Respiratory Illness in Dogs Present in California (Dec 2023)

A respiratory illness present in other areas of the U.S. as early as last year has finally surfaced in California. According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Symptoms in affected dogs include coughing, nasal discharge, sneezing and lethargy, with some cases progressing rapidly within 24-36 hours, occasionally resulting in death.”

We suggest you read the full SF Chronicle article and a more detailed article from the Oregon Veterinary Medical Assocation but also want to highlight some information from the articles and inform you about how Shamrock Ranch intends to reduce the risk of this spreading if it reaches our facility.

What Should You Do?

Most outlets reporting on this respiratory illness suggest that you not outright cancel travel plans out of concern for your dog catching it. According to the Oregon Veterinary Medical Assocation:

“Most dogs, especially those vaccinated against respiratory illness, experience a mild illness. Very young or old dogs, dogs with underlying conditions or brachycephalic breeds may face more challenges if they contract a respiratory illness.”

To best protect your dog(s):

• Vaccinate your dog as recommended by your vet.

• Keep any dogs who have had a cough, sneezing/congestion, diarrhea, decreased appetite, and/or low energy within the past 24 hours at home and seek vet care.

• Avoid exposing your dog to unfamiliar, unvaccinated dogs.

How We’re Handing This

Thankfully, Shamrock Ranch already does plenty to reduce the likelihood of a respiratory illness like this spreading. Before we go over what’s changing, here’s what we already do and will continue doing:

• We ask that customers not bring sick dogs to the kennel (and we never charge for cancellations, regardless of the reason).

• We only put dogs into groups with their owners’ permission.

• We require current Bordetella, DHPP, and Rabies vaccinations, and we recommend asking your vet about getting your dog(s) the canine influenza vaccine.

• We use our own bowls (including slow feeders), rather than allowing customers to provide them. We use stainless steel bowls to ensure they survive our sterilization process.

• We’ll alert customers with upcoming boarding or training reservations if we have any known or suspected cases of the illness in case that affects their desire to bring their dog(s) in.

What’s Changing?

Though we have yet to see any cases of this respiratory illness at the ranch, we’re doing the following to reduce the likelihood of it spreading:

• We’ll notify customers as soon as possible if their dogs exhibit any symptoms of this respiratory illness and take their dogs to the vet if desired. If unable to reach a customer, then we reserve the right to take their dog(s) to the vet if we deem it necessary. In either case, the dog’s owner will be responsible for the costs of any such vet visits.

• We’ve eliminated shared water bowls or buckets, except in Playcare. If you don’t want your dog to have access to shared water sources, then please enroll them in solo activities.