# My vet said



## Evelyn (Oct 14, 2012)

I took my pug to vets yesterday, yearly visit, I asked if dogs could catch the flu from humans, she said "'yes". I am 60+ have had dogs all my life, grew up with them and never knew that. Now I am so nervous, especially with Ike being a puppy and so small.


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Somebody asked about this a while back,if you google it it says they can't ,i have never heard of a dog/puppy getting flu otherwise the vets would be full of people with dogs with flu at the moment.Very strange


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

Yea, I believe they can catch of a lot of what we catch. Many will dispute this, but for safety sake, whenever I'm sick, I try my best not to get close to my chi.


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## Evelyn (Oct 14, 2012)

michele said:


> Somebody asked about this a while back,if you google it it says they can't ,i have never heard of a dog/puppy getting flu otherwise the vets would be full of people with dogs with flu at the moment.Very strange


Well then you might want to see this and I found other on the web also saying the same thing. Plus I trust my Vet. 

Flu Infections in Pets More Common Than Thought | MyHealthNewsDaily.com


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## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

I had a vet tell me that like 20 years ago..I am always careful when sick around my pets...I believe it could happen... I had a sick cat the vet asked if we had been sick....and we all had the flu b4 the cat got sick...


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

I've also heard that dogs and cats can catch SOME of our illnesses, but not all.


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Evelyn said:


> Well then you might want to see this and I found other on the web also saying the same thing. Plus I trust my Vet.
> 
> Flu Infections in Pets More Common Than Thought | MyHealthNewsDaily.com


Yes ok !!!!!


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## KittyD (Apr 2, 2010)

So what's next? the flu shot for cats?


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## prettylola (Nov 13, 2012)

I think that they can catch certain things that we have. Maybe not as bad as we get it but they get colds just like we do.


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## guccigrande (Apr 17, 2011)

huh... thats interesting I really didn't think that you would be able to catch anything from them or vice versa
Mind you, I don't know if this is a coincidence but when my 3 got the kennel cough (even after having the shots, apparently it was a different strain of the virus) my husband and I both hand a horrible viral chest infection and fever that lasted for ages (the cough didn't go away for a month or so)


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Our cat had a 'cold' (or upper respiratory infection), but I doubt it was the flu. Upper respiratory infections are definitely contagious to other cats though, and there's not much you can do to help them. Sometimes a virus will spread throughout a shelter and they will have to be on lock down until it clears. 

I wouldn't be surprised if they found that some viruses mutate and can infect our pets though. Here's an article on how some exotic animals may have been involved in the chain of transmission of SARS. It says that it's unlikely that it jumped straight from an animal to a human, yet they don't really know that. 

"Additional tests confirmed the close similarity of the virus found in the animals and that found in humans, said Stöhr, during a WHO telephone press briefing to discuss the "exciting" results.

He said that blood serum from the infected animals successfully inhibited the growth of human SARS coronavirus in the laboratory. Blood serum from humans with SARS also inhibited the animal virus in the lab, "another strong indication these viruses are very, very closely related," says Stöhr."


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Ferrets are used as a vector for studying the flu in humans. They are very important in research when developing flu vaccine. Many many ferrets catch the flu from people and die from it.

Dogs can carry strep. They often don't show signs of it. But they can lick their owners and pass it on. You know those families that seem to have multiple cases of strep every year? They need to culture the throat of the family dog. Most likely he is the carrier. (Another reason we never allow doggy kisses to the face/mouth).


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## Moonfall (Nov 16, 2012)

I don't know about dogs but ferrets can definitely get sick from us. They are used to develop the flu vaccines in labs.

I'd think that dogs can too depending what the illness it is. People can sometimes get a strain of kennel cough and so can ferts.


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## rubia (Jul 3, 2008)

Certain illnesses can be passed from humana to animal and from animal to human. The same virus or bacteria maynot make one species or the other "sick". I know of a case where a family dog was carrying strep and the kids kept getting strep throat. Some strains of flu are variant of anmimal diseases. Many things that bother us will not affect the dogs. If you take regular precaustions--wash hands and touched surfaces, keep the floors clean, etc. -your pup should be good


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## rubia (Jul 3, 2008)

Brodysmom said:


> Ferrets are used as a vector for studying the flu in humans. They are very important in research when developing flu vaccine. Many many ferrets catch the flu from people and die from it.
> 
> Dogs can carry strep. They often don't show signs of it. But they can lick their owners and pass it on. You know those families that seem to have multiple cases of strep every year? They need to culture the throat of the family dog. Most likely he is the carrier. (Another reason we never allow doggy kisses to the face/mouth).


Just saw your post Tracy....of course you knew this !! I know of a pedaitrician who cultured a dog .


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