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Required Vaccines before Boarding 

Required for Overnight Boarding

  • Bordetella (kennel cough) required yearly

  • Rabies (either 1 or 3 year vaccine accepted)

  • DHLPP (either 1 or 3 year vaccine accepted)

  • Canine Flu (both H3N2 and H3N8 vaccines)

See below for additional requirements for dogs Visiting or Breeding / coming to train etc:

Puppies

If your dog is still a young puppy, please note that we cannot accept puppies until they are fully vaccinated for one year for all of the vaccines listed above, with no boosters left to receive. Typically, the soonest that these vaccines can all be completed is by 16 weeks of age. While your puppy may be cleared by your vet for contact with other dogs and to be in public spaces safely after a certain number of booster shots, your puppy must meet these requirements before boarding.

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Distemper

Distemper may appear on your records as just that, or in a combo shot such as DHPP or DHLPP. These shots cover canine distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis, parainfluenza, and parvovirus.

Bordetella

There are three ways of administering the Bordetella vaccine: intranasal (in the nose), intravenous (by shot), and orally (in the mouth). We prefer the oral form of the vaccine. If your dog will arrive sooner than 10 days after receiving the vaccine, we strongly request your dog receive only the oral or intravenous form of the vaccine and not the intranasal form.

Canine Flu

There are two different strains of canine flu and we require vaccination coverage for both strains. Important things to note are:

  • Some veterinarians offer one vaccine that covers both strains while other vets administer a different vaccine for each strain.

  • Full vaccination requires an initial shot with a booster following soon thereafter. We cannot accept you dog until they have had both the initial shot and the booster.

  • A fully vaccinated dog can still become infected by canine flu.

Canine flu is a relatively new, highly contagious, respiratory disease in dogs that started in the East Coast and is moving west. Many cases have been reported in the San Francisco area and two cases have been confirmed this year in Washington State. Infected dogs may have typical ‘flu’ symptoms such as fever, cough, sneezing, nasal discharge, lethargy, and loss of appetite. Most dogs recover in two or three weeks, but more severe and even fatal cases have occurred. Dogs have no natural immunity. Canine flu symptoms are similar but more severe than kennel cough which has been around for a long time. For more information, see this info page from the CDC.

Vaccine Effectiveness

The canine flu and the Bordetella (kennel cough) vaccines may reduce the severity of the illnesses and may reduce but will not eliminate the possibility of a dog catching either canine flu or kennel cough. With both illnesses, dogs are contagious for two or three days before showing any symptoms so detection of contagious dogs prior to arrival cannot be assured.

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