Symptoms of tetanus in dogs

This disease is not seasonal and dogs have a certain degree of resistance to the bacteria. The clinical symptoms of tetanus are:
1. Sick dogs usually develop symptoms 5-10 days after the trauma.
2. The dog has strong muscles throughout its body, a stiff gait, and a raised tail in an opisthotonus posture. (Opistotonus: refers to the twitching of back muscles causing the body to lean backwards, like a bow)
3. Typical symptoms are that the dog’s ears are erect, close together, stiff, and the nictitating membrane is prolapsed. Keep your limbs straight. Trismus, squinting at the corners of the mouth, etc.
4. Dogs salivate due to difficulty in swallowing, exposed conjunctiva, and facial muscle spasm. Dogs often die from respiratory center paralysis.

The causes of tetanus in dogs

1. The pathogen is Clostridium tetani, which is widely found in fertilized soil and dust, as well as in silt and human and animal feces.
2. When dogs have trauma, especially after sterilization surgery or tail docking, tetanus infection is most likely to occur due to wound contamination due to loose disinfection.
3. The propagule of Clostridium tetanus in dogs is not very resistant to physical and chemical factors. It can be killed by boiling it for 5 minutes, but its spores are highly resistant.
4. Clostridium tetanus can be killed with 10% iodine tincture, bleaching powder and 3% hydrogen peroxide solution.

Preventive measures for tetanus in dogs

1. Dogs with trauma should be treated promptly and injected with tetanus antitoxin.
2. Take good care of the sick dog and use magnesium sulfate or chlorpromazine to calm and relieve spasm.
3. Recovery can be achieved by timely treatment. Intravenous injection of tetanus antiserum, 100 to 1000 international units per kilogram of body weight (IU/kgbw), 2 to 3 times.
4. Clean the wound, remove foreign matter, necrotic tissue, blood clots, etc., rinse and disinfect with 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, and do not suture the wound. For those who cannot eat, parenteral rehydration is used.