Does your best friend really need that flu shot?
Flu shots for dogs?
Waiting in the vet’s office today I overhead the receptionist making reminder calls to clients. And on each one she added, “(dog’s name) is overdue for their flu shot. When can I schedule your appointment?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
I did some checking when I got home, and here’s what I found out.
The first piece of “information” I saw came from the maker of the dog flu vaccine, and it’s even worse propaganda than what they pitch to people.
How about a video of the “Puppet Puppy Players” in a presentation called “Even dogs get the flu.” (Like they say, you can’t make this stuff up).
The star puppet, Mutt Damon, tells the other dog puppets how his “human parents” put him in a kennel and one “of his new friends must have been sick.”
The puppet was rushed to the vet…with a diagnosis of dog flu!
But all is well in puppet dog land, because, as Mutt tells us, “you don’t have to get the flu, your vet’s got a vaccine! And vaccines are great!”
It closes with “talk to your veterinarian” (sound familiar?) And “don’t wait, vaccinate.”
This is likely the most ridiculous sales pitch for a vaccine I have ever seen.
Here is a short rundown on what experts (not puppets) say about canine influenza.
- It’s basically an upper respiratory virus similar to kennel cough.
- It’s not contagious to people.
- It’s typically found in overcrowded, stressful places such as shelters.
- Keeping your dog’s immune system strong is the best protection.
- Most dogs need no medical treatment to recover if they do wind up catching the dog “flu.”
Look, it’s bad enough that we are hit with this “get your flu shot” everywhere we go.
The only thing worse than risking a flu shot for yourself is forcing one on an innocent dog who can’t read the warnings himself.
Sources:
“Canine influenza (dog flu) is an important illness that poses an emerging threat to all dogs” doginfluenza.com
“Dog flu vaccine: do you really need a shot for the H3N8 canine virus?” Truth4Dogs, dogs4dogs.com
