HDM-
While I agree that Bordetella often does not work, its because it only protects for 6 or 8 strains out of a myriad of strains out there-which of course is unfortunate, but no different than the flu vaccine that people get. As for “being dangerous” I have never seen an ill reaction to it, except for one or two that have gotten a transient reaction(slight cough for a day or two) and honestly, those seem to be the ones that have gotten kennel cough when it goes around, despite being vaccinated. In our general location, some places are starting to require the Influenza vaccine as well in order to board or go to daycare.
It is unfortunate for many that groomers and kennels require the vaccine, but its about disease control and attempting to stop the spread of it in a daycare type setting-doesn’t always work, but the majority of vaccinated dogs will not come down with KC or will get a mild case. In the very young, and old KC can be rather serious and life threatening as it can rapidly progress into pneumonia. While most will not(especially those with owners who are aware and get them to the vet quickly) its not accurate to say its not life threatening-it certainly has the potential to be so.
