Mysterious Dog Illness Sweeping The Nation
A contagious respiratory disease affecting dogs has gone viral on social media and news outlets due to its mysterious origin and fatal effects. Veterinarians advise dog owners to limit outside exposure to other dogs in public places such as dog parks, kennels, and doggy daycares to avoid this mysterious dog illness.
Many veterinarians urge owners to look out for the tell-tale signs of this disease and to keep pets up to date on vaccines and boosters.
A statement from Silene St. Bernard, The Regional Medical Director at VCA Animal Hospital, highlights the severity of this illness and prompts dog owners to take caution when bringing their dogs out.
“As with any contagious illness, we recommend all dog owners partner with their veterinarian to ensure pets are currently on respiratory disease vaccines and limit exposure to other dogs if there is a known outbreak in your area,” St. Bernard says. “If a dog is exhibiting symptoms such as excessive coughing, labored breathing, significant lethargy, or loss of appetite, call your veterinarian immediately.”
Testing Required to Determine Whether or Not Your Dog Has Kennel Cough
Dr. Faye Varias, lead veterinarian at Hearts Alive Village Animal Clinic, has seen her fair share of coughing dogs. However, she says it’s hard to confirm whether these coughing dogs have kennel cough from known pathogens or the mysterious illness without diagnostic testing.
Kennel cough is a highly contagious respiratory disease in dogs. Typically, mild cases dissipate within a week or so of rest. However, if symptoms continue, your vet can treat kennel cough with antibiotics.
The problem with this current illness is that it doesn’t respond to the typical antibiotics that usually would treat kennel cough. Dr. Varias recommends owners take a deeper dive into their dogs’ health when they show symptoms of this illness.
“The challenge when most dogs are brought to the clinic is that most owners don’t necessarily want to run diagnostics and opt for what we call “empirical treatment,” which is basically giving the dogs a broad spectrum treatment for cough without having a confirmed diagnosis,” Varias said. “Some of the ones that do run diagnostics that I’ve seen will test positive for known pathogens, and we treat them accordingly. So the answer isn’t clear cut because we don’t have much information at the moment.”
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How to Protect Your Dogs From the Mysterious Dog Illness This Holiday Season
For those heading out of town this holiday season and worrying about boarding their animals, Dr. Varias advises to reach out to family or friends to try and have them watch your dog(s) or utilize services such as Rover, a popular pet sitter, day boarding, and dog walking company. Or even ask your local vet if any staff members dog-sit as a side gig.
If you absolutely must board your dog, opt for a private suite/private yard to limit exposure to other dogs. And keep them up to date on their vaccines or any boosters they may need this holiday season.
Please note that some vaccines, like the one for the Canine Influenza Virus, require two initial sets of injections a couple of weeks apart. For the CIV vaccine, dogs are not considered protected until 3-4 weeks after the second dose (AKC). This means that if your dog hasn’t already received this vaccine, they won’t be protected from CIV in time for the holidays, so take extra precautions to protect them.
You can book your next vaccine and boosters appointment with local veterinarians like Hearts Alive Village and VCA.
#GetinMotion with HeartsAliveVillage & VCA
Follow HeartsAliveVillage on Instagram and their website to stay updated on future events and book an appointment for vaccines. You can also read more about HAV in the magazine’s previous coverage of the nonprofit here.
Also, follow VCA on Instagram and their website to stay updated on news about the illness or book an exam with a vet.
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