# Kennel Cough problem during pandemic



## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Poor poodles! And poor you. It's hard to watch them gag like that.

Because my March respiratory illness is still so fresh in my memory, I can say that it doesn't get much more soothing than honey in warm water. I imagine anything that encourages them to keep their throat moist is a good thing. 

I'd also probably call my vet to ask about any signs to watch for, that would warrant a visit. Maybe they could also recommend a human cough syrup.

Hope you all get some sleep tonight.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Poor guys. Did they get vaccinated for kennel cough earlier in their lives? Pogo and Snarky were both vaccinated but were out of date. Both caught it from a dog that came in on a southern rescue transport. Pogo was fine within a day. Snarky, who had missed one of his boosters and wasn't as robust as Pogo, coughed for around five days. Neither one needed any special care. Of course they were active young spoos, not toys, and they might have been exposed to a different strain than what you are dealing with.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Sorry to hear this. I always have mine get the vaccine and still I've had them in the past end up with kennel cough due to it being a different strain. I at one time would take my dogs to a day camp for some playtime and it never failed that I would end up with a kennel cough situation. Personally I found going to the vet helped us as they were put on antibiotic and a cough med. Its been so long now that I don't remember what it was . I've read that raw honey and coconut oil also help soothe, and stress often is a factor in them catching it which is why so many end up with it after groomers. Presently I'm not using my groomer and I miss her but this home grooming is going well. Both Renn and I are less stressed out. Because of Covid they have you been in parking lot, switch out collars and leads then take your dog. Renn isn't thrilled to leave me and I fear he will balk and take off to get away from them. Busy area so I'm not taking chances. Well now I'm off track...sorry. I'd call the vet perhaps they will prescribe something or give you a indication when it becomes necessary to bring them in. My friends dog self treated and they ended up with pneumonia and it took ages to get the dog healthy again. Will keep them in my thoughts for a speedy recovery, takes sometimes 3-4 weeks.


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## For Want of Poodle (Feb 25, 2019)

Benadryl really helped Annie when she caught it (probably at the vet, despite being vaccinated!). The opiate pain killer the vet prescribed made her throw up PLUS hack up bloody tissue. 

Poor Sachii and Bella, kennel cough is AWFUL.


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

They slept quietly through the night, but as soon as we awakened, cough-cough-hack for several minutes when they began moving around. That was an hour ago and they're still doing it intermittently with a few snorts and sneezes thrown it. No fever, and Bella finally drank a lot of water. Sachii is more of his energetic self. Chicken soup with honey is on the menu for breakfast, following with a call to my vet.



Mufar42 said:


> I always have mine get the vaccine and still I've had them in the past end up with kennel cough due to it being a different strain. I at one time would take my dogs to a day camp for some playtime and it never failed that I would end up with a kennel cough situation.





PeggyTheParti said:


> I'd also probably call my vet to ask about any signs to watch for, that would warrant a visit. Maybe they could also recommend a human cough syrup.


I just spoke to my vet. She said they already have 12 people waiting outside in their cars! What they do is call each person when they're ready for the pet to be brought in.

She said the lack of fever today is good, and if the coughing gets really bad, to give them a dab of Robitussin cough syrup, not more than a quarter teaspoon since they're only 5 and 6 lbs each. However, she said "coughing isn't a bad thing, they benefit from coughing it out, at least up to a point." She thought a little honey is fine too. I forgot to mention chicken soup, but we already know they'll like that. She said kennel cough usually goes away on its own, like a human cold. I am really grateful she took a few minutes to talk to me.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Before Javelin joined the family Lily contracted a bad case of kennel cough such that she wasn't sleeping which meant none of the rest of us slept either. Peeves of course was probably already incubating it by the time I called the vet after the first night. I took her in and the vet came out to the car rather than me bringing her in. He gave me an antibiotic Rx for both of them and also recommended mucinex DM (don't remember anything about the dose, but obviously for my 36 and 100 pound dogs orders of magnitude OD for your littles). They did recover very quickly.

It is odd that you ended up with them sick from just one groom visit when I would think all of the safety plans the groomer has in place for COVID should have covered kennel cough too.

Right now I have Javelin experiencing some sort of sinusitis. I am taking him to the vet later (same general plan text from parking lot and tech will come collect him). I could have taken him in earlier as an ER patient, but he didn't seem that bad. This morning though he is snorting and sniffling a lot and obviously feel sort of punk. I actually called vet yesterday because while we out at our private training with Deb yesterday he did some funny things at the utility articles and she heard him give a big snort while he was in the pile. Since that is all about olfaction I decided then to get him in to see Dr. as soon as I could get an appointment. Based on how he is this morning I am glad to have the appointment set.

Vita I hope your little ones recover quickly. Their cases don't sound terrible.


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

lily cd re said:


> ...It is odd that you ended up with them sick from just one groom visit when I would think all of the safety plans the groomer has in place for COVID should have covered kennel cough too.


I couldn't agree more. The owner is late 50s or early 60s, and she is the epitome of caution. They won't even let you leave a leash, collar, or carry bag there. And Sachii's feet never touched the floor and not the ground outside. Makes me wonder if kennel cough is more infectious than Covid. 

OTOH, I've been thinking how it might have happened. What if John Doe unknowingly brought in his infected dog Fido for a bath and groom. If Fido was placed in a cage next to Sachii, and sneezed, the aerosol particles could have dispersed since the cages aren't six feet apart. OR, what if Fido was being blow dried the same time as Sachii, dispersing or pushing the infected droplets in his direction? 

It's a mystery, and I'm just glad there are only two or three dogs in the world known to have caught Covid. The thought creeped me out anyway b/c the dreaded 'what if' question crossed my mind.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Aw, poor babies. I hope it's a mild case and they are both feeling better soon.

Kennel cough (viral or bacterial) is highly contagious and spread through airbourne droplets - where have we heard that before = oh yes, Covid-19. Vita, I thing you're right. They must have had a dog in for grooming around the same time as your dogs who was coughing or sneezing and spreading droplets. Maybe dogs should be wearing masks too? 

I'm glad you were able to speak to your vet to affirm diagnosis and treatment.


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## Fenris-wolf (Apr 17, 2018)

Poor babies. I'm sorry.


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## FloofyPoodle (May 12, 2020)

I think a humidifier is supposed to help.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

I'm so glad the vet took that time to speak with you! I'm sure it's better for them, too, to not have highly infectious dogs in the clinic. 

Kennel cough is currently spreading around here. Peggy was quite zonked out after her recent vaccination, and there's no way to know if it'll even protect her from the current strain.

Hope your two are enjoying their chicken soup!


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## Fenris-wolf (Apr 17, 2018)

I'm sorry, @Vita I missed your other post😳


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Vita said:


> They slept quietly through the night, but as soon as we awakened, cough-cough-hack for several minutes when they began moving around. That was an hour ago and they're still doing it intermittently with a few snorts and sneezes thrown it. No fever, and Bella finally drank a lot of water. Sachii is more of his energetic self. Chicken soup with honey is on the menu for breakfast, following with a call to my vet.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm glad the vet spoke to you. True in most cases it will go away on its own. Fact that you are checking for fever a ++. I bet they will be feeling good soon.


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## vandog (Mar 30, 2019)

My spoo got kennel cough as a puppy from the dog park. She was vaccinated against it but it doesn’t necessarily protect them from every strain. We called our vet (who is more holistic) to ask for their opinion and treatment options. We gave coconut oil with a drop of oil of oregano, raw honey, cinnamon, and coughly. He also said robitussin could be given if needed. 

I would offer small meals of wet food throughout the day (left out 10-15 minutes before getting put away) while leaving the option of kibble out because she’s a grazer. She ate about 10 ish small meals a day of wet food and didn’t really touch the kibble until the hacking slowed down. We were told to soften the food, feed canned, and use a humidifier as well to help the sore throat.

Hope your two start feeling better!


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

There's nothing quite like cuddling and kissing your poodle only for her to suddenly sneeze in your face, with the spray going right into your eyes. 😬 Thank you but no thank you, Bella. That was last night, and for a few minutes I considered that if she has Covid rather kennel cough I might as well pack an overnight bag for the hospital. So far I'm fine.

Other than cough-cough-hack last night from both of them, there was less of this this morning. Finally! I think the symptoms are abating. They got chicken and honey yesterday, but for the evening I cooked a big juicy homemade hamburger and gave them the entire thing. They couldn't finish it but they sure tried. I figured beef would "give them strength", as my Mom used to say. Not sure if it was the soupy chicken combo, the burger, or the kennel cough wearing itself out, but they're slowly getting better. 💖


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

I'm glad your little ones are improving. It is usually a mild illness, resolving fairly quickly. Having that contact with the vet is reassuring. 
Keep getting better little ones, and tell MamaVita that she can turn the alarm off now .


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I'm glad they are improving. Knowing it is the equivalent of human coughs and colds is little comfort when they are miserable with sneezes and wheezes and begging Mum to just make it better _now_, but I am sure the tlc, chicken and beef are helping. Poppy tells me chicken improves most things!


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

It's 4am my time as I start writing this post. I went to bed early so I'm up very early. Bella seems much better, but after 20 minutes, Sachii is still doing that coughing-snorting with more sneezing thing this morning.

What I've learned about kennel cough (first hand, observing my dogs only) is when they awaken, they clear their lungs. I figure Sachii is still fighting it off and has another couple days to recovery. He doesn't act sick beyond the congestion; he's already obsessing with his toy to play fetch and jumps around when I accommodate.

As I end writing this post, he now seems back to normal breathing. It's Day 7 since he's shown symptoms and maybe has another two days to go before full recovery.

OTOH, it's only Day 5 since Bella showed showed symptoms. Initially she slept more and was a bit warmer with fever, but her recovery is faster. I wonder if this is b/c she might have had a very mild case of it when she was maybe 4 months old, so if she had the viral strain maybe (?) had some immunity. 

*Not to belabor this thread, I'm just adding this to say the vet was right* about not using cough syrup unless a dog is wearing itself out from_ non-stop_, _non-productive coughing_; the lungs need to be cleared and the germs need to coughed out.


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## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

Yes coughing is a good natural remedy when its not overwhelming ones self. another subject but when I cared for my mom whenever she would get a bout of congestive heart failure, it was good if she was coughing as it helped clear her lungs of any fluid build up. I guess its similar to a dog getting fluid/cold and them coughing it up. ? Not sure but sounds reasonable to me. LOL I am glad to hear they are improving. Kennel cough can take weeks to go away.


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## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

There was so much Kennel Cough going around here for a few months that no Doggie Day Care, Groomer, etc would let a dog in without written proof from your vet of a recent vaccine. Even the stores that normally let dogs in had signs to that effect. It was really surprising as my dog is a Service Dog who has never had it, and hadn't been around other dogs because of Covid, but he had to get it too!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

@Vita, are Sachii and Bella fully recovered now? Hoping yes!


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

Bella has been fine for several days, but Sachii still has that occasional sneeze, but no coughing today and yesterday. I'm guessing he'll be completely fine by tomorrow. Thanks for asking.


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## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

I'm surprised with all the social distancing how much Kennel Cough is spreading.

I was at a Nose Work Trial last weekend and I just got an email that two of the dogs that attended were coughing. They didn't name the person nor say what event they were entered which is frustrating. But I kept Babykins away from all the dogs so I'm hoping she doesn't come down with it. She's been vaccinated, but it doesn't cover everything.


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## FloofyPoodle (May 12, 2020)

Skylar said:


> I'm surprised with all the social distancing how much Kennel Cough is spreading.
> 
> I was at a Nose Work Trial last weekend and I just got an email that two of the dogs that attended were coughing. They didn't name the person nor say what event they were entered which is frustrating. But I kept Babykins away from all the dogs so I'm hoping she doesn't come down with it. She's been vaccinated, but it doesn't cover everything.


I mean, it's possible that since there are so many more dogs, there are more opportunities for it to spread. That, and people might be putting off going to the vet to get the bordetella shot for their area, and so their dogs get it and pass it on to dogs in the next area, who may be vaccinated against the strain in their own area, but aren't against the strain in the next. Which is one of the caveats of the vaccine itself, from what I understand--you rely on other owners to ensure their dogs are vaccinated as well before meeting with your dog.

Vita, I'm glad your two are doing better!


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

I hope they are feeling 100% now.

I think the observation about many people pushing off vet visits has some merit. In my area during the peak of the spring covid outbreak my vet was delaying vaccinations and neutering for most adult dogs. He felt most previously vaccinated dogs would maintain adequate immunity even with a delay, and so it made more sense to focus his resources on emergency care and puppy wellness.


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