Canine Influenza is a viral disease that now affects dogs. It is a respiratory
illness with symptoms such as coughing, nasal discharge, and fever. The symptoms
are similar to the common "kennel cough"; however, kennel cough is caused by a
bacteria, not a virus. The bordetella vaccine your dog may have received will
not protect him from canine influenza. This flu virus is transmitted when an
infected dog coughs or sneezes on another dog or a dog comes in contact with a
surface which an infected dog recently coughed or sneezed on. It does not affect
humans. For most dogs, the illness is mild to moderate and lasts about two weeks
or less. Some dogs will have no symptoms at all (although they still may be contagious).
However, for a few dogs the illness may be severe with complications such as
pneumonia resulting. There is currently no vaccine for this virus, although vaccine
development is underway. Since we can't protect our dogs another way, we all need
to take reasonable precautions to minimize the risk of transmission of canine influenza.
Before enrolling in a class, we ask that you heed the following guidelines:
- If your dog has had any symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing, nasal
discharge, fever, etc. within 2 weeks prior to the start of a class, do not
enroll in that class. If you have already sent in a registration and your dog
becomes ill, please let us know and we will transfer your registration to a future
class.
- If you plan to be away and will kennel (board) your dog within 2 weeks prior to
the start of a class or if they will be kenneled at any time during the class,
do not enroll in that class. Please choose a future class date when boarding your
dog won't be necessary.
- Owners are requested to refrain from taking their dogs to any place where they will
be in close contact with large groups of unknown dogs (e.g. doggie daycare, dog
shows, off-leash dog parks, commercial groomers) for 2 weeks prior to the start of
the class and for the duration of the class.
- For puppies and newly adopted dogs (in addition to the above): the puppy/dog
must have lived in YOUR home for a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the start
of the class.
©2002-2005, See Spot Sit, LLC
rev. 31 Oct. 2005