Dog owners may need to start using the social distancing measures they learnt through the Covid-19 pandemic on their pets, amid major outbreaks of the canine cough disease across the country.
In some cases, the vaccines are unable to protect dogs from the respiratory illness.
Duke caught the respiratory illness recently despite being vaccinated against it.
"It's quite strange symptoms for a dog, almost like they're gagging or choking or something like that," his owner said.
New Zealand is currently seeing a surge in cases nationwide, particularly in Christchurch.
Wigram Vet veterinarian Geoff Mehrtens said the clinic saw several cases come through the daycare "just in the week leading up to Christmas, close to when we were shutting down".
Multiple clinics across the city are reporting a spike in cases as dogs and their owners get out and about over the summer.
The New Zealand Veterinary Association’s Helen Beattie is now calling for people to be “really mindful of where we’re taking our animals during that period of time”.
“If you've got an animal that seems to be unwell or if they've got clinical signs, keep them at home, keep them isolated,” she said.
While canine cough has a very low mortality rate, the illness is extremely contagious. There are concerns that, much like Covid-19, it can last on inanimate surfaces for several days.
“Your dog could come into contact with some saliva or something that another dog has just touched on that gate going into the park or someone else's vehicle, for instance,” Mehrtens said.
There are also concerns there are many strains of the disease that cannot be vaccinated against, but vets say it remains an important step in protecting their pets.
“A lot of vaccinated dogs don't contract the disease at all and the ones who do seem to get it much more mildly so I'd really urge people to still get their dogs vaccinated,” he said.
He called for people to be “less sociable” with their dogs to prevent its spread.
“It's fine taking them for walks but probably do that maybe around your own suburbs and not so much meet and greet.”
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