Two dogs afflicted with dumb rabies, manifested as depression, and an attempt at self-imposed isolation. Photo taken in 1994. Domesticated animals afflicted with "dumb" paralytic rabies may become increasingly depressed, and try to hide in isolated places, while wild animals seem to lose their fear of human beings, often appearing unusually friendly. Three stages of rabies are recognized in dogs. The first stage is a one to three day period characterized by behavioral changes and is known as the prodromal stage. The second stage is the excitative stage, which lasts three to four days. It is this stage that is often known as furious rabies due to the tendency of the affected dog to be hyper-reactive to external stimuli and bite at anything near. The third stage is the paralytic stage and is caused by damage to motor neurons. Incoordination is seen due to rear limb paralysis and drooling and difficulty swallowing is caused by paralysis of facial and throat muscles. Death is usually caused by respiratory arrest.