canine influenza.

"Will someone blow my nose?" Maj K/Flickr Dog flu, or Canine Influenza, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza virus H3N8, according to the CDC. While some dogs won't show any symptoms at all, the small proportion of dogs that get a severe case develop pneumonia. Symptoms of the dog flu include coughing, runny nose and fever. While the virus infects and spreads between dogs, there is no evidence that the dog flu can be passed to humans, according to the CDC. An H3N8 vaccine is available and will reduce the severity of dog flu symptoms. Medications, fluids and antibiotics prescribed by your veterinarian can treat the virus. If you suspect your canine has the dog flu, be ...

"Can I get some chicken soup please?" Photo: rogue3w/Flickr After a kennel closed in Virginia due to a dog flu outbreak, panicked headlines screamed, "Protect Your Dogs from Deadly Canine Flu." Despite a smattering of recent cases, vets have assured us you can hold off from forcing your dog to clean their paws with hand sanitizer, wear a surgical mask, or even get the much talked about canine flu vaccine. The dog flu strain, dubbed H3N8, has floated around the horse population for decades but jumped to dogs in 2004. So far there have been relatively few cases around the country. Dr. Jean Dodds, a veterinary vaccine researcher and founder of pet blood bank and diagnostic lab ...