This flu season has been bad for people across the country, but for most dog owner canine influenza shouldn’t be an additional worry.
Like human flu, dog flu has multiple strains, respiratory symptoms and a vaccine. But unlike regular flu, it’s not as contagious and doesn’t spread very quickly.
Dr. Rick Nelson is a veterinarian at Animal Aid Clinic South in Elkhart. He said he doesn’t recommend the flu vaccine for most dogs.
“It might be a good thing to do for dogs that travel a lot or that are going to dog shows or are widely traveled where they might encounter it but it’s not a core vaccine, It’s not a vaccine that is recommended at this moment.”
Nelson said dog owners should be more concerned about diseases like heartworm and parvovirus that are much more common and dangerous.
He said there have been some canine flu outbreaks in other parts of the country like Chicago and Florida, but none in Michiana.