COCHRANE— An upper respiratory virus is affecting the canine population in the greater Calgary area, including in Cochrane and Canmore.
The virus, a more severe variant of common kennel cough, has been rapidly making its way through dogs in the community since the beginning of December.
Dr. Tracie Unrau of the Arrowhead Veterinary Centre said staff at the clinic has seen an increase in cases since then.
“The term kennel cough is something that we use to group in a bunch of upper respiratory viruses in dogs, so we are seeing an increase in respiratory viruses and illnesses over the past six weeks, and it does appear to be a more aggressive virus.”
Unrau said this variant of the virus has presented some additional complications in the dogs that catch it which are unlike typical kennel cough symptoms.
“We’ve had a number of dogs now that have come down with pneumonia, which is fairly unusual for what we would typically associate with a kennel cough virus, and they’ve almost without exception been young, healthy dogs that we would not normally expect to get anything more than a simple respiratory infection,” Unrau said.
Not only are there more severe complications present in current cases, but the recent strain of virus does also seem to take longer for the affected animals to get over, Unrau said.
“Most of the symptoms we’re seeing, they generally start with a cough, we’ve had a few that have started with a sneeze and possibly a fever,” she said. “Whereas normally a respiratory virus, they would be quite bad after day three and they would start to improve, this virus does tend to take a lot longer for them to get over.”
She added the current Bordetella vaccine, the vaccine used to inoculate dogs against these types of illnesses, seems to be less effective in preventing the spread of this particular strain of the respiratory virus.
Although the vaccine does not appear to be effective in reducing the spread of the virus, Unrau said, it may help to reduce the severity of symptoms if your dog becomes infected. She recommended that dog owners consider getting the vaccine boosted if their dog is due or nearing its vaccine due date.
Many of the dogs that have come into the Arrowhead Veterinary Clinic with the cough have a history of congregating at dog parks and other high traffic areas around town, she said.
“Our message to our clients and to dog owners in Cochrane, in general, is to avoid situations where large groups of dogs are going to congregate because it does appear to be spreading,” she said. “We’re encouraging people to stay away from those situations. Trying to walk their dog on leash, trying to avoid contact— Nose to nose contact with other dogs is how it would typically spread.”
She noted the virus can be transmitted on clothing or other surfaces as well, so if a dog coughs on a surface and another dog comes in contact with that surface, the potential to spread is there.
If your dog is symptomatic it is recommended to keep the dog at home for the duration of its symptoms.
Unrau added the virus is not transmissible to cats or humans, and the virus family of which kennel cough is a part of is not related to COVID-19.
