Kennel Cough

[Guest guvnah]

Hey Everybody!

 

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I just had a few questions for those of you with knowledge/experience on Bordatella. Cash received the nasal vaccination late October and has been boarded three times since then. A day visit, one overnight visit and a two night visit. The two night visit was just last week for Christmas and this morning at 4am, he woke me up with hacking/huffing/and a little dry gagging.

 

I called the vet at 4:45 just to make sure that we weren't dealing with torsion, etc. but his only symptom is the cough and she phone diagnosed him with either a throat irritation or Bordatella.

 

It seems to be a little better today (he's a pretty healthy boy and a trooper!) so I'm wondering if I still should get him checked out tomorrow during regular vet hours...or if Kennel Cough passes this quickly. I've had absolutely NO experience with it but don't want to wait if tonight's going to be just as bad.

 

Thanks for any info and Cash and I wish everyone a happy New Year!

[tbhounds]

Vet visit in order! Kennel cough can and is usually treated with antibiotics (Doxy). Be careful as the canine flu is out there and the symptoms are the same in the beginning and you definitely need to treat that with ab's. Also both are very contagious--don't have your boy around others until your vet claims it's okay.

Oh, I wanted to add that just because your dog had the vaccine doesn't mean that he couldn't contract the disease. --kennel cough that is.

[MandysMom]

Mandy recently was diagnosed with Bordatella (even though she had a current vaccination). Our vet put her on Doxy and gave me a cough suppressant. She had started coughing/gagging suddenly on a Thursday evening (10 days after she had been kept at the vet for the day for a dental), I took her in on Friday AM, she coughed several more times on that Friday, and then only once five days later.

 

You really should go in to the vet--ours was concerned that Mandy might develop pneumonia as a secondary issue, thankfully she has been okay.

 

Sending good thoughts for Cash!

[Batmom]

In a healthy adult dog, kennel cough is usually a non-issue. Annoying but not serious. If you have only a day or two of occasional coughing, dog either doesn't have kennel cough or the vaccine did its job and prevented a full-blown case. Kennel cough proper usually lasts 7-10 days and you'll get a bout of coughing any time the dog moves.

[Guest guvnah]

Thanks for the input. I was very over protective of my last grey and started feeling like a doggy-mommy-hypochondriac so I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't over-reacting.

 

I'll get him to the vet tomorrow. It's so sad to see him just lying around feelin' under the weather, he's usually so playful (although he did bring his stuffies out for about 30 minutes earlier...) Can't keep this pupper down for long!

[ahicks51]

If you have no other dogs and the symptoms seem to be subsiding in an otherwise healthy, young dog, he should be just fine.

 

If you do take him anywhere, as a courtesy you should be careful to keep him away from other dogs, of course. I forget for how many days after they've last shown symptoms that they're still infectious, too.

[Batmom]

Yeah, if your vet has a waiting room, be sure you call before you go in and let them know what you're bringing him in for. They should show you directly back to a treatment room rather than having you hang out amongst other pets.

[Burpdog]

Yes to what Batmom said.

 

Untreated, some kennel cough can turn into very bad respiratory issues that require antibiotics.

 

Sending prayers!

[Guest KennelMom]

In a healthy adult dog, kennel cough is usually a non-issue. Annoying but not serious. If you have only a day or two of occasional coughing, dog either doesn't have kennel cough or the vaccine did its job and prevented a full-blown case. Kennel cough proper usually lasts 7-10 days and you'll get a bout of coughing any time the dog moves.

 

Yep. It'll run it's course. In a healthy, adult dog wouldn't do a vet visit unless symptoms persist or worsen. For seniors, immuno-suppressed or very young dogs, I'd probably want the vet to be monitoring because of the risk of respiratory infections.

 

It went through our pack several years ago...annoying, but not the end of the world. Our vet gave us a cough suppressant to give as needed.

[Hubcitypam]

In a healthy adult dog, kennel cough is usually a non-issue. Annoying but not serious. If you have only a day or two of occasional coughing, dog either doesn't have kennel cough or the vaccine did its job and prevented a full-blown case. Kennel cough proper usually lasts 7-10 days and you'll get a bout of coughing any time the dog moves.

 

Yep. It'll run it's course. In a healthy, adult dog wouldn't do a vet visit unless symptoms persist or worsen. For seniors, immuno-suppressed or very young dogs, I'd probably want the vet to be monitoring because of the risk of respiratory infections.

 

It went through our pack several years ago...annoying, but not the end of the world. Our vet gave us a cough suppressant to give as needed.

It should run its course. You can use Robitussin DM at night if you both need some sleep but it is better to let them yak during the day.

 

The vaccine is a crapshot at best and is nowhere near 100% effective, plus add on the stress of boarding and it is not uncommon during busy times like Christmas and Spring Break.

 

[Burpdog]

Without seeing the dog, it's impossible for us to determine whether or not he needs antibtioctics for a secondary infection. Good thing you are taking him to the vet!

 

edited to add: even if we did see the dog, without listening to his/her chest, we wouldn't know. The dog that I had was in severe distress (and if I remember right, had been seen by a vet several weeks earlier). It's nothing to mess around with.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Burpdog

[HJsM]

Please see the vet. You may need antibiotics. Raisin Bran got this several years ago and it knocked her completely on her a**. You do NOT want to mess around with it. She was never able to gain back the weight she lost either . Bad, bad stuff. Go to the vet.