Dog Illnesses - Don't Let Your Dog Catch Dog Flu, Read More About It

By Kwame Ofori-Atta

Dog flu is an anti-viral viral infection of the upper-lower respiratory and digestive system that gives your canine companion runny stools. It was first diagnosed recently in Greyhounds at a number of racetracks in approximately eleven states, beginning with Florida. It isn't contagious to humans, and it's not as bad for dogs as you might think. It is a fairly new disease and is said to affect almost all canine when they come in contact with the said virus. This illness is not as serious as rabies and other disease which affects dogs. But care should be taken

Symptoms

Symptoms include a low-grade fever, nasal discharge, and a persistent cough that could last up to three weeks. Symptoms include a high fever, increased respiratory rates with difficulty breathing, and other indications of pneumonia. Symptoms generally appear two to five days after a dog is exposed to the virus. Symptoms are often mistaken for kennel cough a common canine illness.

Dog flu actually comes from Asia but is not related to the avian flu. It has become a major dog illness and this due to the relatively new emergence of the virus, there is no vaccine for it leading to 80% of dogs that come in contact with an infected animal also contracting the virus. It is a new, highly contagious and potentially deadly virus that causes respiratory infection only among dogs. It is not easy to diagnose because early symptoms mimic another common canine condition called kennel cough. You can treat dog flu with the proper treatment so for more on the treatment and management visit the website below.

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