Dog Flu and Bird Flu in Dogs: Signs, Spread and Vaccines

Can dogs get bird flu? Yes, but it is rare, and the known cases trace back to things you can keep a dog away from: dead wild birds, raw poultry and raw milk. The flu your dog is far more likely to meet is dog flu, or canine influenza, which travels through boarding kennels, daycares and dog parks.

That matters most when the holidays fill up the boarding calendar. Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November), Christmas and New Year's are when many dogs check into a kennel or daycare full of other dogs, and that is exactly where dog flu spreads.

Below: what bird flu means for dogs, how dog flu differs from it and from kennel cough, the signs, when a dog is contagious, which signs need a vet right away, and how the vaccine fits a boarding plan.

Can Dogs Get Bird Flu (H5N1)?

They can, but it is uncommon. The H5N1 bird flu in the news mainly infects wild birds and poultry, and it has spread to dairy cattle and some other mammals. Cats have been hit harder than dogs: the CDC links some cat infections to raw pet food and raw milk.

In one documented case, a dog in Ontario, Canada, got sick and died in 2023 after chewing on a dead wild goose. Canadian officials called it the country's first case in a domestic dog and noted that the number of documented cases in animals other than birds is low.

How a dog could be exposed, according to the CDC's guidance on bird flu in pets and Cornell's Baker Institute:

• Eating or playing with sick or dead birds, or other infected animals
• Raw pet food: some infections in pets have been linked to commercially produced raw diets
• Raw (unpasteurized) milk
• Contact with backyard poultry, dairy cows, or contaminated clothes and surfaces from an affected farm

Signs to watch for after a possible exposure include fever, tiredness, poor appetite, red or runny eyes, nasal discharge and trouble breathing. Bird flu can also cause neurologic signs such as tremors, seizures, wobbliness, circling or sudden blindness.

What to do:

• Keep your dog away from dead birds, on walks and in the yard. Leash up near ponds and fields where wild birds gather.
• Skip raw pet food and raw milk. Cornell notes that freezing, freeze-drying or "human grade" labels don't remove the risk.
• If your dog gets sick after contact with a bird, poultry or raw food, call your vet and mention the exposure. Seizures, trouble breathing or collapse mean go now.

The chance that you catch bird flu from your own pet is low, though the CDC says it is possible, so wash your hands after handling a sick animal and tell your doctor if you feel unwell.

Dog Flu, Bird Flu and Kennel Cough: How They Differ

Here's the twist: H3N2 dog flu started out as a bird flu virus in Asia and adapted to dogs. Today it is its own dog virus. Cornell is clear that H5N1 bird flu is separate from the respiratory illnesses that spread between dogs. Kennel cough is a third thing again: a cough caused by several germs, with dog flu as one possible cause.

A mild case of dog flu and a case of kennel cough can look the same. AAHA's vaccination guidelines describe dog flu as usually indistinguishable from other canine respiratory infections, so only testing can tell them apart.

What Is Dog Flu (Canine Influenza)?

Canine influenza is a contagious respiratory infection caused by influenza A viruses that have adapted to dogs. Two have been found in the US:

• H3N2 came from a bird virus in Asia, reached the US in 2015 (a large outbreak started in Chicago) and is the strain behind US cases today, according to the CDC.
• H3N8 jumped from horses to dogs. The CDC says it hasn't been reported since 2016, and the Merck Veterinary Manual calls active infection very rare, if it happens at all.

Almost any dog can catch it, of any breed or age. Like human flu, it hits some dogs harder than others: about 20% of infected dogs show no signs at all but still shed the virus, per Merck. H3N2 has also occasionally made cats sick, so keep a coughing dog away from the household cat too. People are a different story: the CDC rates the threat to humans as low, and no human infection with dog flu has been reported.

Signs of Dog Flu

• Coughing, often a cough that hangs on
• Sneezing
• Runny nose or nasal discharge
• Red or runny eyes
• Fever
• Lethargy
• Eating less

About 80% of dogs get the mild form, with a cough that lasts 1 to 3 weeks. It can look a lot like kennel cough. Most dogs recover in 2 to 3 weeks, although the cough can linger for up to a month.

Some dogs get much sicker, with a high fever (104 to 106°F), pneumonia and a secondary bacterial infection on top of the virus. Merck puts the death rate at 1% to 5%. Those numbers are why a coughing dog that is also quiet, feverish or off its food deserves a call, not a wait-and-see.

How Dog Flu Spreads, and When a Dog Is Contagious

Dog flu spreads through the air when infected dogs cough and sneeze, and on anything those droplets land on: water bowls, toys, leashes, kennel surfaces, and people's hands and clothes. The virus survives on surfaces for 1 to 2 days, but common disinfectants kill it easily.

The timing is the tricky part:

• Incubation, the gap between exposure and signs, runs 1 to 5 days. Signs usually start 2 to 4 days after exposure.
• Days 2 to 4 after infection are the most contagious stretch, often before the dog looks sick.

So a dog can pick up flu from a playmate who seemed perfectly healthy. That is why outbreaks take off where many dogs mix, especially unvaccinated ones in close contact.

Higher-risk dogs are the ones with busy social calendars: dogs that board, go to daycare, visit dog parks, compete at shows or agility events, or travel. That list comes straight from the American Animal Hospital Association's (AAHA) vaccination guidelines.

When to Call the Vet

Many viruses and bacteria cause flu-like coughing, so a vet visit is the only way to know what your dog has. Call ahead before you bring a coughing dog in, so the clinic can keep it away from other patients.

Call now or go to an emergency vet:

• Breathing fast or hard, or struggling to breathe at rest
• Collapse, seizures, wobbliness or other neurologic signs
• Won't eat or drink, or is very weak and listless with a fever

Call today:

• Coughing, sneezing, nasal or eye discharge, or fever, especially within a few weeks of boarding, daycare or a dog event
• Any illness after contact with a dead bird, poultry or raw food

Mention it to your vet:

• Your dog was around a dog that later got sick, but yours seems fine. Keep them apart from other dogs and watch for signs.

How Vets Diagnose and Treat Dog Flu

There is no quick in-clinic test for canine influenza. Depending on how long your dog has been sick, your vet may:

• Swab the nose or throat for a PCR test, which works best in the first few days of illness
• Run blood tests for antibodies, ideally a pair: one early and one during recovery
• Take chest X-rays if pneumonia is a concern

Treatment is mostly supportive care: keeping the dog comfortable, eating and hydrated while its immune system clears the virus. Your vet chooses any medicines. Antibiotics don't work against the flu virus itself; vets use them when a secondary bacterial infection sets in. Dogs with pneumonia may need hospital care, including IV fluids.

The Dog Flu Vaccine and Holiday Boarding

The flu vaccine is a lifestyle (noncore) vaccine, so not every dog needs it. AAHA's guidelines don't recommend it for all dogs, but say vets should weigh it for dogs that board, go to daycare, dog parks, shows or agility events, and dogs that travel. They favor the bivalent vaccine that covers both H3N2 and H3N8. A vaccine for one strain may not protect against the other.

What owners need to know for planning:

• It takes two shots. In AAHA's vaccine table, the second dose is given 2 to 4 weeks after the first. After that comes one dose within a year, then yearly boosters.
• Plan ahead of boarding. If your dog is boarding over Thanksgiving or Christmas and has never had the flu vaccine, talk to your vet several weeks ahead, and ask your vet when your dog is protected.
• Ask the facility. Many boarding kennels and daycares set their own vaccine rules and deadlines. Ask which vaccines they require and how far ahead.
• Flu isn't the only cough. Bordetella vaccines protect against one of the main causes of kennel cough, and boarding places often ask for them too.

Before-boarding checklist:

1. Call your vet a few weeks out: flu vaccine, Bordetella and core vaccines up to date?
2. Ask the kennel or daycare what it requires, and by when.
3. Don't board a dog that is coughing or under the weather. Tell the facility.
4. After pickup, watch for coughing, discharge, fever or low appetite for at least a week, and call your vet if they show up.

Planning a trip with your dog instead? Our holiday pet safety guide covers the rest of the season's hazards.

If Your Dog Gets Sick: Keep Them Apart

A coughing dog should stay home from daycare, boarding, grooming, parks and play dates, and away from other dogs and cats. Cornell's Baker Institute says a voluntary break of 5 to 7 days stops the spread of most canine respiratory infections, but dogs with confirmed H3N2 flu should be kept away from other dogs for 21 days. Your vet will tell you when your dog can go back.

At home, the CDC advises cleaning and disinfecting bowls, toys, bedding and surfaces, and washing your hands and changing clothes after handling a coughing dog, especially before you touch another dog.

Sources

• Merck Veterinary Manual: Canine Influenza (Flu)
• CDC: About Dog Flu
• CDC: Bird Flu in Pets and Other Animals
• Cornell Baker Institute for Animal Health: Canine Influenza fact sheet
• Cornell Baker Institute for Animal Health: H5N1 Avian Influenza (bird flu)
• American Animal Hospital Association: 2022 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines
• CIDRAP, University of Minnesota: Canada reports H5N1 avian flu in pet dog

This article is for general information and is not a substitute for advice from your veterinarian.