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Kennel Cough

LizzieM

Active member
My poor we pooch has Kennel Cough. Don't know where she got it from, but she is now on abx. The vet wants us to get her vaccinated, but i'm not sure - read and heard conflicting advice. Some say if they've had it once, they're unlikely to get it again (same principle as humans with whooping cough). Others say the vaccine isn't very effective.

She is not unwell with it at all, just making an odd noise from time to time. What are the thoughts on here??

Liz
 
My house has been plagued with KC many times, it really is a pain in the bum to get rid of and the poor dog is coughing for ages after it. If your dog isn't too bad in itself then you caught it in time (before it travels the whole way into the lungs). If they have a bad dose of it or if left untreated for a while it can scar their lungs and some dogs get very sick with it - it can take weeks until they are back to their normal self. Unfortunately it is not like whooping cough or chicken pox - they can get it over and over again - there are many strains and they can pick up different ones each time (more akin to the flu).

The vax covers some of the strains (very like the flu) but it can still be caught by a vaxed dog. I get all mine vaxed for it and I always recommend to people who ask to do the same. As far as I am concerned, it is better to give them some immunity than none at all (esp if they are in contact with other dogs a good bit).

KC is very contagious, it's airborne and clings to everything the dog comes into contact with (but the most common way of catching it is by being in direct contact with an infected dog or anything they cough up) so be sure to clean anything the dog has been contacting (beds etc) to prevent it hanging around the place.
 
We got kennel cough here once-- while I had newborn pups. Two adult had it, they coughed a few times a day for about a week, newborns never got it. None of my dogs have ever been vaccinated for it. This episode was over 4 years ago.
I do minimal vaccinations, minimal heartworm treatments and no flea treatments. My vet and I rarely see each other, tho I am going today. One of my dogs is acting like she has an impacted anal gland. Lucky him-lol
 
KC

If a dog with the infection has come into contact with a bed (and coughed around it) the bugs will then be on the bed. They don't last too long outside of a body but it is better to wash the bed and be sure to get rid of them (either on a very hot wash or with some disinfectant in the wash). The dog in question will not reinfect itself from the bed because they have built up immunity to the strain of KC that they had, but other dogs could potentially pick it up from the bed.
 
If a dog with the infection has come into contact with a bed (and coughed around it) the bugs will then be on the bed. They don't last too long outside of a body but it is better to wash the bed and be sure to get rid of them (either on a very hot wash or with some disinfectant in the wash). The dog in question will not reinfect itself from the bed because they have built up immunity to the strain of KC that they had, but other dogs could potentially pick it up from the bed.

It totally depends on what caused the uri. (tracheobronchitis, canine infectious tracheobronchitis, Bordetellosis, or Bordetella are all diseases that are considered kennel cough)
Our newborns never caught it.
 
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