Kennel Cough?

Question

We have a 9-month-old puppy and we think he has Kennel Cough. We are not completely sure how he may have come in contact with it but he fits all the symptoms. The list of symptoms he has shown (yesterday and today) are: constant sneezing, coughing, gagging, retching (trying to vomit) and a small amount of foam expelled after coughing. These seem to come in spells that only last a few seconds (except for the sneezing which is through out the day). Once the spell is over he goes back to normal activity. He is still eating, drinking and playing as usual. He does seem to be sleeping more then he normally does though.
We are going to call our vet in the morning and see what their opinion is but we are wondering what the treatment will be.
So, if anyone has ever had a puppy or adult dog that was diagnosed with Kennel Cough, could you please detail what the treatment was? I am just curious what he will be in for when we visit the vet's office.
Thanks in advance.
-Brit

Answer 1

Yup,...sounds like Bordetella(Kennel cough).
The good news is that its very very common and easily treated. Your puppy is not too young to be treated with standard antibiotics and old enough to have a mature enough immune system to recover from it.
The Vet will take the dog's temperature and ask after his eating/drinking/peeing/pooing/playin habits. If he suspects something more serious, he will ask if you've seen any blood in his stools. He will check to see if the dog is dehydrated You can do this by pulling the skin at the scruff of his neck and making sure it falls back into place quickly. If it doesn't fall back into place, then the dog is likely dehydrated. Also the dog's gums should be nice and pink. Being hydrated is important as its harder for the body to function and/or recover if its not hydrated.
Assuming the dog is hydrated, they will likely give him a antibiotic shot and some antibiotic capsules to take home and give him twice a day for 10-14 days depending on the severity of the infection. That antibiotic will likely be 500mg of Cephelexin which is standard treatment for Upper Respiratory Infections such as Bordetella.
If the dog is lethargic, it may be an indication of dehydration
brought on by the infection. Re-hydrating the dog usual consists of Sub-Q fluids injected under the dog's skin at the back of the neck through a needle/tube and IV sac of fluid.
Its something that needs to happen at the vets office and not something you can do at home as a amateur.
The quicker you arrest the infection, the faster the recovery time. Your pup sounds like he's just going to need a shot and the regimen of meds at home. You'll be surprised how quickly he bounces back once he gets the antibiotics especially at this young age. Keep him at less than his regular activity level while he recovers and away from other dogs.
Bordetella vaccinations occur several times in the first year of the dog's life to be effective. Your dog will need these and it will not work to treat the dog with a vaccination for an active infection. Kennel cough is the most common of URI's in canines and can be found at shelters/kennels and communal dog watering spots at parks. He may have got it from exposure to another dog or just sniffing about at a park where other dogs have eliminated at.

Good luck at the vet's tomorrow. With the antibiotics, you should see a turnaround in 24-48 hrs...:)

Answer 2

Hi. Kennel Cough is without doubt a likelihood, however those signs can observe to a large sort of respiration ailments. He will have to be noticeable via a vet. asap. Do no longer wait till your appointment in nine days. Vets don't do ellective surgical procedure on unwell animals. FYI to all of the readers available in the market. Kennel Cough can also be without difficulty vaccinated for as a dog, and will have to be performed on a annually groundwork. Many breeders, and puppy homeowners don't do that, and that is an handy repair to avert a long run hindrance. For the ones of you who feel your puppy can not get this, feel once more. Any puppy in a public subject or round different puppies can get Kennel Cough.

Answer 3

Working in an animal shelter it's something I see very often even when we give the IT,internasal bordetella(kennel cough) vaccine.We usually do nothing but, isolate the dog/puppy in dog iso and give supportive care.It is contagious to other dogs.
Many vets will give an antibiotic for secondary infections.
I also work in rescue and have a great deal of foster dogs come thru my home.I don't give my personal dogs bordatella vaccines and I've never had a case of it within my dogs,even when I've had hacking fosters,sometimes 2 and 3 at a time.I have given Robittusin to some that were really uncomfortable from the coughing.Other than that I always have fresh water for them,a warm bed,quality food and it's gone within a week.Mind you I don't have an ISO area either.

Answer 4

Yeah, sounds like kennel cough. If he isn't hacking a ton, it will run its course in a week or two. Kennel cough is a virus, so antibiotics will not cure it, only help with secondary infections. If the coughing/hacking gets really bad, you'll need to go to the vet for some meds to suppress the cough and reduce pain from coughing. My dog got it earlier this year(at the clinic I work for...we had a dog from out of the country infect a bunch of dogs with a strain that we don't vaccinate for in the US). She was really coughing/hacking, so the vet gave her a cortisone shot and some pain meds since her throat was getting inflamed and painful. She recovered without any problems though. Also, normally kennel cough(Bordatella) is only vaccinated for once a year, but if you board your dog or go a lot of places with your dog, you may want to booster it every 6 months(that is the practice at our clinic since we have a very large clinic and boarding kennel).

Answer 5

Kennel cough is real easy to treat. Antibiotis and possibly a cough tablet. Here's the deal - has you dog gotten it's vaccines yet? The Bordetella is the one for Kennel Cough and the first one needs to be through the nose. It's been proven to be the most effective for the 1st dose. The following ones after that can be through injection in the skin. But the first one should be through the nose. Don't let you dog around another dog until the cough goes away.

Answer 6

When I board my dog, they put something in his nose or mouth to avoid catching kennel cough...so they say.
He had kennel cough the day I took him home from the shelter. The attendants there, told me to just give it a couple of days and he would be fine. I waited a couple of days...He was fine. He caught it again when i boarded him last year at some cheesy kennel. Same routine. just wait a couple of days blah blah blah. However, my dog is 12yrs old.
His immune system maybe a lot stronger than a puppies. I would def call the vet and she was she says. However, if you could wait another day and see how your puppy is acting then do so.

Answer 7

Kennel cough is an upper respiratory infection in dogs that is highly infectious to other dogs, it is very similar to a cold in humans. Since its a virus, antibiotics wont help. I have always used childrens robitussin with great success in the past...its doesnt cure, but helps with the cough symptoms and will keep your pup comfortable. The kennel cough will run its course in 7-10 day, just like a cold in us humans. You can also get a bordatella shot to keep it from recurring if your pup is around alot of other dogs; i.e. goes to doggy play, dog parks, etc.

While your pup is coughing, be very careful around other dogs if you take your pup on walks, so that other dogs dont also get infected.

The pup coughing makes it sound worse than it really is...go to the pharmacy and get some childrens robitussin.

Good Luck!

Answer 8

I had a 2 month old shi tzu puppy with kennel cough that she came in contact at the pet store right before we bought her. the same night i noticed he making odd noises and she just looked sad, so i went online and the symptoms were just like you described, next day i took her to the vet and he did confirm kennel cough. since we still had insuarance from the pet store we brought her back to them for a week so they can cure her. she was put in an incubator and was inhaling anibiotics for 5 days, we then took her back home with drops ( antibiotics as well was called Zan.. smth ) and gave her that twice a day for 10 days. Right after that i took her back to our vet and she was cured. She did seem a whole lot better after the 5 days at the store though. Definitelly go to the vet.

Answer 9

Sounds definitely like kennel cough. My dogs got it after I fostered 2 pups for a few days. I called the vet. She wasn't to concerned and told me to call her back in a 3-4 days if they were still coughing. They weren't. So I would suggest give it a few days. Kennel cough isn't all that serious.'

Answer 10

Kennel cough is really contagious, so there's no telling where she may have gotten it. But the treatment is easy, the vet gives you a prescription for antibiotics and you give them to your dog for about 2 weeks. If you have other dogs, you might have to treat them, too.