KENNEL COUGH IN DOGSYou won’t often find a kennel business talking about kennel cough in dogs. You’ll see a requirement or suggestion for having your dog inoculated with the Bordetella vaccine, but otherwise not much else.Because of our dedication in keeping our facilities as healthy an environment for your dog as possible we thought some topics, such as this one should be discussed. WHAT IS KENNEL COUGH?Kennel cough in dogs is similar in a way to a chest cold in humans. And unless there are other complicated issues present, the seriousness of the disease is about the same. One thing is for sure, it’s highly contagious in dogs.It’s an upper respiratory problem, which affects dogs around the world. It can easily be picked up anywhere. If your dog comes into contact with another dog’s cough droplets or spray, your dog will likely get the infection. There are different types of upper respiratory infections all bundled under the term kennel cough but the most common one is the Bordetella bronchiseptica. The kennel cough symptoms usually show up 2 days to 2 weeks after being exposed. And unless there are other complicating factors involved, usually last for about 10 days. After the symptoms clear up the dog is still very infectious. He can continue to pass on this problem to other dogs for another 6 to 14 weeks!!! SYMPTOMS OF KENNEL COUGHAn infected dog will produce a really dry hacking cough and usually they’ll retch too. The coughing is frequent. It sounds like something is stuck in the dog’s throat. Sometimes there’s a watery discharge in the nose too.A dog with a mild case will continue to eat and be his normal self. You should be concerned if your dog’s symptoms worsen. If your dog is lethargic, feverish and loses his appetite he’ll need veterinary care. Left untreated in this case the dog could develop pneumonia or even die. VACCINATION AND PREVENTIONOf course the only way to prevent your dog from ever getting kennel cough or other infectious diseases is to not expose him or her to other dogs at all, anywhere. Actually, keeping puppies away from other dogs is generally a good practice while their immune systems develop.Most likely your dog will be exposed to other dogs over their lifetime and that can’t be helped. Would you really want to keep your dog from ever playing with another dog? And having your dog boarded in a kennel will definitely expose your dog to other dogs. That's just a fact. Preventing kennel cough in dogs is not 100% possible. However, vaccines do reduce the severity of the disease. That’s why we require you have your dog vaccinated. The Bordetella vaccine comes in an injectable form and one that is squirted quickly in the dogs nostrils… have your camera ready, they make funny faces after getting that up their noses! It's recommended that the vaccine be administered every 6 months. Of course we’re not veterinarians and so you really should consult your practitioner for more on the subject of kennel cough in dogs.
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