Bordetella

So those of you who board your animals, go to doggy daycare, go to the dog park, things like that.

may be very familiar with the Bordetella vaccine, the kennel cough vaccine.

That protects against one of the bacteria involved and sometimes includes parainfluenza, which is one of the viruses.

But there are other infectious agents that can contribute to kennel cough.

And for some reason, it's been hitting dogs hard, even those that have been vaccinated against Bordetella and parainfluenza, which tells us some of these other viruses and bacteria are involved in this as well.

Are there any other common maladies, concerns this time of year?

Dog flu tends to wax and wane.

When they are six weeks, we can start with distemper and parvovirus vaccine, and then to give at least twice the full, I call it cocktail because it's a mix of a lot, vaccinates against a lot of diseases, which is distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza, and leptospira.

Another vaccine that I usually suggest is kennel cough, uh, because kennel cough can protects, can protect against Bordetella and first of all for dogs who are interacting with a lot of other dogs, not necessarily in a boarding facility or in daycare.

In that case, it's a must.

Yeah.

...

Jackson, who is, uh, good right now, but he's 14 years old and I take him to the, to the vet and we're at the stage now where, uh, the vet i- is not even recommending like normal things, where I'm like, "His Bordetella, uh, vaccine is due." And she's like, "You know, if he's not going to the kennel and he's not gonna be around other dogs, I wouldn't recommend giving him this because, 'cause it's a risk." And I'm like, "Okay.

Also his breath stinks.

Um, could, uh, do anything about that?" She's like, "I...

Last question.

When do you do Bordetella vaccines, and what's the difference in how you do them between nasal or oral?

So the oral, the oral, uh, vaccines are, are, you know, in the buccal cavity of the mouth.

And that's one of those, you know...

Bordetella, of course, is the least dangerous of all of the ailments they can contract.

It's the most contagious, and it's the-

They're gonna sound like an 80-year-old smoker for a week if they catch it

Just like, you know, be a little bit more aware of that.

Usually the shelters, they vaccinate for rabies.

They get them all the necessary, you know, Bordetella, everything up to date while they're at the shelter.

So shelters are not your enemy.

Let's just say that.

This next one's from Mary.

Is there a specific age when we can stop yearly vaccinations for our dogs? What about Bordetella being required every six months? Even though some laws mandate annual rabies shots, it feels like a lot for a senior dog who stays at home.

I've also heard titer, what is it, titer testing? Proves that they still have immunity after years of shots.

Sure.

and relies a lot actually on the history, doesn't it, Cal? Because if I look down that list of things, I'm thinking about what else is in this list.

Bordetella, Bordetella pertussis.

I'm looking at the clinical syndrome there to make that diagnosis.

And same with Bartonella.

I wonder if there's something else that...

Bordetella, that's the...

We talked about that, right?

Yeah.

Okay.

So here, here, here you go.

So Bordetella pertussis is what causes-

Yep