A warning to dog owners amid holidays: consider keeping your dogs at home

As millions of Americans prepare to celebrate Christmas and the New Year with friends and family, veterinarians are warning those who own dogs to be cautious of where they take their furry friends. A respiratory illness has been circulating for months now among dogs, currently impacting pets in more than a dozen states. Colorado is among the states that have seen a rapid rate of dogs coming down with the illness.

"You shouldn't overly worry, but you should be worried," said Dr. Arun Rustgi, Colorado veterinarian and owner of Mountainwood Pet Hospital in Windsor.

Rustgi said he started receiving patients earlier in the year that were vaccinated yet showing symptoms of a cough. At the time he wasn't sure what it was. Then, as the summer wrapped up, it got to the point where he was seeing at least three or four dogs a day showing up to his office with symptoms.

"We have been seeing a lot of this canine respiratory disease complex," Rustgi said. "It ramped up really bad mid-summer."

Rustgi said the number of dogs that came to his office with the symptoms has slowed down some. However, as dog owners prepare to socialize and travel more with others, it is encouraged that they consider the possible dangers they may be exposing their dogs to.

So far researchers say the illness appears to be predominantly transferred by air. Much like how COVID-19 is transferred by close breathing contact between humans, veterinarians say the same is now happening with dogs and this unknown virus.

Though most dogs can overcome the illness in a week or two, others are not as lucky. A portion of dogs that have gotten sick with the virus have also died. Rustgi said of all the dogs he has treated, none have died yet. 

"For some of these dogs, it is lingering and causing really prolonged coughs. It can lead to pneumonia, sneezing, weeping eyes. It is a booger," Rustgi said. "That is playing a big factor in the dog daycare world, the boarding and the grooming kennels."

Rustgi said he has seen some success in treating the pets with drugs like ciprofloxacin and prednisone, which serves much like treating a human with COPD or asthma.

"Just because we don't have a good treatment for it, we are advising to avoid any contact with dogs you don't know," Rustgi said.

Rustgi encouraged people to not let their dogs greet other dogs while out on walks. He also said it was wise to clean off dog toys that may be shared by more than one dog.

Rustgi also said those who encounter dogs other than their own should consider washing their hands. Though research thus far has shown a low probability of transferring the virus from one dog to another by human touch, he said it is still best to play it safe.

Those traveling for the holidays are encouraged to consider leaving their pets with a trusted loved one or friend who does not have another dog, or to ask someone who lives nearby to visit the dog while the owner is away rather than booking them to stay in a kennel.

"If you can find a friend or a neighbor that is willing to come over and check on your dog a couple times a day, that would be the safest outlet. The dogs that get it, when it hits them hard, it hits them hard," Rustgi said.