Canine coronavirus (CCoV) has a short incubation period, generally 1-3 days. It is spread through feces and causes damage to the cells of the dog’s gastrointestinal tract.
In the early stages of the disease, dogs may experience symptoms such as depression, loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea. The vomit is initially stomach contents, then yellow-green mucus. The stool changes from mushy or semi-mushy to watery, and its color gradually changes from dark green or gray-green to soy sauce color. The feces contain mucus, a lot of blood, etc. At the same time of bloody stool, the dog suffered severe abdominal pain.
In the advanced stage of the disease, the anal sphincter relaxes, fecal incontinence, bloody stools from the anus, and severe symptoms of water and salt metabolism disorders and acidosis. A sick dog can quickly become dehydrated and lose weight.
Most sick dogs recover within 7-10 days. Some sick dogs, especially puppies, die within 1-2 days of onset. In general, symptoms in adult dogs are milder than in juvenile dogs. Adult dogs recover quickly after a brief period of diarrhea and generally do not die. However, after mixed infection with other pathogens or secondary bacterial infection, the clinical symptoms are often more severe, and the mortality rate of mixed infection is significantly increased. The severity of clinical symptoms, morbidity, and mortality are related to the age of the animal at the time of infection, the amount of virus infected, and maternally transmitted immunity.