Sky21- It was a worse form of lung illness in dogs than what vets were used to seeing. “And more cases developed what appeared to be secondary pneumonia,” Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences said in a release last month. The coughing in dogs lasted longer, up to a few weeks.
“CSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital saw more than twice as many cases of canine pneumonia in September, October, and November” as it did the year before.
There were also a lot of cases in Oregon, California, Florida, New Hampshire, and some parts of Canada.
A lot about the illness is still unknown. For example, vets still don’t know if this is something completely new or just a stronger version of something they already know.
Besides that, they don’t know if it’s germs or a virus that’s making it happen.
Clinics in Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Grand Junction, as well as others across the state, have been working with CSU experts to test samples of the disease. More information will be shared as it becomes available.
For now, “The good news is that the number of cases reported in Colorado has been going down since our suspected peaks between August and December,” Dr. Michael Lappin, director of the Center for Companion Animal Studies at CSU, said in early February. “No one knows why this is happening, but it might have something to do with the fact that our pets spend less time with other dogs, which could include sick dogs, in the winter.”
Olga Robak, who is in charge of communications for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, stated on Thursday that the number of cases in the state is still going down.
According to Robak, the number of cases has not gone up that they know of. Still, cases are “on the decline.”
Dr. Steven Smolen, a vet at the Animal Hospital of Telluride, said, “We stopped an outbreak.” “It seemed really hard to get past Christmas and New Year’s when everyone was traveling and at a dog hotel.”
“It was good and helpful that a lot of dogs got vaccinated in the last three to four months,” Smolen said.
“I think we can sort of relax and go back to normal” as the days get longer and more people take their pets outside, Smolen said. “I think the message is that you should still be careful” about letting your dog play with other dogs, but “we can do our thing.” “I feel like we had a little more safety in Telluride,” Smolen said. “Make sure your dog is fully vaccinated before you take it to a dog park, Petco, or a grooming or boarding facility in a metro area,” where there are a lot more dogs and more chances for them to get sick.
“‘What’s causing this?'” is the question that always comes up. Scott Weese, a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College, said. We’re still not sure if this is a new pathogen bacteria or virus because we don’t have any proof either way.
“Because we don’t think it’s a proven new organism yet,” Dr. Lappin said, “you can go back to social situations” with your pet if it is healthy and well protected against things that can be vaccinated against.
“However, we’re still finding all the usual illnesses, and if you go to places where animals are sick, they might not even look sick if they’re just starting to get a respiratory illness.” “These bugs are likely to be shared” between dogs whenever they are with other dogs.
The vets said it comes down to once-a-year shots—”You get a year out of these,” one said—and choosing how much risk you are willing to take with your pet’s health.
The experts all agreed that there isn’t much risk in letting your dog quickly greet another dog while you’re walking, for example.
“Who does your dog hang out with?” How many other dogs does it meet?” Weese asked in a roundabout way. If you see dogs that are coughing or sick “at a dog park or at daycare,” your dog is more likely to get sick right now.
“If your dog is old, a flat-faced breed, or already has a health problem like lung disease, all of those things raise the risk to that animal,” Weese said. “My old Labrador doesn’t see many other dogs, but if he does and gets sick, he’s more likely to die.”
Everyone agreed that “prolonged nose-to-nose contact” posed the most danger. Luppin said, “A tug of war with a saliva-soaked rope in the dog park” would be a great example. Weese said, “If you have a high-risk pet, keep it away from other sick dogs.” The flat-faced French bulldog is one breed that is more likely to get a serious respiratory sickness. The American Kennel Club said on Wednesday that “bat-eared, scaled-down bulldogs” are the most common breed of dog in the U.S. for the second year in a row.
Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, and poodles are the next most popular breeds to be registered, after Frenchies.