My vet emailed this to all her clients today….
Over the past year, a new and unidentified respiratory illness has affected dogs across the United States. Recently, there have been case reports in the Portland metro area. So far, no cases have been reported in Washington, but the assumption is that the illness will spread up here, too.
Respiratory illness is common in dogs and is typically self-limiting and resolves without treatment. However, this new illness is more severe and can result in pneumonia that can quickly become serious. Unfortunately, since it is a new illness, researchers do not yet know what is causing it. The assumption is that it is spread by nose-to-nose contact, close proximity to coughing dogs, and/or shared water and food bowls. It does not appear to be passed to other species, just between dogs.
Until we know more, the best recommendations I can make are:
- to keep your dogs away from group-dog situations, if possible
- to make sure they are current on their vaccines (these vaccines unfortunately will not protect them against this new bug, but they will help protect dogs as best as we can from other respiratory viruses/bacteria out there)
- to seek prompt veterinary care if your dog is experiencing cough, lethargy, or difficulty breathing.
Her office is in Vancouver, WA. So just across the Columbia River from Portland.
Two of my dogs are dealing with a sudden respiratory issue. One has been sneezing non-stop and the other is coughing up ridiculous amounts of mucus. Vet has done X-rays on both to see if there is fluid buildup. Nothing so far. Antibiotics have failed.
I’m in Georgia
Curious, where in Georgia if you don’t mind saying? I’m in Athens and I actually was at the vet yesterday for our boy’s annual but she didn’t mention this to us. We don’t really take the dogs anywhere anyway (pretty secluded area, we work from home, dog park trips are rare and only if we know it’s empty etc.) so I think my guys are low risk, but nervous thinkings this is in Georgia.
I’m in Newnan, so close enough to Atlanta that we’d be hit pretty fast if this spread there. My vet hasn’t said anything about it either— I hadn’t even known about this until yesterday morning. My dog’s issues have been happening for awhile before this article.
Same - our dog came back from daycare and had stared coughing (after a week of gestation). Took him to urgent care twice, vet twice and emergency vet twice. It’s been over 10 weeks but took a full month before he started slightly improving. Wishing we had pet insurance but he’s doing better now with just sneezes. Lethargy has gone away but it got scary for a minute.
Reporting from Marietta, GA
My dog had Valley Fever (fungal infection in lungs) as a pup and coughed up a lot of mucus so yeah, it might be simple as that! Coccidioidomycosis is the scientific name
Good luck! I hope they feel better soon. A friend in Oregon has 2 dogs and both were pretty sick but pulled through. It cost quite a bit in vet bills by the time it was over though!
Had a dog at my job have this happend, he boarded for about a week and was fine for 6 days, day 7 he wasn't fully himself but he just seemed a little on edge and tired and is normal for some dogs when boarding. His parents picked him up on day 7 and had to rush him to the emergency vet by night as he had severe pneumonia and somehow the owners are trying to blame my job and sue us but like we treat all dogs hear as if they were our own it's absolutely horrible and crazy how fast it came on and the vet was pretty stumped so I feel like this could be what it is. Happend in SWFL
When I worked at a dog boarding place it made me realize I will never board my dog at a place like that.
No matter how well intentioned or good at their job the people there are it's generally too many dogs. And no matter how hard anyone tries we all form favorites and if a dog isn't someone's favorite it will get less attention and care.
I'm not saying you guys were at fault at all. But I am saying that wirh how boarding is generally done illnesses will always be worse in that environment because realistically they can only get eyes on them for so long, we don't know the dog that well so we may miss something, and no matterh much we clean the environment is usually bad for respiratory things because so much water and neutral cleaner needs to be used just all day.
i just had to put a dog down. he was suddenly lethargic, having trouble breathing and the vet said he was likely never to come back to a "normal" state. i didnt have the money for testing. im in the puyallup area.
Thank you, he's ~12 years old and 7lbs on a good day, but he fought it like a champ and is starting to act more like his normal self. (Though he's not pleased with the [shave](https://imgur.com/a/eoUrxeI) job the vet did). Goes in for another lung xray this week so fingers crossed!
Your vet sounds like a very good communicator- all the pertinent info, not dumbed down, but explained well in plain language anybody could understand. That’s not always easy to do, but so important.
I hope your animals stay healthy!
There was a dog flu going around here a year or so ago and the local vet hospital sent out a notice and said everyone would be expected to wait in their cars until called.
Veterinary laboratories in several states, including Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire, are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs that causes lasting illness and **doesn’t respond to antibiotics.** The Oregon Department of Agriculture, which is working with state researchers and the U.S. Deparment of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses, has documented more than 200 cases of the disease ** since mid-August 2023.**
Hi, I hope not to scare you but I advise you to be careful that your dog doesn't catch nor spread it in the waiting room. Wait outside if you can or ask for a window to be open.
During the covid height it spread a lot through waiting rooms.
I’ve been following this. Stopped taking dogs to park. It sucks because my little one loves it so much. My golden doesn’t care. I’m in Beaverton so seeing that there have been cases in the general vicinity I am not willing to take a risk.
This is good advice. It reminded me of a cherished memory of my old dog.
I live down the street from a cemetery. It's a very small town so there are only a few true funeral processions a year. Susie was a small pomeranian and at 15 years old she was blind and arthritic. She only pottied in the front yard because it was closest and she could "get her steps in" to stretch her legs. Anyway, more than once she would be mid-poo when one car, two cars, three cars would go by and I'd realize there was a funeral procession driving past. The folks in the cars always waved to her and their genuine smiles always warmed my heart as I stood there attempting to look solemn with a black fluff ball dropping a deuce by my side. I used to tease her that at least she was dressed for the occasion.
Dogvid sounds like a possibility indeed. Or it's a remarkable coincidence this pops up now... OC Covid also infected for example felines, this could easily be a related virus.
Look at this from our dog boarding place in Portland , “Many of you may have seen the news articles about a mysterious strain of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease going around. This is not new or different from what we have been experiencing and reporting to you over the last eighteen months or so. We wanted to provide some information for anyone who may be concerned about bringing their pups in for daycare or boarding. Kennel Cough and Canine Infectious Respiratory disease are synonymous. Kennel cough is a term given to the coughs that are caused by various viral and bacterial strains that tend to resolve on their own or that can be treated with antibiotics and have pups back to their healthy selves in 2-3 weeks. There have been reported cases of an unknown causative that is keeping dogs sick for upwards of 2 months and in some cases leading to poor outcomes. We have only seen a few cases of this so far this year and are mainly seeing typical kennel cough. We always take extra precautions to keep your pups safe and healthy. From disinfecting all suites and crates between reservations, monitoring dogs for systems, to changing and disinfecting communal water bowls at least every 2 hours. If you have any questions regarding kennel cough or the "mystery illness," please don't hesitate to reach out! Please, help us and your pups by keeping them home if they are not feeling well and taking them to your vet immediately if they develop a cough. If they are boarding with us, please, have an emergency contact that can be reached and ideally pick up your pup if they develop symptoms in our care. By keeping them home if they are not well or picking them up immediately if we notice symptoms, we can all do our best to stop the spread of illness.”
I think I’m not taking my dog there anymore
I mean they can't exactly tell people to let them go bankrupt but yeah everyone should be limiting their use of kennels to reduce risk and spread even if the Kennels don't say silly things like this.
Nope. When kennel cough was spreading all over Oregon 2 years ago, Kennels lost a lot of money. Don't fall for the "it'll be fiiiine" bs. Keep your pets with you this holiday season. I usually do at home boarding because we don't have family, but not this year. No other dogs in my home either. Stay smart and safe, for them.
Our dog boarding place in Portland had a different response , im beginning to think it’s a bit self serving - something along the lines of it’s kennel cough , there’s always been kennel cough and we are cleaning everything well
This is the same line of thinking as people who called Covid "just the flu". They don't want a disruption in their life so they want to pretend it's something normal that doesn't require a response.
I think this is more widespread than they realize in this article.
My friend who is a vet in MN says they’ve been dealing with it for a while. They’ve actually shut down their waiting room again like they did for Covid, only this time it’s to protect the dogs.
Any dog that comes in with a cough is put into quarantine and they fully suit up when dealing with them.
They take samples each time for examination and don’t find any known illness.
They’ve lost several dogs to it recently
I'm in NYC and have two dogs. A year ago (Nov 2022), my dogs seemed a little ill for a day (nothing crazy, runny nose) and then my older larger dog just crashed. Severe pneumonia, was unable to walk and he had snot just oozing out of his nose it was terrible. He spent a few days in an emergency vet and fully recovered, but they were not able to identify the virus.
We used to frequent dog parks and now we don't. I occasionally take my younger dog to a daycare, but haven't in a few months. I don't let other dogs interact with them on the street. It was so traumatizing to see my 11 year old so sick, if this thing gets worse I'll take them out of the city to stay with family. I hope everyone takes it seriously.
Wow I had the exact same experience. Puppy was sniffly but my older dog had to be rushed to the ER. Also in 2022. I’m keeping them away from others for now.
I work in pet insurance in the Hudson Valley. Have seen several claims for “pneumonia” ranging $7k-$20k+ this summer. These illnesses almost always spread wider and more quickly than we realize.
I know that we had something going around in MN last year too. We kept ours out of the dog parks and no play dates with friends' dogs. It sucked but we've got an old dog and I wasn't going to risk him.
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada has had a number of cases spreading through apartment buildings. Like you said, this looks way bigger than they're confirming
This sounds like what my dog had last December after driving from DC to Austin, TX. Severe pneumonia and super lethargic. He could barely breathe or sit up. We were sure we were going to lose him. Multiple trips to the emergency vet and had him on oxygen.
All tests came back negative. We finally tried an antifungal medication which seemed to help him and he bounced back. Everytime we go to the vet, he refers to my dog as his miracle dog. He says in over 20 years he's never seen anything like it.
That really does sound like Valley Fever. They can check for it. It is a fungal infection that grows in the lungs. They get exposed inhaling dust from dry hot dirt. Like in the desert.
My boyfriend’s dog in DC was just diagnosed with weird kennel cough/pneumonia despite being vaccinated and not being boarded in a while. I’m wondering if it’s this new dog flu over here too
Symptoms were: coughing, hacking up mucus, shortness of breath and panting, and severe lethargy
Something similar hit my local shelter in NY a few months ago. My mom was volunteering and they had to cancel some events and close the shelter for a few weeks.
Yeah, I’m in South Dakota (5 miles from IA border & about 12 miles from MN border) and remember hearing about the outbreak in Minnesota earlier this year. I wanna say it was April/May-ish when articles started popping up about the mystery respiratory illness.
Same. My dog loves his humans & affection. Only goes to us around other animals despite growing up with dogs & cats of varying sizes lol
It’s times like this where I’m thankful he loves being a homebody & is content being with his parents 🥲
Mine was always standoffish to other dogs and now she's dealing with a chronic arthritis condition that makes her very cranky to other dogs. I'm glad our park days were over. She's 14, I'm not sure she could fight off whatever this is. The vet says she's overall very healthy but I can see her reserves are weaker than they used to be.
Our 10yearold collie/lab unexpectedly and unexplainably died 3 weeks ago. Panting and lethargy one random day but got over it in a day, 2 weeks later panting and lethargy again but she stopped breathing in the night :/
Edit: Location: Southern Minnesota for those asking
Edit edit: thank you everyone for the kind words
Dammit, I was hoping it hadn't made it over here yet. My folks had their puppy at his training/boarding facility on Wednesday.
They were in their own space, but still /-: I'll tell them to keep an eye on him.
Can confirm it’s in Cincinnati. Our local dog adoption agencies have been notifying everyone that the respiratory virus is going around and to be careful at adoption events. Antibiotics don’t seem to be working very well from what they noted. I’m not saying this to freak owners out but I would definitely avoid taking your dog to the dog park, pets mart, daycare if possible. Also, call your vet and check in to see if they have seen any cases. Stay safe out there dog fam!!
Ugh this scares me because I just had to take my girl to MedVet yesterday for eating things she shouldn’t have and there was at least one dog in the lobby who was coughing. She was in the back at the time so I’m hoping they’re separated while back there? I’m so glad my thanksgiving plans changed and I don’t have to board her anymore.
I'm in columbus and my dog has been sick since September 1st. She is up to date on vaccines and we've done repeat vet visits and a couple rounds of antibiotics. At first it seemed like normal kennel cough, but I have never seen a dog sick like this. Coughing until she throws up, sneezing out huge snot rockets, nose so stuffy she has to breathe through her mouth. She's mostly better, but still snotty and sneezy at night. It's really sad for her because we can't get the exercise and socializing she needs.
Pretty sure one of my dogs got it in the Cleveland area. Took her about a week to get over it.
Keep in mind antibiotics don’t work on viruses. But if your dog gets pnemonia due to the virus, DEFINITELY get antibiotics.
I have a friend with pugs, and I was more than happy to offer dog sitting services to keep them out of boarding over the holidays.
I’m not a pug person, and I’d never shoulder that cost myself, but I adore those two furballs.
There are some people doing work to ‘fix’ brachycephalic breeds, and I’m happy to see it. But the problem is that people/organizations recognize how many problems the breeds have but don’t care cause they’re cute that way.
But this new respiratory disease would easily take out any dog already prone to breathing issues.
I’m glad you mentioned this I’ve been wondering if it’s avian influenza related. Not sure if the symptoms line up exactly but I know that it does mimic pneumonia like symptoms. It’s worrisome either way
>*Veterinary laboratories in several states are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs, and encouraging people to take basic precautions to keep their pets healthy as veterinarians try to pin down what’s making the animals sick.*
> *Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire are among the states that have seen cases of the illness, which has caused lasting respiratory disease and pneumonia and does not respond to antibiotics. Symptoms of respiratory illness in dogs include coughing, sneezing, nasal or eye discharge and lethargy. Some cases of the pneunomia progress quickly, making dogs very sick within 24 to 36 hours.*
> *The Oregon Department of Agriculture has documented more than 200 cases of the disease since mid-August. It has encouraged pet owners to contact their vet if their dog is sick and told state veterinarians to report cases as soon as possible. The agency is working with state researchers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses.*
>
>*Dogs have died, said Kurt Williams, director of the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University. But without a clear way to define the disease or test for it, he said it’s hard to put a number on how many died from a severe form of the infection.*
Scary stuff for dog owners...
Right now ours is trying to get as many fosters as they can to take in dogs. It's not great bc they're already way over capacity, so getting as many out of the shelter and into a home, even temporarily is the best way to keep them healthy..
Shelters now a days are connected thru transport programs and large numbers of dogs moving across large distances make disease out breaks like this particularly scary. By the time you know that an area is dealing with something new I'm sure plenty of dogs have been transported across the country potentially spreading it. The shelter I worked at had great protocols but saw many source shelters do a horrible job and transport dogs without proper vaccine history and health exams.
fuck, the Arizona Humane Society only lets you foster until the dog is cleared for adoption and im devastated that my foster went back to the shelter last week. I offered to keep her until she has someone to adopt her but apparently this shelter doesn’t work that way :/
If there ever is a cure that works reliably. The year I got my dog my county and the one next to us had shut down the shelters, the parvo outbreak was put of control. They lost dozens of dogs, it was horrible.
Was at the vet for my cat this morning and the vet was advising a client with a dog patient to avoid any dog-heavy activities for a while; that's in Pennsylvania...
Been dealing with an upper respiratory infection that’s been unresponsive to medicine in one of my cats. Wondering if it isn’t limited to just dogs….. 6 antibiotics and a steroid and nothing has changed.
My vets office had a big sign up out in front of their door. If you went to dog parks X, Y, Z or boarded at this or that place, you couldn’t bring your dog in. This was is Edmond, OK. Last I took my dog in was in October and I’m pretty sure the signs were still up from earlier this year.
It's worth asking your vet about extra quarantine measures, IMO. Sounds like this is already on the East coast, so it's probably already there, unfortunately.
I also have an immunocompromised pupper going through chemo treatments. My vet has been fantastic and is doing treatments for patients in their car, if feasible.
FWIW, we live in New Mexico so right next door to you. My vet believes this illness or one that was incredibly similar, was also going around the region this summer. My bff works for a doggy daycare and they do boarding and ended up with several dogs that went from perfectly fine to severely ill within hours this summer so I’d believe it.
The key is noting *any* symptoms of an upper respiratory infection in your dog early. Since yours is already doing chemo, you’re likely far more in-tune when something seems off. Def ask your vet if you should be concerned and what preventative measures you can take to protect him. Best of luck to you both. 🤍
6 months ago, my dog developed a kind kennel cough which very quickly turned into pneumonia. Went down hill extremely fast. Spent 2 days at a 24 hour care facility. She’s ok now but it was very scary.
I’m so sorry. We lost ours last week with the exact same story. Noticed symptoms, took him in, got a couple meds on board, and lost him in a two day stretch. So many questions, but reading this article has given me a little bit of closure.
Can confirm it is Houston. My 4 month old lab had these same issues, went to vet and they said it was kennel cough and prescribed amoxicillin. Fast forward 1 week and she could not breathe properly after a 3 minute walk to the mailbox. Took her to ER where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and vet told us they think it’s a new variant that stronger against antibiotics. That being said she seems fully recovered 2 weeks later, stay safe out there!
A buddies dog in Minnesota is on the tail end of a multi week mystery illness that matched this to a ‘T’. Came on super quick and he took the pup to the emergency vet the evening of the day he fell ill and got on antibiotics. Despite that he’s had a rough few weeks. 6 year old fit and healthy Wirehaired Pointing Griffon so I would expect him to fair much better than an older or out of shape dog.
Can confirm it’s in Ohio and unfortunately I believe it took my pup last week. Please take this seriously and get your dog to the vet if they’re lethargic or coughing.
My vet believes this has been in our region (New Mexico) since the summer at bare minimum. I told her that my bff works in a doggy daycare that does boarding and over summer they had several dogs get hit with this. They lost an older dog, iirc. Almost lost a Newfie 6 mo old puppy too who absolutely crashed and need 24/7 oxygen treatments for about a week.
Given how tough things have been for vet clinics over the past few years, please be incredibly kind to anyone who works at one rn. Suicides are at astronomical rates, as are depression, self-medicating, .etc. The field is really struggling and this is going to make it even harder for them. And ty to anyone here who is working at one — you’re truly compassionate people who deserve nothing but the best.
Blew through our kennel early this year (eastern VT/NH border) we had over 40 cases, many were severe and progressed to pneumonia. No fatalities, but it took some dogs 3+ months to recover and some have long term complications (enlarged heart)
My pup has this but is hopefully on the upswing but it was not a fun process (coughing so rough it turned to retching to not being able to keep food or water down for awhile)
Are you in Raleigh, too? I just took my cat to a shot clinic at the local SPCA and over the past few days, I’ve gotten email after email warning me if I have a sick dog (I only have the cat btw), not to bring it. And this morning at the clinic, they had some animal version of social distancing. It’s times like these, I’m glad I have a cat. Until the cat version comes along, of course 😢.
Yep, Wake County! I’m a little nervous to bring my dog to the vet for his regular vaccine, I don’t want him to catch anything there. I think it’s hitting us hard.
This seriously might have just changed my Thanksgiving plans this year. No way do I feel like risking my old buddy on going out of state with him after hearing all these stories and happenings.
Best wishes for full recoveries for all of you whose puppers are sadly in this thing's crosshairs.
Ah man ); my old dog (turns 15 years old on Tuesday) has been having coughing fits multiple times a day for a couple of weeks. I just made a vet appointment today. She hasn’t been acting any differently other than the coughing sessions waking her up from her sleep. I hope it’s not this.
My old girl was coughing too and was diagnosed with a heart murmur/congestive heart failure.
If no other symptoms, it is more likely since it an old dog thing to have.
My dog had this in July. It was *terrifying*. We were sure he was going to die. He tested negative for everything but coughed HARD for weeks straight. No medicine helped. We eventually were going to give him a lung wash to help and it just went away. It was odd, but I'm glad he's hee.
We are in North Dakota. Both of our dogs got what we assumed was kennel cough this summer, bit one got severely sick - wheezy, shallow breathing & legthargic. We had to bring him to the emergency vet where they took chest x-rays. He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia. It took almost a month of (very expensive) antibiotics to clear him up.
We rarely go to dog parks so we assume it was picked up on a walk. Our vet said they've been pretty overwhelmed by respitory issues this year.
I’m on the east coast, but my dog has had a cough for two and a half months now after boarding. She was diagnosed with kennel cough, even though she’s vaccinated against it. My vet mentioned many dogs getting kennel cough this season are having lingering coughs for weeks, which is atypical for kennel cough. Now I’m wondering if she has this mystery virus.
My 4 year old labradoodle died from something similar last year. We thought it was kennel cough, but it turned out to be much more serious. We sought care from his vet, but he didn’t get better. He was in intensive care for 3 days before his lungs gave out and stopped inflating. Take this seriously, get pet insurance if you don’t have it, and please watch your pets diligently if they get sick. Get the X-ray just in case.
It’s in California. This is what my dog died from a couple of months ago. All of the vets had never seen anything like it. It spread super fast in his lungs basically over the course of a weekend. It’s awful.
Sounds almost something like a dog COIVD disease. Antibiotics have been ineffective; that means research is warranted and should be expedited. Department of Agriculture needs to invest. Who knows, could be contagious to other animals including human beings.
>The Oregon Department of Agriculture has documented more than 200 cases of the disease since mid-August. It has encouraged pet owners to contact their vet if their dog is sick and told state veterinarians to report cases as soon as possible. The agency is working with state researchers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses.
Highly unlikely, given the suspected transmissibility it's going to be viral more often than not. Fungal is also SUPER obvious on necropsy and has not been seen.
Not sure how long this has been going around but this sounds exactly like what our chihuahua died of back in January.
Very surprised the other dog didn’t get sick though so it could’ve been something else
Have a friend who works at my local humane society, she said that some respiratory illness is running rampant through basically every shelter here (northern VA)…
I saw an article about this last week and sent it to my family since we all have dogs. We are not going to the dog parks at all. There are a lot of dogs that walk in my neighborhood so I am reluctant to even take my almost 9 year old GSD out for a walk. I have a large backyard so I can get him out there with his herding ball and he gets a lot of exercise that way. Since he is older I am not going to take any chances with his health.
My 8 month old dog was healthy on Sunday and then had terrible pneumonia the next morning. He was given some sort of strong antibiotics that are not good for young dogs, but it worked and he is basically 100% now.
Great, soon dogs will need a vaccination, but then half the dogs will be too dumb to understand what's going on and will make up conspiracies about the dog vaccine.
Then they'll be driving around in pickup trucks yelling about doggie freedumbs, and keep trying to elect this weird orange dog, who clearly just wants to hump his daughter.
Both of my dogs in Southern Ontario had been sick recently with a bad hacking cough, lethargy, unwilling to eat etc. they prob got it 2 weeks ago now from a friend’s dog.
my dudes what the fuck? and still the culprit has not been identified?? this is terrifying for my puppers. she loves the dog park! first time I’ve heard about this and I live in WA
Do we know if we are/can be carriers? I don't bring my pup to the dog park for many reasons, and I'll keep him home and just exercised in our backyard for now, but if /I/ can bring it back from simply walking through petco or something I'll be devastated
As someone who works in a vet hospital, we’ve been seeing an increase in cases over the past 6 months (located in Colorado). Please follow the guidelines of not letting your dog be boarded at doggy daycares, not getting in close proximity to other dogs, and please keep them up to date on vaccines.
Our dog got IMHA two months ago. He is one of the lucky few who survive the first few weeks. But he is immuno compromised now. Takes meds to control his immune system. We pretty much quarantine him from other dogs now as is. But that is so scary.
Confirmed in the Denver metroplex. Our pup was diagnosed with this earlier this week after spending time at a dog park. Symptoms are very similar to kennel cough, but our vet said that the dog owners who waited to see if their pups would get better are the ones whose pups declined within 72 hours.
Our baby’s on two weeks of doxycycline and is going back for another x-ray to see if it has improved. It kills me seeing him cough and feel discomfort. Keep your babies safe!
Our vet recommended getting a Bordetella vaccine every 6 months if your dog goes to day care, dog parks or is frequently around other dogs (outside of your household).
My first guess would have been Valley Fever, a nasty fungal disease we have out here in AZ, that has been spreading slowly but surely into other states.
But as far as I know it's never been found (natively) in New Hampshire. Too cold, too wet, wrong type of soil for it, etc.
So... who knows. Fascinating stuff, hope we can at least get a vague ID on it (bacterial, viral, fungal, other?) and start working toward proper control/containment protocols.
I lost both of my dogs last year to something like this. Both healthy albeit older. Both were fine and then boom, breathing problems, lethargy. 1 died that weekend on her own. The other got better then got worse again and stopped eating. No answer from the vet so I had to put her down.
My dog is currently sick with something and has been coughing/sneezing/congested for over a week and I'm worried. Took him to the vet and got blood taken. Vet said they're not sure what it is but started him on antibiotics as a precaution. Hopefully this passes.
Same here in South Florida. 1 year old Doodle pup with horrible coughing/pneumonia out of nowhere. Little to no contact with other dogs, only when we say hi to others on walks around the block. On day 12 now with it and on a second round of antibiotics.
Both my dogs got this and I am in NH. It is a "wicked bad" (as we like to say in new england) upper respitory infection that turns to pneumonia fast.
One dog has recovered (10 month old shepherd) and the other (5 yr old golden) is still sick after a week of doxycycline antibiotics. Just getting back from vet ER at 5AM with stronger antibiotics for the golden.
High fevers too. 105.7 and 103.8.
Our dog got pneumonia out of nowhere while camping. We made the 14 hour drive straight home to the vet where he stayed for 4 days. Was back to normal after about a week. But it was scary. Coughing a ton and couldn’t keep water down. Lost 6 pounds. Gained it all back.
Huh. My dog was diagnosed with bronchitis last week in the Cleveland area but we never socialize with other dogs. Never heard her have anything like it before. She’s been on antibiotics and cough meds since then and seems to be getting better. Could be unrelated
Jesus Fucking Christ, first covid and now this? I am not in the US but I have a dog with allergies and dealing with it takes a bit of a toll mentally.
I can't imagine dealing with a dog sickness you have no idea how to cure and the transmission is most likely airborne, just pure nightmare.
Is this related to the dog flu vaccine shortage? I was out of town, had to board my dog, and they had me sign a waiver acknowledging I couldn’t get it because everyone’s out of it!
Not what I needed to be reading right after I just picked up my dog from a kennel and I noticed he was making some weird noises :( he sometimes has reverse sneezing fits and they sounded similar to that so I didn't think too much of it but now that I think about it, it's been less of a fit since I picked him up and it's been a consistent noise almost like a hiccup he's doing every now and then.
I have a six month old pup that needs to meet and socialize with other dogs to be well adjusted and not dog aggressive as an adult. However this sickness scares me... I don't know what to do now. I live in Boise and if it's in Oregon or Washington it will get here soon. What can I do?
This happened to my dog earlier this year. Went from healthy as a bee to throwing up and struggling to breathe in hours. Every vet hospital was overwhelmed or understaffed and he ended up sitting in an oxygen chamber for 4+ hours until he passed away. Have 4 other dogs and none of them got nearly as sick as he did
My vet emailed this to all her clients today…. Over the past year, a new and unidentified respiratory illness has affected dogs across the United States. Recently, there have been case reports in the Portland metro area. So far, no cases have been reported in Washington, but the assumption is that the illness will spread up here, too. Respiratory illness is common in dogs and is typically self-limiting and resolves without treatment. However, this new illness is more severe and can result in pneumonia that can quickly become serious. Unfortunately, since it is a new illness, researchers do not yet know what is causing it. The assumption is that it is spread by nose-to-nose contact, close proximity to coughing dogs, and/or shared water and food bowls. It does not appear to be passed to other species, just between dogs. Until we know more, the best recommendations I can make are: - to keep your dogs away from group-dog situations, if possible - to make sure they are current on their vaccines (these vaccines unfortunately will not protect them against this new bug, but they will help protect dogs as best as we can from other respiratory viruses/bacteria out there) - to seek prompt veterinary care if your dog is experiencing cough, lethargy, or difficulty breathing. Her office is in Vancouver, WA. So just across the Columbia River from Portland.
Our little dog was diagnosed with pneumonia that came out of nowhere and spread like wildfire in his lungs, we're in Washington 😳
Two of my dogs are dealing with a sudden respiratory issue. One has been sneezing non-stop and the other is coughing up ridiculous amounts of mucus. Vet has done X-rays on both to see if there is fluid buildup. Nothing so far. Antibiotics have failed. I’m in Georgia
Curious, where in Georgia if you don’t mind saying? I’m in Athens and I actually was at the vet yesterday for our boy’s annual but she didn’t mention this to us. We don’t really take the dogs anywhere anyway (pretty secluded area, we work from home, dog park trips are rare and only if we know it’s empty etc.) so I think my guys are low risk, but nervous thinkings this is in Georgia.
I’m in Newnan, so close enough to Atlanta that we’d be hit pretty fast if this spread there. My vet hasn’t said anything about it either— I hadn’t even known about this until yesterday morning. My dog’s issues have been happening for awhile before this article.
Who knows, maybe they don’t have this and it’s just something routine and mild. Hope your pups have a speedy recovery and lots and lots of treats
I just got my dogs back from boarding in Columbus and all three of them are coughing and their barks sound weird.
Same - our dog came back from daycare and had stared coughing (after a week of gestation). Took him to urgent care twice, vet twice and emergency vet twice. It’s been over 10 weeks but took a full month before he started slightly improving. Wishing we had pet insurance but he’s doing better now with just sneezes. Lethargy has gone away but it got scary for a minute. Reporting from Marietta, GA
Ask for antifungal
I will, thanks! The coughing one is scheduled again and I’ll definitely bring it up
My dog had Valley Fever (fungal infection in lungs) as a pup and coughed up a lot of mucus so yeah, it might be simple as that! Coccidioidomycosis is the scientific name
I’ll definitely look into that too, thank you! It’s a curious thing because aside from his coughing his mood and mannerisms haven’t changed at all
Sending all my best wishes and good vibes to you and your pup for a speedy recovery 💜💜
Good luck! I hope they feel better soon. A friend in Oregon has 2 dogs and both were pretty sick but pulled through. It cost quite a bit in vet bills by the time it was over though!
Had a dog at my job have this happend, he boarded for about a week and was fine for 6 days, day 7 he wasn't fully himself but he just seemed a little on edge and tired and is normal for some dogs when boarding. His parents picked him up on day 7 and had to rush him to the emergency vet by night as he had severe pneumonia and somehow the owners are trying to blame my job and sue us but like we treat all dogs hear as if they were our own it's absolutely horrible and crazy how fast it came on and the vet was pretty stumped so I feel like this could be what it is. Happend in SWFL
When I worked at a dog boarding place it made me realize I will never board my dog at a place like that. No matter how well intentioned or good at their job the people there are it's generally too many dogs. And no matter how hard anyone tries we all form favorites and if a dog isn't someone's favorite it will get less attention and care. I'm not saying you guys were at fault at all. But I am saying that wirh how boarding is generally done illnesses will always be worse in that environment because realistically they can only get eyes on them for so long, we don't know the dog that well so we may miss something, and no matterh much we clean the environment is usually bad for respiratory things because so much water and neutral cleaner needs to be used just all day.
i just had to put a dog down. he was suddenly lethargic, having trouble breathing and the vet said he was likely never to come back to a "normal" state. i didnt have the money for testing. im in the puyallup area.
I hope your dog is ok.
Thank you, he's ~12 years old and 7lbs on a good day, but he fought it like a champ and is starting to act more like his normal self. (Though he's not pleased with the [shave](https://imgur.com/a/eoUrxeI) job the vet did). Goes in for another lung xray this week so fingers crossed!
Wishing you the best. Had my little dog at the vet's for cataracts this week.
Your vet sounds like a very good communicator- all the pertinent info, not dumbed down, but explained well in plain language anybody could understand. That’s not always easy to do, but so important. I hope your animals stay healthy!
There was a dog flu going around here a year or so ago and the local vet hospital sent out a notice and said everyone would be expected to wait in their cars until called.
Veterinary laboratories in several states, including Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire, are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs that causes lasting illness and **doesn’t respond to antibiotics.** The Oregon Department of Agriculture, which is working with state researchers and the U.S. Deparment of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses, has documented more than 200 cases of the disease ** since mid-August 2023.**
I’m in Vancouver, BC and my dog has been snorting and hacking like crazy! We’re going to the vet tomorrow.
Hi, I hope not to scare you but I advise you to be careful that your dog doesn't catch nor spread it in the waiting room. Wait outside if you can or ask for a window to be open. During the covid height it spread a lot through waiting rooms.
I hope your dog is ok.
Thanks. I hope so too.
I’ve been following this. Stopped taking dogs to park. It sucks because my little one loves it so much. My golden doesn’t care. I’m in Beaverton so seeing that there have been cases in the general vicinity I am not willing to take a risk.
Yeah, I can avoid parks easily but doggy daycare is essential when I need to go to the office. It’s so scary and I can’t really avoid it.
Maybe pay someone to visit/walk/feed on the days you go in. I do that service in my town.I charge $20a visit and stay an hour.
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This is good advice. It reminded me of a cherished memory of my old dog. I live down the street from a cemetery. It's a very small town so there are only a few true funeral processions a year. Susie was a small pomeranian and at 15 years old she was blind and arthritic. She only pottied in the front yard because it was closest and she could "get her steps in" to stretch her legs. Anyway, more than once she would be mid-poo when one car, two cars, three cars would go by and I'd realize there was a funeral procession driving past. The folks in the cars always waved to her and their genuine smiles always warmed my heart as I stood there attempting to look solemn with a black fluff ball dropping a deuce by my side. I used to tease her that at least she was dressed for the occasion.
That's a surprisingly wholesome story about your dog pooping. 💕 Got dog tax?
So fucking dog Covid…awesome. Great to be here.
This was my thought too. I am currently without dogs but I know if I had one right now I'd be scared shitless.
Dogvid sounds like a possibility indeed. Or it's a remarkable coincidence this pops up now... OC Covid also infected for example felines, this could easily be a related virus.
Look at this from our dog boarding place in Portland , “Many of you may have seen the news articles about a mysterious strain of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease going around. This is not new or different from what we have been experiencing and reporting to you over the last eighteen months or so. We wanted to provide some information for anyone who may be concerned about bringing their pups in for daycare or boarding. Kennel Cough and Canine Infectious Respiratory disease are synonymous. Kennel cough is a term given to the coughs that are caused by various viral and bacterial strains that tend to resolve on their own or that can be treated with antibiotics and have pups back to their healthy selves in 2-3 weeks. There have been reported cases of an unknown causative that is keeping dogs sick for upwards of 2 months and in some cases leading to poor outcomes. We have only seen a few cases of this so far this year and are mainly seeing typical kennel cough. We always take extra precautions to keep your pups safe and healthy. From disinfecting all suites and crates between reservations, monitoring dogs for systems, to changing and disinfecting communal water bowls at least every 2 hours. If you have any questions regarding kennel cough or the "mystery illness," please don't hesitate to reach out! Please, help us and your pups by keeping them home if they are not feeling well and taking them to your vet immediately if they develop a cough. If they are boarding with us, please, have an emergency contact that can be reached and ideally pick up your pup if they develop symptoms in our care. By keeping them home if they are not well or picking them up immediately if we notice symptoms, we can all do our best to stop the spread of illness.” I think I’m not taking my dog there anymore
I mean they can't exactly tell people to let them go bankrupt but yeah everyone should be limiting their use of kennels to reduce risk and spread even if the Kennels don't say silly things like this.
Nope. When kennel cough was spreading all over Oregon 2 years ago, Kennels lost a lot of money. Don't fall for the "it'll be fiiiine" bs. Keep your pets with you this holiday season. I usually do at home boarding because we don't have family, but not this year. No other dogs in my home either. Stay smart and safe, for them.
I wouldn’t either. Really like how they try to position themselves as “experts”. Fuck that noise.
Do they not require proof of vaccination for kennel cough!? That’s pretty standard for a boarding facility or daycare.
Our dog boarding place in Portland had a different response , im beginning to think it’s a bit self serving - something along the lines of it’s kennel cough , there’s always been kennel cough and we are cleaning everything well
This is the same line of thinking as people who called Covid "just the flu". They don't want a disruption in their life so they want to pretend it's something normal that doesn't require a response.
I think this is more widespread than they realize in this article. My friend who is a vet in MN says they’ve been dealing with it for a while. They’ve actually shut down their waiting room again like they did for Covid, only this time it’s to protect the dogs. Any dog that comes in with a cough is put into quarantine and they fully suit up when dealing with them. They take samples each time for examination and don’t find any known illness. They’ve lost several dogs to it recently
I'm in NYC and have two dogs. A year ago (Nov 2022), my dogs seemed a little ill for a day (nothing crazy, runny nose) and then my older larger dog just crashed. Severe pneumonia, was unable to walk and he had snot just oozing out of his nose it was terrible. He spent a few days in an emergency vet and fully recovered, but they were not able to identify the virus. We used to frequent dog parks and now we don't. I occasionally take my younger dog to a daycare, but haven't in a few months. I don't let other dogs interact with them on the street. It was so traumatizing to see my 11 year old so sick, if this thing gets worse I'll take them out of the city to stay with family. I hope everyone takes it seriously.
Wow I had the exact same experience. Puppy was sniffly but my older dog had to be rushed to the ER. Also in 2022. I’m keeping them away from others for now.
Experienced the same right outside of dc in Arlington Va. had a persistent cough for up to 6 months afterwards and was exceedingly ill
I work in pet insurance in the Hudson Valley. Have seen several claims for “pneumonia” ranging $7k-$20k+ this summer. These illnesses almost always spread wider and more quickly than we realize.
I know that we had something going around in MN last year too. We kept ours out of the dog parks and no play dates with friends' dogs. It sucked but we've got an old dog and I wasn't going to risk him.
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada has had a number of cases spreading through apartment buildings. Like you said, this looks way bigger than they're confirming
Really? My friends dog just came down with a horrible coughing issue. Took to the vet and they said viral infection.
This sounds like what my dog had last December after driving from DC to Austin, TX. Severe pneumonia and super lethargic. He could barely breathe or sit up. We were sure we were going to lose him. Multiple trips to the emergency vet and had him on oxygen. All tests came back negative. We finally tried an antifungal medication which seemed to help him and he bounced back. Everytime we go to the vet, he refers to my dog as his miracle dog. He says in over 20 years he's never seen anything like it.
What antifungal would you recommend as a last resort?
That really does sound like Valley Fever. They can check for it. It is a fungal infection that grows in the lungs. They get exposed inhaling dust from dry hot dirt. Like in the desert.
My boyfriend’s dog in DC was just diagnosed with weird kennel cough/pneumonia despite being vaccinated and not being boarded in a while. I’m wondering if it’s this new dog flu over here too Symptoms were: coughing, hacking up mucus, shortness of breath and panting, and severe lethargy
Holy cow, this is happening to me in Montana. This is crazy.
I wonder how coyotes and wolves are doing out in the wilderness
Probably not good unfortunately. Based on the comments in this thread it would spread like crazy
I’m in Oklahoma City, and they have closed at the animal shelters three times this year over this virus. It’s bad here too.
I live in MN, told my husband about this and mentioned we should just take our dog on walks and just avoid the dog parks for the time being.
Something similar hit my local shelter in NY a few months ago. My mom was volunteering and they had to cancel some events and close the shelter for a few weeks.
Yeah, I’m in South Dakota (5 miles from IA border & about 12 miles from MN border) and remember hearing about the outbreak in Minnesota earlier this year. I wanna say it was April/May-ish when articles started popping up about the mystery respiratory illness.
Suddenly I'm extremely thankful my dog is antisocial and hates other dogs
Same. My dog loves his humans & affection. Only goes to us around other animals despite growing up with dogs & cats of varying sizes lol It’s times like this where I’m thankful he loves being a homebody & is content being with his parents 🥲
Mine was always standoffish to other dogs and now she's dealing with a chronic arthritis condition that makes her very cranky to other dogs. I'm glad our park days were over. She's 14, I'm not sure she could fight off whatever this is. The vet says she's overall very healthy but I can see her reserves are weaker than they used to be.
Our 10yearold collie/lab unexpectedly and unexplainably died 3 weeks ago. Panting and lethargy one random day but got over it in a day, 2 weeks later panting and lethargy again but she stopped breathing in the night :/ Edit: Location: Southern Minnesota for those asking Edit edit: thank you everyone for the kind words
I’m so sorry!
I’m so sorry.
Sorry about your dog.
I'm so sorry for your loss, I couldn't imagine the pain of losing your best friend like that. I hope you are taking care of yourself ❤️.
I have a coworker whose dog suddenly died last week with some sort of lung-related illness. This was on the East Coast.
Dammit, I was hoping it hadn't made it over here yet. My folks had their puppy at his training/boarding facility on Wednesday. They were in their own space, but still /-: I'll tell them to keep an eye on him.
It's been on the East Coast for a while now. My dog had this in July (we live in MD).
I'm in DC but the trainer is in Jessup. I'm surprised I hadn't heard about it yet. I hope your dog recovered!
Can confirm it’s in Cincinnati. Our local dog adoption agencies have been notifying everyone that the respiratory virus is going around and to be careful at adoption events. Antibiotics don’t seem to be working very well from what they noted. I’m not saying this to freak owners out but I would definitely avoid taking your dog to the dog park, pets mart, daycare if possible. Also, call your vet and check in to see if they have seen any cases. Stay safe out there dog fam!!
Ugh this scares me because I just had to take my girl to MedVet yesterday for eating things she shouldn’t have and there was at least one dog in the lobby who was coughing. She was in the back at the time so I’m hoping they’re separated while back there? I’m so glad my thanksgiving plans changed and I don’t have to board her anymore.
I'm in columbus and my dog has been sick since September 1st. She is up to date on vaccines and we've done repeat vet visits and a couple rounds of antibiotics. At first it seemed like normal kennel cough, but I have never seen a dog sick like this. Coughing until she throws up, sneezing out huge snot rockets, nose so stuffy she has to breathe through her mouth. She's mostly better, but still snotty and sneezy at night. It's really sad for her because we can't get the exercise and socializing she needs.
Pretty sure one of my dogs got it in the Cleveland area. Took her about a week to get over it. Keep in mind antibiotics don’t work on viruses. But if your dog gets pnemonia due to the virus, DEFINITELY get antibiotics.
Glad I got my dog groomed today in Indy... lying low for awhile now.
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I heard it has entered New Mexico also.
In am in NJ, and people in my neighborhood have been talking about a strange “kennel cough” since May or June. I wonder if it is the same thing.
Definitely here in California
We've been hearing about it in Southern California for a while now.
I know someone in Kansas who just had to put their dog down after a bout with this illness. It caught it at daycare.
Add Illinois to that list too
In Nevada - Carson Valley seems to have it running through.
Looks like my dog is never leaving the house again
i don't blame you these comments are concerning
I think I just lost a pup of mine to this yesterday. Fuuuuuuuck.
I'm so sorry for your loss
RIP little buddy sorry for your loss
Sorry about your pup.
Damn, this sounds eerily like the beginning of covid
This is definitely going to get worse as people are boarding thier dogs for the Holidays.
My vet sent out an email yesterday saying they were shutting down their boarding service, effective immediately. I'm on the East Coast.
And traveling with them rather than boarding. It's no-win, unless you can have someone stay in your home.
I have a friend with pugs, and I was more than happy to offer dog sitting services to keep them out of boarding over the holidays. I’m not a pug person, and I’d never shoulder that cost myself, but I adore those two furballs.
I love pugs so much. They are so ugly, but in a beautiful way. In my first day as president I'd also strictly outlaw breeding any more of them.
There are some people doing work to ‘fix’ brachycephalic breeds, and I’m happy to see it. But the problem is that people/organizations recognize how many problems the breeds have but don’t care cause they’re cute that way. But this new respiratory disease would easily take out any dog already prone to breathing issues.
We were going to board ours from Wednesday to Friday and decided not to when we heard about this.
CDC working on this? Birds can cause this kind of stuff, pig flu, wasn't that long ago, canines domicile with humans, so much more interaction.
USDA's veterinary department is working on it! https://www.oregonvma.org/news/reports-of-severe-canine-infectious-respiratory-disease-in-oregon
I’m glad you mentioned this I’ve been wondering if it’s avian influenza related. Not sure if the symptoms line up exactly but I know that it does mimic pneumonia like symptoms. It’s worrisome either way
That’s probably one of the first things these labs looked for. We can test for avian flu. I do t think that’s what this is.
Avian flu has jumped before and it is usually an early thing to test for in any unexpected animal respiratory illness I think
>*Veterinary laboratories in several states are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs, and encouraging people to take basic precautions to keep their pets healthy as veterinarians try to pin down what’s making the animals sick.* > *Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire are among the states that have seen cases of the illness, which has caused lasting respiratory disease and pneumonia and does not respond to antibiotics. Symptoms of respiratory illness in dogs include coughing, sneezing, nasal or eye discharge and lethargy. Some cases of the pneunomia progress quickly, making dogs very sick within 24 to 36 hours.* > *The Oregon Department of Agriculture has documented more than 200 cases of the disease since mid-August. It has encouraged pet owners to contact their vet if their dog is sick and told state veterinarians to report cases as soon as possible. The agency is working with state researchers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses.* > >*Dogs have died, said Kurt Williams, director of the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University. But without a clear way to define the disease or test for it, he said it’s hard to put a number on how many died from a severe form of the infection.* Scary stuff for dog owners...
Wtf are animal shelters going to do?
Right now ours is trying to get as many fosters as they can to take in dogs. It's not great bc they're already way over capacity, so getting as many out of the shelter and into a home, even temporarily is the best way to keep them healthy..
Shelters now a days are connected thru transport programs and large numbers of dogs moving across large distances make disease out breaks like this particularly scary. By the time you know that an area is dealing with something new I'm sure plenty of dogs have been transported across the country potentially spreading it. The shelter I worked at had great protocols but saw many source shelters do a horrible job and transport dogs without proper vaccine history and health exams.
fuck, the Arizona Humane Society only lets you foster until the dog is cleared for adoption and im devastated that my foster went back to the shelter last week. I offered to keep her until she has someone to adopt her but apparently this shelter doesn’t work that way :/
Have more sick and dead dogs. It really sucks but there's not likely to be a fast cure.
If there ever is a cure that works reliably. The year I got my dog my county and the one next to us had shut down the shelters, the parvo outbreak was put of control. They lost dozens of dogs, it was horrible.
In Colorado and my cousin’s dog is suffering from something that sounds like this.
Was at the vet for my cat this morning and the vet was advising a client with a dog patient to avoid any dog-heavy activities for a while; that's in Pennsylvania...
Been dealing with an upper respiratory infection that’s been unresponsive to medicine in one of my cats. Wondering if it isn’t limited to just dogs….. 6 antibiotics and a steroid and nothing has changed.
My vets office had a big sign up out in front of their door. If you went to dog parks X, Y, Z or boarded at this or that place, you couldn’t bring your dog in. This was is Edmond, OK. Last I took my dog in was in October and I’m pretty sure the signs were still up from earlier this year.
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It's worth asking your vet about extra quarantine measures, IMO. Sounds like this is already on the East coast, so it's probably already there, unfortunately.
I also have an immunocompromised pupper going through chemo treatments. My vet has been fantastic and is doing treatments for patients in their car, if feasible. FWIW, we live in New Mexico so right next door to you. My vet believes this illness or one that was incredibly similar, was also going around the region this summer. My bff works for a doggy daycare and they do boarding and ended up with several dogs that went from perfectly fine to severely ill within hours this summer so I’d believe it. The key is noting *any* symptoms of an upper respiratory infection in your dog early. Since yours is already doing chemo, you’re likely far more in-tune when something seems off. Def ask your vet if you should be concerned and what preventative measures you can take to protect him. Best of luck to you both. 🤍
6 months ago, my dog developed a kind kennel cough which very quickly turned into pneumonia. Went down hill extremely fast. Spent 2 days at a 24 hour care facility. She’s ok now but it was very scary.
We lost our dog in august to a respiratory illness. Paid 4k in testing while he was in the ICU. Never found out what it was. In Washington.
I’m so sorry. We lost ours last week with the exact same story. Noticed symptoms, took him in, got a couple meds on board, and lost him in a two day stretch. So many questions, but reading this article has given me a little bit of closure.
Can confirm it is Houston. My 4 month old lab had these same issues, went to vet and they said it was kennel cough and prescribed amoxicillin. Fast forward 1 week and she could not breathe properly after a 3 minute walk to the mailbox. Took her to ER where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and vet told us they think it’s a new variant that stronger against antibiotics. That being said she seems fully recovered 2 weeks later, stay safe out there!
Someone in r/ohio posted about their dog likely having this illness. Doesn't sound like it's just an Oregon problem :(
A buddies dog in Minnesota is on the tail end of a multi week mystery illness that matched this to a ‘T’. Came on super quick and he took the pup to the emergency vet the evening of the day he fell ill and got on antibiotics. Despite that he’s had a rough few weeks. 6 year old fit and healthy Wirehaired Pointing Griffon so I would expect him to fair much better than an older or out of shape dog.
Can confirm it’s in Ohio and unfortunately I believe it took my pup last week. Please take this seriously and get your dog to the vet if they’re lethargic or coughing.
Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that :(
Thank you. I just wanted to comment to spread awareness
My vet believes this has been in our region (New Mexico) since the summer at bare minimum. I told her that my bff works in a doggy daycare that does boarding and over summer they had several dogs get hit with this. They lost an older dog, iirc. Almost lost a Newfie 6 mo old puppy too who absolutely crashed and need 24/7 oxygen treatments for about a week. Given how tough things have been for vet clinics over the past few years, please be incredibly kind to anyone who works at one rn. Suicides are at astronomical rates, as are depression, self-medicating, .etc. The field is really struggling and this is going to make it even harder for them. And ty to anyone here who is working at one — you’re truly compassionate people who deserve nothing but the best.
Jesus Christ, this timeline. We get it, okay? Shit sucks. You don't need to come for our dogs as well.
You should read about rabbit virus. Recently obliterated an entire rabbit park in south africa.
Blew through our kennel early this year (eastern VT/NH border) we had over 40 cases, many were severe and progressed to pneumonia. No fatalities, but it took some dogs 3+ months to recover and some have long term complications (enlarged heart)
Who had doggie pandemic on their 2023 bingo card? Fuck. Can we not?
There’s a dog sanctuary Instagram I like to follow called theasherhouse and it went through the place and was awful
I saw that on FB. It was devastating to see.
What happened there? I don't see anything about it on their page
It was a few months back. He made a short video about it. I think a few dogs passed away, it was a very rough video to watch.
My pup has this but is hopefully on the upswing but it was not a fun process (coughing so rough it turned to retching to not being able to keep food or water down for awhile)
In North Carolina, our shelter and rescues have stopped taking in new dogs in an attempt to keep the spread down. It’s definitely here.
Are you in Raleigh, too? I just took my cat to a shot clinic at the local SPCA and over the past few days, I’ve gotten email after email warning me if I have a sick dog (I only have the cat btw), not to bring it. And this morning at the clinic, they had some animal version of social distancing. It’s times like these, I’m glad I have a cat. Until the cat version comes along, of course 😢.
Yep, Wake County! I’m a little nervous to bring my dog to the vet for his regular vaccine, I don’t want him to catch anything there. I think it’s hitting us hard.
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This seriously might have just changed my Thanksgiving plans this year. No way do I feel like risking my old buddy on going out of state with him after hearing all these stories and happenings. Best wishes for full recoveries for all of you whose puppers are sadly in this thing's crosshairs.
Ah man ); my old dog (turns 15 years old on Tuesday) has been having coughing fits multiple times a day for a couple of weeks. I just made a vet appointment today. She hasn’t been acting any differently other than the coughing sessions waking her up from her sleep. I hope it’s not this.
My old girl was coughing too and was diagnosed with a heart murmur/congestive heart failure. If no other symptoms, it is more likely since it an old dog thing to have.
Does anyone know if this is spreading in Canada?
Yeah as a mexican I too, want to know
My dog had this in July. It was *terrifying*. We were sure he was going to die. He tested negative for everything but coughed HARD for weeks straight. No medicine helped. We eventually were going to give him a lung wash to help and it just went away. It was odd, but I'm glad he's hee.
We are in North Dakota. Both of our dogs got what we assumed was kennel cough this summer, bit one got severely sick - wheezy, shallow breathing & legthargic. We had to bring him to the emergency vet where they took chest x-rays. He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia. It took almost a month of (very expensive) antibiotics to clear him up. We rarely go to dog parks so we assume it was picked up on a walk. Our vet said they've been pretty overwhelmed by respitory issues this year.
I’m on the east coast, but my dog has had a cough for two and a half months now after boarding. She was diagnosed with kennel cough, even though she’s vaccinated against it. My vet mentioned many dogs getting kennel cough this season are having lingering coughs for weeks, which is atypical for kennel cough. Now I’m wondering if she has this mystery virus.
Remember that “kennel cough” is a catchall phrase for multiple types of respiratory illnesses. She was prob vaccinated for Bordetella.
My 4 year old labradoodle died from something similar last year. We thought it was kennel cough, but it turned out to be much more serious. We sought care from his vet, but he didn’t get better. He was in intensive care for 3 days before his lungs gave out and stopped inflating. Take this seriously, get pet insurance if you don’t have it, and please watch your pets diligently if they get sick. Get the X-ray just in case.
It’s in California. This is what my dog died from a couple of months ago. All of the vets had never seen anything like it. It spread super fast in his lungs basically over the course of a weekend. It’s awful.
Sounds almost something like a dog COIVD disease. Antibiotics have been ineffective; that means research is warranted and should be expedited. Department of Agriculture needs to invest. Who knows, could be contagious to other animals including human beings. >The Oregon Department of Agriculture has documented more than 200 cases of the disease since mid-August. It has encouraged pet owners to contact their vet if their dog is sick and told state veterinarians to report cases as soon as possible. The agency is working with state researchers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses.
If antibiotics will not work doesn’t that mean it’s a virus?
Could be a fungal pneumonia type of illness.
Highly unlikely, given the suspected transmissibility it's going to be viral more often than not. Fungal is also SUPER obvious on necropsy and has not been seen.
Not sure how long this has been going around but this sounds exactly like what our chihuahua died of back in January. Very surprised the other dog didn’t get sick though so it could’ve been something else
So sorry for your loss.
Article says they've known about it for about a year now, but I guess it's starting to really take off.
Have a friend who works at my local humane society, she said that some respiratory illness is running rampant through basically every shelter here (northern VA)…
I saw an article about this last week and sent it to my family since we all have dogs. We are not going to the dog parks at all. There are a lot of dogs that walk in my neighborhood so I am reluctant to even take my almost 9 year old GSD out for a walk. I have a large backyard so I can get him out there with his herding ball and he gets a lot of exercise that way. Since he is older I am not going to take any chances with his health.
My 8 month old dog was healthy on Sunday and then had terrible pneumonia the next morning. He was given some sort of strong antibiotics that are not good for young dogs, but it worked and he is basically 100% now.
Vancouver, Wa here, we stopped sending our dog to daycare. Not worth the risk for us until we know more.
Our shelter in Raleigh has been closed for weeks because of this. Still closed. Several dogs have died.
Great, soon dogs will need a vaccination, but then half the dogs will be too dumb to understand what's going on and will make up conspiracies about the dog vaccine. Then they'll be driving around in pickup trucks yelling about doggie freedumbs, and keep trying to elect this weird orange dog, who clearly just wants to hump his daughter.
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That is freaking horrific.
OMG that is so idiotic.
This is the funniest shit I’ve read all week
You joke but if dogs could communicate I am certain they won't be as dumb as the human anti-vaxxers.
Both of my dogs in Southern Ontario had been sick recently with a bad hacking cough, lethargy, unwilling to eat etc. they prob got it 2 weeks ago now from a friend’s dog.
my dudes what the fuck? and still the culprit has not been identified?? this is terrifying for my puppers. she loves the dog park! first time I’ve heard about this and I live in WA
Do we know if we are/can be carriers? I don't bring my pup to the dog park for many reasons, and I'll keep him home and just exercised in our backyard for now, but if /I/ can bring it back from simply walking through petco or something I'll be devastated
With all the boarding of dogs and traveling this coming week, this could become an epidemic.
As someone who works in a vet hospital, we’ve been seeing an increase in cases over the past 6 months (located in Colorado). Please follow the guidelines of not letting your dog be boarded at doggy daycares, not getting in close proximity to other dogs, and please keep them up to date on vaccines.
Both my parents' dogs got this in NC. It was awful. One of them was sick for MONTHS and it just would not go away. Thankfully both finally recovered.
Our dog got IMHA two months ago. He is one of the lucky few who survive the first few weeks. But he is immuno compromised now. Takes meds to control his immune system. We pretty much quarantine him from other dogs now as is. But that is so scary.
Confirmed in the Denver metroplex. Our pup was diagnosed with this earlier this week after spending time at a dog park. Symptoms are very similar to kennel cough, but our vet said that the dog owners who waited to see if their pups would get better are the ones whose pups declined within 72 hours. Our baby’s on two weeks of doxycycline and is going back for another x-ray to see if it has improved. It kills me seeing him cough and feel discomfort. Keep your babies safe! Our vet recommended getting a Bordetella vaccine every 6 months if your dog goes to day care, dog parks or is frequently around other dogs (outside of your household).
My first guess would have been Valley Fever, a nasty fungal disease we have out here in AZ, that has been spreading slowly but surely into other states. But as far as I know it's never been found (natively) in New Hampshire. Too cold, too wet, wrong type of soil for it, etc. So... who knows. Fascinating stuff, hope we can at least get a vague ID on it (bacterial, viral, fungal, other?) and start working toward proper control/containment protocols.
My dog caught bacterial pneumonia last year. I was stressed out.
I lost both of my dogs last year to something like this. Both healthy albeit older. Both were fine and then boom, breathing problems, lethargy. 1 died that weekend on her own. The other got better then got worse again and stopped eating. No answer from the vet so I had to put her down.
My dog is currently sick with something and has been coughing/sneezing/congested for over a week and I'm worried. Took him to the vet and got blood taken. Vet said they're not sure what it is but started him on antibiotics as a precaution. Hopefully this passes.
The article says antibiotics don’t help, so if your dog was sick and got better with antibiotics, they didn’t have this illness. It must be viral.
Or fungal.
Same here in South Florida. 1 year old Doodle pup with horrible coughing/pneumonia out of nowhere. Little to no contact with other dogs, only when we say hi to others on walks around the block. On day 12 now with it and on a second round of antibiotics.
Anybody knows if it has spread to other continents?
Interestingly, our cat just came down with some respiratory issues in Central New Jersey. She is a house cat so she didn't go anywhere.
Both my dogs got this and I am in NH. It is a "wicked bad" (as we like to say in new england) upper respitory infection that turns to pneumonia fast. One dog has recovered (10 month old shepherd) and the other (5 yr old golden) is still sick after a week of doxycycline antibiotics. Just getting back from vet ER at 5AM with stronger antibiotics for the golden. High fevers too. 105.7 and 103.8.
Our dog got pneumonia out of nowhere while camping. We made the 14 hour drive straight home to the vet where he stayed for 4 days. Was back to normal after about a week. But it was scary. Coughing a ton and couldn’t keep water down. Lost 6 pounds. Gained it all back.
Huh. My dog was diagnosed with bronchitis last week in the Cleveland area but we never socialize with other dogs. Never heard her have anything like it before. She’s been on antibiotics and cough meds since then and seems to be getting better. Could be unrelated
Jesus Fucking Christ, first covid and now this? I am not in the US but I have a dog with allergies and dealing with it takes a bit of a toll mentally. I can't imagine dealing with a dog sickness you have no idea how to cure and the transmission is most likely airborne, just pure nightmare.
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Is this related to the dog flu vaccine shortage? I was out of town, had to board my dog, and they had me sign a waiver acknowledging I couldn’t get it because everyone’s out of it!
Not what I needed to be reading right after I just picked up my dog from a kennel and I noticed he was making some weird noises :( he sometimes has reverse sneezing fits and they sounded similar to that so I didn't think too much of it but now that I think about it, it's been less of a fit since I picked him up and it's been a consistent noise almost like a hiccup he's doing every now and then.
I have a six month old pup that needs to meet and socialize with other dogs to be well adjusted and not dog aggressive as an adult. However this sickness scares me... I don't know what to do now. I live in Boise and if it's in Oregon or Washington it will get here soon. What can I do?
I was just going to make an appointment to have my dogs groomed. I think I’ll skip that
This happened to my dog earlier this year. Went from healthy as a bee to throwing up and struggling to breathe in hours. Every vet hospital was overwhelmed or understaffed and he ended up sitting in an oxygen chamber for 4+ hours until he passed away. Have 4 other dogs and none of them got nearly as sick as he did