There have been plenty of rumors circulating when it comes to COVID-19 and dogs and plenty of those concerns are swept under the rug. In this article we want to calm your nerves and give you a brief overview of how this pandemic is affecting our pets.
While COVID-19 for dogs is in the same family of virus as humans it’s a completely different strain. Although dogs can test positive for COVID it has not been recorded to date to spread between humans. Although, there’s always a chance for these viruses to mutate and one day be capable of spreading between species. In canines, there are currently two relevant groups of COVID.
Group one COVID, Canine Enteric Coronavirus(CECoV), causes a range of symptoms typically always affecting the gastrointestinal tract. This includes diarrhea, loss of appetite, dehydration, vomiting and lethargy. Group 2 COVID, Canine Respiratory Coronavirus(CRCoV), is known for attacking the respiratory tract and is a self-limiting infection, meaning they typically fight off the infection without needing medical attention. Since Group 2, CRCoV, is a self-limiting disease there is no vaccine. However, Group 1, CECoV, can be seen to be self-limiting in adult dogs, but fatal and severe in younger pups.
Since COVID is a virus, there is no direct medicine to treat the illness directly, however, Veterinarians can treat your dog’s symptoms. Although Canine COVID is not fatal, it has been shown to be more severe in younger pups and old dogs. Since the Canine CoVid strains are rare, don’t pose serious health risks and cannot be transmitted to humans, we at Wise Woofs don’t recommend giving this vaccine to your dog. When discussing Canine Covid with Veterinarians, some say they have never had a case, nor requested the vaccine.
