“Kennel cough” (now more conventionally termed “canine infectious respiratory disease complex’)  is a fairly common problem in dogs that can be caused by an array of bacteria and viruses. We commonly see it in outbreaks, often linked to kennels, but sometimes we see higher levels of disease in the broader community. What we’re more concerned about is new problems , new patterns or more severe disease.

We may be seeing an increase in respiratory disease activity in dogs in a few parts on Ontario at the moment. It’s always hard to say for sure because it’s based on information from different sources, and whether it’s a true increase, an increase in reporting of the normal amount of disease, or just a misperception is hard to say.

We don’t want to over-react, but we also don’t want to miss the start of something important, so we’re paying attention to the information that’s coming in and trying to make sense of it.

An important limitation to the available data is the amount of diagnostic testing that gets done. Only a small percentage of dogs with “kennel cough” get tested to try to determine which viruses and bacteria are actually involved.

Should all dogs with “kennel cough” be tested?

  • No.  Since a lot of pathogens can cause the clinical signs we see with this syndrome and we can’t test for them all, the test results rarely impacts how we treat an individual dog. It’s nice information to have but it’s usually hard to justify the cost for an average household pet. This recommendation is also part of the 2017 ISCAID  treatment guidelines for respiratory disease in dogs and cats.

When is testing more rewarding?

  • Testing is more useful when something is unusual about the scenario or the patient. From the patient standpoint, testing can be more useful when it involves a kennel or shelter, since the result could affect the infection control response. It also can help differentiate “vaccine breakthrough” from the presence of a bug we can’t vaccinate against.
  • By “unusual scenario” I mean something different in the incidence, distribution or severity of disease. If we think we’re seeing more disease, testing is useful to see if disease is mainly caused by one bug, whether we have a mix of causes, or whether the cause can’t be identified (suggesting something different/new might be present).

When do I really want to test dogs with respiratory disease?

  • When I’m concerned about a foreign disease like canine flu, I definitely want to get testing done. Figuring out when to worry about that comes down to two big factors: high attack rates and links to imported dogs, especially from Asia. When most dogs in a group get sick, I worry about something new like flu and want to test them, so that we find out as early as possible if flu is present and we can take measures to contain it, like we successfully did last year. A high attack rate was what led to identification of the biggest flu cluster we had when canine flu hit Ontario in 2018.

So, what about now in Ontario?

  • I’d like more information but don’t have any money for testing, so I’m relying on information that comes in from various sources. It’s always a fine balance between raising awareness and causing paranoia, so it’s important to put things in perspective. We’re on the lookout for respiratory disease in dogs and want to learn more, but we’re far from panicking about the situation.
  • The average dog owner doesn’t need to do anything more than good routine care and using common sense. However, we’d like to figure out if something new or interesting is going on.

More to come (hopefully).