Dog Colds Are Not Contagious To Humans

Zoonotic diseases can be spread between animals and people. You can’t catch a cold from your dog, any more than your dog can pick up a human strain of a cold virus from you. However, dog colds and influenza are highly contagious between dogs, which means we have to be careful not to help transmit the germs.

Colds spread through saliva and aerosol droplets. If you’ve been in contact with a sick dog, you could bring those germs home to your own pups on your hands or clothing. Letting your dog drink out of an infected dog’s water bowl or play with infected toys also increases the risk of contagion. While colds are rarely life-threatening, they can pose risks for very young and very old dogs as they can in humans, as well as canines with suppressed immune systems.