Pet Boarding: What Are the Common Diseases Your Dog Can Get?

Because taking your dog on a trip isn’t always practical, you’ll have to leave them at a boarding facility for a few nights at some point. In addition to receiving excellent care while you’re away, boarding your pet will have a lot of fun because it allows them to meet and play with other dogs and new people. However, you should be aware of the potential diseases they can acquire from those facilities.

Prevalent Diseases Your Pet Can Get From Pet Boarding

The main drawback of boarding your dog is that you must be sure some other dogs there are as healthy as yours. Otherwise, your dog could contract one of several prevalent diseases found in kennels.

Here are some of them:

Canine Distemper

This dangerous disease is caused by a virus that spreads quickly and is infectious. Disease transmission from infected dogs to others typically occurs by airborne viral particles or respiratory secretions. Symptoms in infected dogs include:

• Watery eyes
• Fever
• Runny nose
• Coughing
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Seizures
• Paralysis

The good news is that an efficient vaccine can protect your dog from this fatal disease. One of the “core” vaccines for dogs is the distemper virus vaccination. Make sure to choose a reputable pet boarding facility if you want to lower the chance of your pet contracting this disease while you’re away.

External Parasites

Ticks, fleas, and mange are external parasites that can cause difficulties for dogs. Exposure to ticks from the environment and fleas and mange from other dogs are common concerns at dog gatherings like pet boarding. Infestations by these external parasites can spread dangerous illnesses. 

If fleas hitch a ride home on your dog, they may infest your home and yard, spreading tapeworms and other parasites that can harm humans.

Ringworm

A contagious skin fungus known as ringworm can spread quickly. This is especially true since the ringworm parasite can jump from animal to animal and even human to human. As a result, exposure to an affected dog or infected objects, such as beds or surfaces, can spread the disease.

The infection manifests as itchy red patches on the skin, hair loss, and sometimes even bald spots. 

Parvovirus 

This virus is a severe and highly contagious disease that is spread by contact with feces from infected dogs. Puppies are particularly vulnerable to the effects of parvovirus since the infection can cause long-term heart damage. Even with treatment, canines infected with parvovirus often must stay in the hospital for many days. In most cases, unvaccinated puppies with parvo don’t survive.

This is why bringing your pet to the vet from a reputable animal hospital like Brogli Lane Weaver & Alexander animal hospital for regular checkups and vaccinations before boarding is imperative to prevent the spreading potentially fatal diseases.

Stomach Bug

Dogs staying in kennels are at a higher risk of contracting gastrointestinal viruses. They are very contagious and can be passed on by bodily fluids. Symptoms include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Exhaustion
• Loss of appetite

It’s worth noting that stomach sickness is often less than 48 hours in healthy canines. However, older dogs with underlying health problems will be particularly affected.

Bottomline

Your dog’s health shouldn’t suffer because you board it. It should return to you in the same good spirits and health as before if you take the necessary precautions to ensure its safety (such as providing an adequate diet and preventing actions) while boarding.