!!!
Please keep us posted as we are worrying about all this!!

[DoggieVogue]

I'm kinda confused by this post. What I'm gathering is that one day you let your dog run in a field for 2 hours, and then the next day he bit you and has been lethargic for 2 days. I'm not understanding the vet part though. The only thing your vet said was that you should get the rabies treatment because your dog might have it? That doesn't make sense to me. Any way, if you've had our dog vaccinated, then there is nothing to worry about. If not, shame on you. A $15 vaccine is way less costly than your dogs life. If he has rabies, he will die. The only way to even test for rabies involves your dog's death too! Most likely, in my opinion, your dog probably hurt himself running in the field and when you touched him, you hit a sore spot and him biting you was a way of saying "Ow, don't do that". I may be wrong though, as you did not write this post clearly. Its hard to understand. I think you need to take your dog to the vet if you haven't already.

[silent watcher]

ill try to make this as short and clear...

it is now wednesday here in the philippines and im sure its tuesday there in the US. Sat afternoon i let my pup to play on the field for 2-3 hrs. on sunday afternoon i bathe him with his anti flea shampoo. after the bath my 8yr old cousin really wants to touch my pup. i always stop her from doing it coz i know my pup will get angry and bites her.. until she touch my pup again while my pup is eating. i tried to protect her hand ( which is a dumb thing to do) i should have removed her hand immediately) and as a result my hand was bitten, blood spills out from my ring finger (its small cut though).

then sunday evening my pup is really weak.. he is always sleepy and lays down the whole night. and this weakening continues till wednesday(today).on tuesday he coughs but nothing comes out.. he eats food but not as much and as fast as he used to. he drinks water too. his poop is fine and the same. he still barks at people who passed by our house but not as loud and as aggressive.

i take him to a walk this wednesday morning and i notice that he doesnt walk properly... looks like something is bothering on his armpit and "feet-pit"(i dont know the enlish word for it). he walks in slow, small steps.

i checked his armpits and "feetpits" and i saw 6 small pus(yellowish liquid) on each pits. is this a bite from a dog or ants since ants are present on his "food pot"(dont know the proper term again) since some food are left on the pot.

NOW MY QUEsTION IS: is it because of the pus due to ants or dog bite? or the stress due to the play? or he has rabies? or because he licks his feet while i bathed him, so probably he swallowed harmful chemicals from his anti fleas shampoo?

but since a vet(im not sure if he is really a vet, a family friend) toldme tuesday morning to get some antirabies shots coz my pup is weakening since he bit me on sunday.

I will get some shots tomorrow thursday just to make sure!!!

I really hope my pup has no rabies. I love him so much and its going to be extremely hard on my part if he has rabies...

[Bacis Dad]

Thanks for the update and clarification... I actually just got back today from bringing my Border back from the emergency room and multiple vets all day! A frightening experience (and expensive one), so I can feel your concerns!
To me it does not sound like your puppy has symptoms of rabies.. but I am no vet and have not actually encountered a rabid dog personally, but I think you are in the clear.

The pus sacs on his feet are interesting though? Are the ants you have red ants? To my understanding these are the ones that are actually mildly toxic... And could be causing these symptoms.. Also have you done a thorough look over to be sure no ticks? He could have a tick born disease... Please let us know how it goes after your visit to the vet.
(I would also think back to any dietary changes or if he got into something he shouldn't have.)

As far as the biting I really feel it is unrelated... BC's are very timid, mine is mildly fearful of kids so she does not get too close unless she is exhausted then she tolerate them. (That may be a good approach to get him acclimated to your niece. Exhaust him, after he's feeling better, and then let them get used to each other in short increments. I also find my pup does much better when she approaches someone other than them approaching her)

But the biting over the food bowl, he may have a mild food bowl aggression and you should work on desensitizing him as soon as possible. My pup actually got pretty protective over her food, but through some steps I resolved the issue. I will try to find a thorough link for you to view, instead of me writing a longer post then I already have.

I wish you the best of look!
You should post some pics of him on your page, check out my profile you can see my 'petite' red and white smooth coated border collie! I just LOVE this breed!

[Yogi]

I have to agree, what you are describing appears to be more of a defensive bite reaction due to the dog feeling ill, not with rabies but simply is ill. Many dogs including pups when they are afflicted with an illness or injury commonly strike out especially to those they are not comfortable with. In this case, you were not the intended person that the dog was striking out at only you happened to get in the way.This issue with the paws appears to have been the result of running those couple days before and only the next day was the pain and discomfort such an issue that the dog acted out. In addition, no vet would ever recommend someone go through rabies treatment and not require that the dog be tested or at least quarantined.

[Mr. Vega]

Hmm, interesting story here. If this is an unvaccinated animal and you believe he may have rabies you should immediately take him to a vet that is capable of testing him for it. The standard protocol when we get rabies cases is to quarantine the dog for 10 days after the bite. By day 10, if he is not shedding virus in his saliva, he is not infected with rabies virus. It takes exactly that many days for determination because of possible latency of the virus and the time it takes for it to show up in saliva. If this dog is rabies positive, you should seek treatment IMMEDIATELY. Whatever you do, if you think it might have rabies, don't sit back and just see what happens.

[silent watcher]

this is an update to my pup's condition;

i had 4 shots of antirabies vaccine early in the morning around 9am. its friday here right now at 8:58 pm. when i arrived home i then rest in my bed. its so painful-the shots, both of my arms are aching and i felt weak.

after few minutes i then hear my pups' "whining cry" - a really loud noise which means "im hugnry, where's my food?". i am delighted to hear hi making that loud noise. it's a clear sign he has recovered from his extreme weakness. in the previous days, he doesnt care about food and lays around the whole day!

so i take him to a table and he runs as fast as he can but then he is slowed by some pains in his rear legs. but at least, he is more energetic now!

i give him food and wow, he eats fast now as he used to!!!

he is back to his usual ways, playing with toys, chewing, barking loud, and look food. and he is playing with me when i approach him!

so i think he dont have rabies, do u agree?

I am just glad my tiptop is ok! THANKS TO ALL PEOPLE WHO CARES!