A Purdue expert says the strain of dog flu seen in Indiana in recent days isn’t as severe as in some other states.
Steve Thompson is the director of the university’s Pet Wellness Clinic.
He says he virus has swept Chicago in recent weeks, sickening more than 1,000 dogs and killing five since January.
Thompson says several dogs in Tippecanoe County tested positive for the illness last week, so local pet owners should be on alert for symptoms.
"So it's cough, fever. The higher the fever gets the more likely they are not to eat. With people we take Tylenol or Advil, but those are toxic for dogs so we don't want people giving flu remedies."
He says sick dogs should be taken to the vet to get proper medication and should be quarantined as much as possible to avoid infecting other dogs.
Thompson says the disease spreads the same way as human strains of the flu, via bodily fluids.
He says a vaccine could lessen the impact of the disease and advises owners to vaccinate their dogs, especially if they spend a lot of time around other dogs, if the animal is very old or young, or if it has a weak immune system.