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What are Treatments & Prevention of KENNEL COUGH in Dogs?
What should I do if my pup makes these unusual sounds, takes longer to recover from previous illnesses, and has a dry hacking cough or sudden sneezing?
Kennel Cough is highly contagious and spreads quickly among dogs. It’s also important to note that this disease can cause a life-threatening response in dogs, such as pneumonia and bronchitis.
What Is Kennel Cough?
Canine infectious trachea bronchitis (CANINE) is a highly contagious respiratory disease that affects dogs. While the disease is most common in kennel settings, it’s also contracted at pet parks, training groups, and show settings. Dogs are notorious for getting sick from things like ‘kennel cough’ and many other illnesses. It’s relatively easy to treat most dogs that get it, but unhealthy puppies.
- Canine herpes virus can spread quickly in group settings with dogs; the exposure can sometimes go unnoticed.
- This is based more on the history of the dog and its possible exposure to Kennel Cough.
- It is easily confused with a choking hack because it can quickly occur in a pat of coughing.
- The typical symptoms are decreased appetite and shortness of breath, with a cough sending them into fits during the day.
- Kennel cough typically lasts 7-14 days, and no treatment is necessary in most cases.
- A potentially life-threatening form of pneumonia is a rare complication
- This transmissible fungal skin infection can affect dogs with and without a kennel cough or even one that is vaccinated.
How Are Dogs Exposed to Kennel Cough?
Getting kennel cough means your dog has contracted a contagious respiratory ailment, quickly spread through the air or on surfaces. In crowded environments like dog parks, boarding facilities & grooming facilities, your dog is more likely to catch the illness from other dogs. Kennel cough is a condition that can affect dogs and other animals like kids. It spreads through common areas, especially living spaces. So if you breed pets or own more than one of them, it’s essential to keep your room clean and observe proper quarantine when they’re sick or immune-compromised.
Kennel cough is caused by stressful situations and poor air quality, making it hard for your dog to fight off the infection. Health conditions like crowding, stress, poor ventilation, and cold air will lower a dog’s protective mucous layer. It makes dogs more susceptible to getting sick while they are with you.
Kennel cough is contagious to dogs only. Even though there isn’t a chance for humans to be infected, please remember that you need to protect your dog by staying away from it in these days of possible outbreaks. Kennel cough is a highly contagious disease transmitted from dogs to humans. Keeping your dogs and the surfaces & objects in your home or workplace clean can prevent this cough from happening.
If your dog has kennel cough, it’s essential to keep him home until his symptoms subside, as it is highly contagious.
What is a List of Symptoms of Kennel Cough in dogs?
Common symptoms of Kennel Cough in dogs are sneezing, a mucous discharge from the nose and eyes, drooling or coughing. It can also cause difficulty breathing and diarrhea.
- A cough brings out that distinctive sound you can hear throughout the room. However, it’s quiet enough that you must worry about distracting your colleagues.
- Constant Runny Nose
- Sneezing
- Lethargy
- Loss of Appetite
- Low Fever
Contact your vet if your dog has extreme coughing symptoms because some coughs are signs of more severe illness.
Coughing can also be caused by other conditions, including canine distemper and canine influenza, which both start with nearly identical symptoms of kennel cough,” he said. Other causes of coughing include a collapsing trachea, bronchitis, asthma, or heart disease.
How Is Kennel Cough Treated?
Kennel cough typically clears up with a week or two of rest, but sometimes people get sicker or need antibiotics for secondary infections. For those cases, vets may recommend cough medicine to help ease the symptoms.
Neutralizers and vaporizers can help treat a variety of respiratory diseases. It’s vital to speak with your veterinarian when you have any concerns. There are many reasons why owning your pet would be beneficial, and one of them is using harnesses with dogs having kennel cough rather than using collars. It can prevent cough aggravation that could cause damage to the trachea.
If other dogs in your home are exhibiting similar symptoms, there may be some risk of exposure to them as well. That’s why it’s important you get the vet in and perform daily environmental monitoring.
Can Kennel Cough Be Prevented?
Kennel cough is a common infection of the upper respiratory system, which can contract from a variety of dogs, including those that attend doggie daycare or boarding facilities. The kennel cough vaccine offers relief in many ways, like preventing the infection from spreading to other dogs that might not have received a vaccine.
There are many different types of Swine Flu vaccines that various facilities need to carry. Facilities with a large number of children, like daycare centers or schools, need the vaccine. So do workplaces with high contact rates, like those in food service or where people may come into contact with the general public.
The dosage schedule typically lasts 2-4 weeks after each injection, followed by a booster shot every 6-12 months.
Vaccinating your dog against all of these viruses is vital, so they stay healthy and avoid catching any of the diseases and vaccinated.
If your pet is coughing, you should find a new vet. Depending on your dog’s breed, personality & health, this may be unsafe for them – it could even cause a dangerous infection. If you were planning on bringing your dog to a Kennel where there are large groups of animals, make sure you have their vet’s approval first!
See a Doctor if your Dog is Coughing
Like every other aspect of your pet’s health, a visit to a vet is crucial. With so many factors and areas that can cause a cough, it’s best to check your dog out as soon as possible if they have had contact with other canines or boarding services. You can learn more about conjunctiva & pharyngeal swabs by clicking below:
Sick dogs can still get kennel cough vaccinations, but this is only possible if the dog is not ill. When a dog has received the vaccine, make sure to bring along an up-to-date record of vaccinations and any related medical problems so that your dog won’t encounter any delays at the vet.
Most veterinarians know how to prevent bordetella bronchiseptica infection in animals. You can find vaccines for this type of infection in two different types: injectable and oral drops. Your veterinarian will tell you when it is safe to provide the vaccine.
It’s important to let your veterinarian notice if your dog starts coughing. Even if it isn’t Kennel Cough, it can be a sign that needs immediate medical attention, such as:
- Asthma
- Bronchitis
- Heart-worm disease
- Canine distemper
- Canine influenza
- Cardiac disease
- Pneumonia
Home Remedies for Kennel Cough in Dogs
Curing Kennel Cough is easy when you use suitable home remedies. Knowing what kind of remedies to reach for is essential, so you don’t cause more damage! The treatment requires staying at home for a couple of days and following specific steps for the best outcome. This treatment does not require lots of costly medicines or vet appointments. Kennel cough is a condition many dogs are susceptible to and treated at home. Here are some simple home remedies:
- Probiotics – Supplements & foods with high nutrition value are becoming more popular and provide the required nutrients to help your pet live a healthy life. They also manage harmful bacteria in your pet’s immune system and make him feel better. Dogs with food allergies might want to avoid raw, unpasteurized dairy and meat products. Preventative medicine is always crucial to alleviate potential health issues. Your veterinarian can recommend probiotics as a treatment option. In this drug case, wait for at least two hours after giving the antibiotic before providing the probiotic medicine to your dog. Antibiotics and probiotics have opposing effects on each other, so it is best to consult your vet before providing one or the other.
- Honey – Using a home remedy like lemon water lowered the number of days the dog was sick by 61%. Lemons are in pet foods, so it’s no surprise that using one to soothe your dog’s cough made for a significant side effect! Honey is an excellent remedy for dogs with kennel cough, so go ahead and feed it to your pup without worry – remember that he likes raw honey, not ones with preservatives or artificial flavours.
- Medical Remedies – Used with humans and dogs, but if your dog already has an active case of Kennel Cough, it’s not a good idea to use this product. Nature’s Way products like Sambucus and Umcka Cold Care may benefit them. Also, ensure that your dog has good taste. Your dog will love the taste and will heal quickly! One TSP of cough syrup three times a day is enough for most small dogs under a year old.
- Cinnamon is a good supplement for your dog to eat while recovering from kennel cough. Cinnamon can kill any flu in just one day. Cinnamon can also offer pain relief, especially if mixed with honey or some other natural sweetener.
- Coconut Oil – Coconut oil is gaining popularity because it has antiviral properties. Some of our favourite household remedies can help with kennel cough. Vinegar, coco oil, milk and baking soda have positively affected dogs’ health. Give them a try in case your pet has an acute reaction to the symptoms.
