What is Kennel Cough and is my dog at risk?
October 30, 2009 by admin
Filed under Dog Kennel Questions
I was over my friends house today playing with him and running around in his back yard with him and his dog. Later when i got home, my mom got a call from my friends dad saying that my friends dog has kennel cough. Should i be concerned and what can happen to dogs from kennel cough?
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Kennel cough is basically bronchitis for dogs. If it goes untreated it can get bad but usually you hear about it because it’s so contagious. A dog that catches it should be taken to the vet for medicine and kept away from other dogs for about a week. If you have a dog and don’t want it to catch kennel cough then you need to wash your clothes and skin wherever the infected dog came into contact with.
Yes, you should be concerned. However, it’s not an emergency situation by any means. You may wish to consider vaccination, and if you want to board your dog, it’s required.
Read more here:
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/kennel_cough.html
Kennel cough is a generic name for a syndrome of illnesses in the bordetella category. It is a contagious traceo bronchitis. It is very contagious and can lead to pneumonia. Although it is a virus some vets will treat with cough medications and prophylactic antibiotics. For the most part the illness is self limiting but since it can lead to pneumonia it should be addressed by a vet. The coughing can become so severe the pet and you can’t get enough rest. Occasionally pets will cough so hard they will vomit kind of like a child with croup. Call your vet and see if he thinks you should come in or just watch for symptoms. The incubation period can be from 3 to 7 days. Don’t take your dog back over to your friends house until his dog has recovered and you are sure your dog is not coming down with the same thing or they could just keep passing it back and fourth. It can be really pesky. Once this is resolved you may want to have your pet vaccinated against the disease.
‘Kennel Cough’ is the term that was commonly applied to the most prevalent upper respiratory problem in dogs in the United States. It is highly contagious. Chances are that if your dog is regularly vaccinated with a standard 5-way or 7-way vaccine, he is already being protected against several of the agents causing tracheobronchitis, mainly parainfluenza and adenovirus. However, these vaccines alone rarely provide protection against contracting the disease, although they will help reduce the severity of the disease if the animal becomes infected.
It’s a term used to describe a respiratory infection in dogs. The cause can be several types of bacteria or viruses. There is a vaccine that protects against the more common causes, but it is still possible for a dog to become sick despite being vaccinated. KC is highly contagious.
You’ll receive mixed answers on what to do if you suspect KC. Some will say “wait it out” as it usually does run its course in about 2 weeks. Others will say “go to the vet,” where they usually prescribe a round of antibiotics to protect against secondary infections.
I’m of the belief that you should take the latter advice. I adopted a dog that had picked up KC from the shelter. I took the wait it out advice, and his progressed into pnuemonia (which can happen and is the worst case scenario dealing with KC.) If that is left untreated, the dog can die.