Should I inoculate my dog against hydrophobia?
These are mandatory for domestic dogs. But in some countries, like England, rigid quarantine controls are very important to avoid this disease.
How does hydrophobia expand?
In places where the disease is in the wildlife, it's almost impossible to eliminate it. The principal guest species varies in the different parts of the body. In Europe, the fox is the most important carrier, and in northern Asia it is the wolf. Raccoons and foxes are a major threat in the USA. Dogs are infected when bitten by a wild animal or an infected dog.
Is there another disease that can be confused with hydrophobia?
Maybe the Aujeszky disease, a virus normally associated to dogs, may produce similar symptoms, that's why it's also call pseudo hydrophobia. Dogs living in farms where there are pigs, or those that have eaten contaminated raw meat from pigs, are in more danger of infection. Dogs affected use to scratch their own face, but without symptoms of aggression. An initial phase of excitation leads to other neurological symptoms, and finally to a coma, around two weeks after infection.
