This dog flu is spreading in Wisconsin too. I read that elsewhere. Just a heads up.
Your dog does not need doggie playtime. He just needs you.
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
A couple years ago ... our Lab needed a surgery and vet expected him to stay 1 overnight. The vet practice said we had to have him get a *dog flu* shot B4 he could spend the night. [dog already had his rabies and distemper]
I was livid b/c it sounded as if it was just another way for the vet to inflate the bill. And if the dog flu is a virus, I don’t know how it can prevent it. Although I grumbled, we went ahead with it anyway.
*As for the CIV [canine influenza virus] vaccine, it does NOT prevent infection. It reduces viral shedding once infection is present, and it may lessen the severity of symptoms and their duration. But it does not keep your dog from acquiring the influenza virus.*
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/02/20/dog-flu-vaccine.aspx
This is scary. My son just left for a short term job in Guam. His friend and I are sharing dog watching. I think we should stay away from dog parks.
My dog loves doggie day care. He has a second set of humans to dote on him and several other dogs to play with. He befriends mini doxies and Chihuahuas, and he has a special Pomeranian “girlfriend”.
Until I can retire, it’s the next best thing to my being home with him. Before you say “don’t get a dog unless you can care for it”, we didn’t choose to...he was our daughter’s. We ended up with him after she got married and moved out.
I asked my vet about getting the vaccine for my dog. He will be having to stay at a kennel for 2 days in June. Also, we go to the Lake to walk and meet other dogs. She said she would not recommend the vaccine for Gizmo because he is a healthy dog. If he had immune issues, she would. She is not vaccinating her own dogs and her assistants are not either. The vaccine is two shots at $42 each. I was glad not to put ,y doggy thru something he doesn’t need.