Tracheobronchitis (Kennel Cough)

Cascade Hospital for Animals Medical Recommendation against Tracheobronchitis (Kennel Cough)

June 11, 2011 - Five years ago, we began advocating that we see your healthy dog every six months to offer the highest quality of preventative medicine for your pet(s). This recommendation, adapted from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA), was due in large part to the fact that your dog ages 6 to 8 times faster than you do. If a problem or condition starts we want to diagnose and treat it in a proactive vs. reactive method.

At the same time we started to require a bordetella vaccine (to aid in preventing Tracheobronchitis, every six months for our boarding pets. Over the past five years we have seen the number of Tracheobronchitis cases cut by nearly 40%, due in large part to us implementing this policy.

We are introducing a new vaccine for Tracheobronchitis; it will help us provide an option for you to offer quality medicine at a more economical price. The new vaccine Intra-Trac 3, aids in the prevention of three diseases associated with Tracheobronchitis (Bordetella, Parinfluenza and Adenovirus). Studies have shown Intra-Trac 3 to offer better protection against Tracheobronchitis for up to one year.

We strongly recommend continuing to follow our every six month policy if your dog’s lifestyle places it in the “high-risk”* category as it provides maximum protection. To offer peace of mind and to support our recommendation that you continue to have your pet see us every six months, we are offering The Canine Tracheobronchitis Assurance Program. Information on this is located on the reverse side of this letter. However with the current economic conditions we realize that some cannot continue to follow our highest level of medical recommendations. In that case, we feel the new vaccine will offer better protection even if it has to be administered only once a year.

Cascade Hospital for Animals is happy to offer our clients these options thanks in large part to the introduction of Intra-Trac 3, the new Tracheobronchitis, vaccine. We hope that many of you will continue to follow our medical recommendation of having your pet receive a comprehensive physical exam twice a year, but we also want to offer an alternative consistent with the quality of medicine in which we pride ourselves.

If you have any other comments or questions, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.

Sincerely,

Dr. Steven J. McBride

Medical Director

Cascade Hospital for Animals

*“high-risk” of exposure is defined as your dog being groomed, boarded, attending daycare or visiting dog parks