Kennel cough

What is the incubation period for kennel cough? How long before other dogs in your house would start to show signs? What is the antibiotic that dogs are typically put on when they are diagnosed with kennel cough? Lots of questions and I'm not sure Madison has Kennel cough - hopefully just a bad throat irritation from something she swallowed. The vet here (we are on vacation) put her on a Sucralfate slurry and Simplicef antibiotic. He said her cough sounded like kennel cough, but it came on immediately without any buildup and she was vomiting bloody mucus. An x-ray showed no foreign body obstruction. Three days later, she is still coughing, although 75% less (he said it might take a day or two for the irritation to go away) and she just doesn't seem quite herself. Does this sound like kennel cough to any of you with experience of it? None of my other dogs are showing any signs of it. None of them have been vaccinated for it either. The last time they spent a lot of time around other dogs was July 25-29.

Kennel cough is highly contagious - so is very easily spread, even on clothing, you wouldn't necessarily need to have contact with an affected dog. The incubation period is a week.

It sounds like yours sadly have a very virulent form - it's similar to a human cold, some forms are quite mild and others far worse. Unusual for the others not to have anything at all - perhaps it's a strain they have met before and are therefore immune to it?

Usually a badly affected dog will need a week's antibiotics, generally the vet advises some kind of children's cough linctus to soothe the throat and ease the cough too. I don't recognise Sucralfate slurry? is that something similar?


Most dogs come through kennel cough with no problem - it tends to be very young or elderly dogs, or those with other health problems who are worst affected. The vaccine only protects against a few strains, and then only for a limited period, so in most situations, it's not that helpful I'm afraid.

If Madison is not getting any better, I think I would be speaking to the vet again - he should be pretty sure of a diagnosis of Kennel Cough.