If you thought vaccine debates and Covid-style restrictions were just for people, think again. Welcome to the era of social distancing for dogs.

With canine influenza outbreaks in Texas, California, Pennsylvania, several other states, and Washington, D.C., veterinarians are warning people to vaccinate their dogs for canine flu and to avoid dog parks, doggie daycares, and grooming in areas of high transmission.

Canine influenza symptoms include coughing, sneezing, fever, trouble breathing, lethargy, and eye and nose discharge. The mortality rate is low, but the virus is highly contagious, with “virtually all dogs exposed to canine influenza virus becoming infected,” according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

There are no reported cases of human infection with canine influenza, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the threat to humans “low.”   

“I wouldn’t say they should be in panic,” the medical director at the Veterinarian Emergency Group in Georgetown, Nastassia Germain, tells the Sun. Yet she advises “skipping the daycare, boarding, grooming, and dog parks as much as possible,” because of the “noticeable rise in canine influenza and respiratory cases.”

Both humans and dogs are being hit hard with the flu this season. Ms. Germain says her Washington, D.C., veterinary hospital saw between 60 and 100 canine influenza cases in December alone, and that new cases are coming in every day. As with increases in human flu cases, she attributes the influx to people traveling and socializing with their pets more after two years of Covid-related isolation.

Dog flu is spread through respiratory droplets and aerosols and can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours. Because dogs like to lick and sniff everything, the virus is easily transmitted in group settings. Good luck teaching a dog the 6-foot rule.

Animal shelters in Texas have reported mass outbreaks, with one Dallas shelter offering $150 Amazon gift cards to anyone willing to foster a large dog exposed to the virus, so they can empty the shelter and stop the spread. In Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, the Office of Animal Services issued a warning to dog owners to “limit direct contact with other dogs” and talk to their veterinarians about vaccination.

“It’s a possibility to get it anywhere, just like with Covid,” the medical director at West Village Veterinary Hospital and three other clinics in downtown Manhattan, Timnah Lee, tells the Sun. Yet she says her hospitals haven’t seen any cases this season and “we’re not freaking out and sending everyone emails to come in and get vaccinated at this moment.”

There are two strains of dog flu, and both are relatively new — most dogs in America have not been exposed to them. The first, H3N8, originated in horses and was first detected in racing greyhounds in Florida in 2004. The second strain, which is causing the most recent outbreaks, is H3N2, and is thought to have originated in birds in Asia. The first American outbreak of H3N2 occurred in Chicago in 2015.

To date, cases of one or both strains have been reported in 46 states, according to DogFlu.com, a site that tracks cases but is also run by the manufacturer of the canine influenza vaccine. Like the human flu and Covid shots, the canine flu vaccine does not fully protect dogs from getting infected, and a booster is required yearly.

“If you’re in an area where it’s endemic or there’s a massive outbreak, make sure your pet is vaccinated,” Ms. Lee says. She adds that many of her patients are already vaccinated, since doggie daycares in New York usually mandate it. If she starts seeing cases in her practice, she will send an alert to clients.

Canine influenza can take up to three weeks to clear and isolation during that time is recommended. Deaths from canine flu are usually caused by secondary infections like pneumonia.

Despite the warnings, canine influenza is not a hot topic at the Tompkins Square Park dog run in downtown Manhattan, according to pet owners who spoke with the Sun. At a dog run in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, most people hadn’t even heard of canine influenza. A couple people rolled their eyes when social distancing was mentioned.

Ms. Germain says common sense should prevail when assessing risk for a pet. When asked if masks for dogs were on the horizon, she laughed. “We have little bouffant caps that will cover [the face] for walking them through the hospital,” she says, “but dogs usually don’t like having things on their face for too long without the risk of them eating it.”