ET & Canine kennel cough

[RedCardRob]

I have been diagnosed with ET on Feb 24 and currently on I Peg 45mcg. Our dog who was due his kennel cough (infectious tracheobronchitis) inoculation today and having informed the vet we had recently transitioned from raw food to dry food to reduce my chances of bacterial infection, he said I should not have contact with my dog for 6 weeks after his treatment.

Having checked on the chances of humans contracting IF, it is commonly known to be very rare. As everyone on this forum knows the words very and rare do not correlate and anything is possible where we are concerned. Our dog was 2 years old in Feb and previous 2 inoculations would have been given whilst I had an undiagnosed ET

So hopefully you have already guessed my question of has anyone come across such event if a human catching kennel cough. Bearing in mind the symptoms are very similar to a very bad human flu it may well have been passed over as such.

[Spanelmad]

I've had a suppressed immune system for years and my dog has had a kennel cough injection.Including this year being on interferon, it's a risk I'm willing to take. I do not let him lick my face and I wash hands a lot.

[RedCardRob in reply to Spanelmad]

I would rather our dog be safe amongst other dogs. At least it would only be a six week licking ban order! Not that he does this, but it's the surface touch by us that could pick it up and anything else that's just been sneezed on.I have a call with a consultant on Thursday and hopefully give an update on the subject.

Take care.

[MWxxxx]

Hi. My dog is covered for kennel cough under our pet plan so he is offered it every year. So far I have always declined because it is a live vaccine. I usually ask if there are lots of cases around and so far have been told that it is not a major issue locally, they just offer it because it is free under the plan. I wouldn't want to put my dog at risk if there were lots of cases around but he is young and healthy and doesn;t mix with large groups of dogs (eg. doesn't go into kennels etc) so I just monitor it year by year.

[RedCardRob in reply to MWxxxx]

Thanks MWxxxx. Same here, ours is the same, young , doesn't mix in groups, kennels, etc. The 'live' vaccine is the issue. The vet offered a alternative non-live but does not have half the current strains known of IT.

I think we'll take the same line and leave it and just monitor the local 'dog' news.

[Ebot]

Hi. I’d forgotten about this! I do recall the vet telling me in the past to be cautious after the dog was vaccinated but only for a matter of days / a week. I let someone else pick up the poo (silver lining!). And I never let the dog lick my face etc in any case.

Like most things, it’s a matter of risk assessment. An unvaccinated dog will pose a much greater risk to an immunocompromised individual than a vaccinated dog. And whilst drug treatments to manage MPNs do lower our immunity, in most cases we’re unlikely to be in the severely immunocompromised position as say someone undergoing heavy duty chemo treatment for an acute cancer.

[RedCardRob in reply to Ebot]

Thanks Ebot. I will broach the risk tomorrow with the consultant but I think I know what she will say. It would be to monitor local news from the vets for outbreaks of kennel cough as my current situation is, as you say, not as critical as others with MSN's

[Ebot in reply to RedCardRob]

I realised what I wrote was ambiguous. My comments about immunosuppression were in relation to the (negligible) risks associated with the vaccine. Personally I’d rather not risk the dog catching kennel cough for his health as much as mine.

[RedCardRob in reply to Ebot]

I think you hit the nail in the head there for the risk involved. Long term it is safer to prevent IT because if your dog gets home and sneezes and starts coughing the predicament is a worse situation that if it had been innoculated.One week sounds a lot easier to manage than six weeks, I cannot remember our dog with any health issues in the previous innoculations apart from sneezing straight after the squirt up his nose. Lowering the risk then, my wife would have to take him in.

Hopefully the chat with the consultant tomorrow might shed some more light on the risks.

[Ebot in reply to RedCardRob]

Yes. It’s all coming back to me. I got my other half to take the dog in to the vets for the jab. (To be honest, I’d completely forgotten about all of this … cannot recall what’s happened in the interim. The dog has managed divert us with a myriad of other issues and run up some significant (understatement) vet bills in the intervening years! Kennel cough being the least of our concerns:)))) ) Good luck!

[gilded]

Hello RedcardRob. My dog has had all his annual jabs ( including kennel cough inoculation up the nose!) for many years and I’ve never suffered anything after his treatment, not even a cold. Nor has the vet advised dog separation.

[RedCardRob in reply to gilded]

Hi gilded. Yes, same here whilst not knowing I had ET. Just to be safe though I'll wait until I have spoken to the consultant on my specific conditions as they stand. As many have said everyone is different.

Also, every time we got to the vets for a booster or annual check up we get a different vet each time, which doesn't help with continuity with advice.

[RedCardRob]

Follow up after speaking with my consultant.She said that it would be a 'live attenuated' vaccine and not having had much knowledge of canine issues, she drew a parallel with a young child receiving a flu vaccine by nasal spray. The Interferon information advised no contact with said child for two weeks.

So considering the ease of getting flu symptoms following a jab/nasal are pretty much higher than the very rare cases of getting the same type symptoms from canine kennel cough, the risks are minimal.

The dog is booked in and I'll wear a mask until he's bouncing around again and a few days after.