We know that the news has been reporting a rise in a new form of canine infectious respiratory disease which is highly contagious and more severe than we had previously seen. 

The first thing to know is that although it does cause illness and a cough which can last for a long time, sometimes months, the vast majority do recover and fatalities are rare. 

We started seeing these cases earlier in the year, and the cases in this area have slowed down, but we are still seeing them. 

Symptoms may include coughing (usually a harsh, hacking cough), lethargy, fever, nasal discharge, heavy breathing, and inappetence. 

For most dogs clinical signs are mild and self limiting, however some dogs develop more severe signs or develop pneumonia which can be life threatening.

This particular illness seems to cause a lingering cough that can persist for even up to several weeks after treatment. 

If your dog goes to a daycare or boarding facility, we recommend calling to find out if they have had any reports of sick dogs and keeping them home until they have properly isolated and disinfected their facility.  If your dog is coughing please keep them home or on leash walks away from other dogs. 

This disease is not limited to boarding or grooming facilities, but any close contact such as sniffing on a walk or at the park can also spread it. 

There is no vaccine for this yet as we don’t know the underlying virus or bacteria causing it.   We have been in contact with the state veterinarian and are working with the UNH Veterinary Diagnostic Lab to try to identify the cause. 

As a general rule, we advise only using boarding and daycare facilities who require and are diligent about only accepting dogs who are current on their vaccines and negative fecal tests, and have isolation and disinfecting protocols in place in these situations. 

If your dog is displaying any of the above symptoms, call the office.

If your dog needs to be seen for coughing, we ask that you call when you arrive, but stay in the car until we are ready for your appointment, and do not allow your dog to approach or meet other dogs or to explore our lobby, but we will get you directly into a room.  We are following proper disinfecting protocols and dedicated exam rooms when we do have these cases in our hospital.