My vaccinated dog has mouth foam after exercise. Is it rabies?

Question

Hi! I have a chihuahua and she’s very energetic when she goes outside. She is vaccinated against rabies and she hasn’t had any problems. Just yesterday, she ran off with her leash so I had to chase her down. She would run into other yards and it seems like she was ‘teasing’ me to come catch her. She wouldn’t come back until some one else helped her come to me. As I held her, I notice she had foam around her mouth and corners of her nose and I accidentally touched it! Is this a symptom of rabies? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 1 year and 9 months old | 10 lbs

Kevin Sanada, DVM · Accepted Answer

The stereotypical image of rabies is a dog with foam all around their mouths, but the reality is that this is not actually seen that often and can be seen normally in a dog that just exercised. The reason for the foam forming around their mouths with rabies is that they are not able to swallow when infected with rabies. This causes them to drool more and potentially develop this foam if they are barking/vocalizing a lot. Rabies also causes a dramatic change in behavior. The dog will either be very stuporous, or extremely aggressive. Rabies is spread through saliva, but requires a direct inoculation under the skin (usually by biting). Touching the saliva of a rabid dog is not very risky for contracting the disease; unless you have a cut or sore that is in contact with the saliva. It's also much less likely for a vaccinated dog to acquire rabies. For more information about rabies, I will refer you to the link below. cdc.gov/rabies/index.html I hope that helps and all is well with you and Chloe.

My vaccinated dog has mouth foam after exercise. Is it rabies?

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