Spurred by the recent tragic events of two kennel fires, Emily Friedman wrote a good article on what to look for in a boarding facility.

It’s so important for dog owners to inspect any facility they may board their dog, here are some things to keep in mind.

Joseph Lyman , the CEO of the Pet Care Services Association, shared some tips.

“The biggest point that pet owners should think about when boarding their pets is safety,” Lyman said. “Does the facility have an adequate number of individuals in position to be able to overcome some of the obstacles that could arise at a kennel?”

While the degree to which kennels must be inspected in order to receive licenses varies from state to state, Lyman said Pet Care Services Association offers Voluntary Facilities Accreditations for those kennels that want to be certified under the organization’s standards.

Emily Weiss, the ASPCA’s senior director of shelter research and development, and a certified applied animal behaviorist, emphasized how important it is to go visit a facility in person.

“Walk through the facility and do your own safety check,” Weiss said.

“Look at what the kennels and the suites are like and look for signs that say that safety is on the mind of the employees,” Weiss said. “Fire extinguishers should be present and there should be clearly marked fire exits.”

Weiss said that asking employees Read the rest of this entry »

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Most of us who have boarded our dogs have, at one time or another, dealt with kennel  cough.  According to local veterinarians, in the Winnetka (IL) area, kennel cough has been on the rise this summer and fall.

Kennel cough is an upper respiratory illness caused primarily by a bacteria called Bordetella bronchiseptica. However, kennel cough can also be caused by viruses, such as canine distemper, canine adenovirus, canine parainfluenza virus, or canine respiratory coronavirus. Kennel cough is marked by a severe chronic cough, usually dry and hacking, sometimes with nasal discharge. Sometimes there’s a fever associated with the cough.

It’s highly contagious and is spread through the air by dogs coughing or sneezing near other dogs, such as in a kennel, pet store, shelter, grooming facility or doggy daycare. It can be treated with antibiotics and cough suppressants. Vaccination can prevent some strains of it.

However, not all of the cases turned out to be kennel cough. They’re actually a dog flu, a more serious viral infection.

Dog flu, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, is caused by the same virus that causes equine influenza. Greyhounds at a track in Florida were the first to be diagnosed in 2004, and cases have been turning up in other states since then, including Illinois this summer. It’s spread the same way as kennel cough.

Symptoms of mild dog flu are the same as kennel cough, such as either a dry, hacking cough or a moist cough, which last 10 to 30 days, according to the AVMA.

But, severe dog flu, according to the association, can lead to death. Symptoms of severe dog flu include a high fever, trouble breathing and pneumonia. Pneumonia may also be caused by a secondary bacterial infection, according to the AVMA.

All dogs exposed to it will become infected, according to the AVMA, with 80 percent developing clinical signs. However, according to the association, the other 20 percent, although not showing signs, can still spread it.

Unlike kennel cough, there isn’t a vaccine for dog flu. Although antibiotics don’t work against viruses, they’re being prescribed anyway to help fight off the bacterial infections.

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