The inside scoop on canine influenza
Most veterinary practices don't require boarding dogs to be vaccinated against canine influenza. But could that number change in the future?
A client enters your veterinary practice, gripping the doorframe for balance as her rowdy Labrador retriever lunges forward. The dog goes straight for a Border collie waiting to be seen. The two touch noses as they sniff each other and share a few friendly licks. Finally able to calm the pooch, the client checks in and says goodbye as she leaves her dog to board for the weekend.
Flash forward to Monday. There's been an outbreak of canine influenza in the practice, and all of your boarding patients are coughing and feverish. As it turns out, the Border collie wasn't just feeling crummy-he was carrying the virus, which quickly spread throughout your canine patients. It's now up to you to control the outbreak and explain to clients what went wrong. But could it have been prevented?
Data source: Shelter Medicine Program, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine; Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health
The complete package:
Do you require that all boarded dogs be vaccinated against canine influenza?Perhaps it could have if you had required boarding dogs to be vaccinated against canine influenza. It's not a common requirement, but perhaps it should be, says Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member Dr. Dennis Cloud, owner of the Cloud Veterinary Center in O'Fallon, Mo.
Though he has yet to see a case of canine influenza in his practice, he decided to play it safe and require vaccinations for boarders. "We felt that, because we're a veterinary hospital, it would be more essential for us to require it than a regular kennel," Dr. Cloud says.
Data source: 2010 Veterinary Economics State of the Industry Study
The complete package:
Do you require that all boarded dogs be vaccinated against canine influenza?
