Kennel Cough - Anyone have any advice?

laceyfreckle

laceyfreckle

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May 27, 2007
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My 11yr old dog has, I think, kennel cough. :poop:

He seems happy enough in himself and is eating and drinking well, but has a really bad intermittent 'cough' a bit like he's got something stuck in his throat like a rubber ball (he hasn't).

Hasn't stopped him trying to scrounge off the table mind.

Anyway he has never ever had kennel cough, I have phoned the vet for advice and may take him down there but if I could treat him at home just as well I'll do that instead to save a few pennies and also to save infecting others by taking him out. Last time he went to the vets was for non urgent teeth cleaning, and they had a job to wake him up from the anaesthetic.....it's kind of put me off going back.

He went to a large charity dog show a week or so ago so I reckon he got it from there, or possibly from the kennels where he went to be groomed for it.

He might be 11 but he's never ever ever ever ever been ill. I don't like it. :redcarded:
 
We got our dog from a rescue centre and he developed kennel cough after a week or so of us adopting him. Like your dog he was fine in himself just kept doing a silly little cough that sounded like he was trying to talk to us!

We took him to the vets because he was going for his second lot of jabs anyway and they just squirted something up his nose and he was cured after a day or so. He has the kennel cough vaccine now each year because he goes into kennels every so often when we're on hols and he has to have it to be able to go there.

I don't know of any home remedies but the cure from the vets was stress free and cleared it up quickly
 
Pour dog. Anywhere dogs go is a potential pick up point and they should really rename it something other than kennel cough.
I wouldnt go to the vet as you will bring infection to the surgery and normally they advise you to stay away or come out to your car as its super contagious.
Best to let them hack it up same as humans and its distressing to see them like that but it should clear in a few weeks max although last time it ran through my dogs the ones who brought in onto the premises seemed to catch it again after 3 weeks.
Keep the dogs fluid intake up and add to his food too to make sure he's well hydrated.
 
Thanks will do that clashnoir, and thanks to the others for replying too.

I did phone the vet but I'm a bit hestitant to take him in.

I've felt a bit sorry for him mainly because OH and I were moaning at him last night as was convinced he was coughing due to raiding the bin and finding something he shouldn't be eating. (He quite likes finding and eating exploded balloons and then throwing them up again.). Feel a bit bad now that it's a cough rather then him raiding.

got vet to do a kind of 'over the phone diagnosis of cough' sort of thing :nerd:. If it doesn't clear up soon they want to check his heart though as they said sometimes in older dogs a heart problem can sound like kennel cough.

Has really made me notice the silly senile old lad is getting older and won't be here forever. Have owned him since he was 10 weeks old.:frown:

ETA: I know it's catcheable from just about everywhere, re-read my first post ...didn't mean it to read as if I thought he must have got it from kennels, just that I suspect those two places as he doesn't really go out so much anymore or mixes with other dogs much anymore (He's got a bit cranky with other dogs as he's got older and his eyesight has got worse)
 
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laceyfreckle said:
Thanks will do that clashnoir, and thanks to the others for replying too.

I did phone the vet but I'm a bit hestitant to take him in.

I've felt a bit sorry for him mainly because OH and I were moaning at him last night as was convinced he was coughing due to raiding the bin and finding something he shouldn't be eating. (He quite likes finding and eating exploded balloons and then throwing them up again.). Feel a bit bad now that it's a cough rather then him raiding.

got vet to do a kind of 'over the phone diagnosis of cough' sort of thing :nerd:. If it doesn't clear up soon they want to check his heart though as they said sometimes in older dogs a heart problem can sound like kennel cough.

Has really made me notice the silly senile old lad is getting older and won't be here forever. Have owned him since he was 10 weeks old.:frown:

ETA: I know it's catcheable from just about everywhere, re-read my first post ...didn't mean it to read as if I thought he must have got it from kennels, just that I suspect those two places as he doesn't really go out so much anymore or mixes with other dogs much anymore (He's got a bit cranky with other dogs as he's got older and his eyesight has got worse)
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I wasnt meaning you I was just generalising they need to rename it as so many people just think its a kennel caught virus.
Re his cough - if its KC its constant and bringiong up stuff
My 11 year old coughs and it sounds like she's trying to bring up a fur ball but she's been vet checked and its not heart trouble. Its annoying but just an old lady cough I think. Got a 10 year old in the house too and its sad to watch them grow old and fail slightly so know where your coming from x
 
Frances resuced a little dog from a shelter, and he came up with a bit of a cough, that the vet said was nothing.....then both my dogs went down with a cough and Frances' other two got it too.

They just seemed to cough a bit but showed no other symptoms, then it went away.
 
He seems ok in himself, well I mean he has gone a little downhill in the last couple of months but nothing drastic, just getting a bit well 'dotty' with age and being a bit of a drama queen with other male dogs.(Thinks he's still a young stud in the brain even now lol). His face has greyed in the last few months too which I think makes him appear a bit older but he still looks young for his age.

He does pant a bit more then he used to but is still energetic enough.

His cough is worse in the evenings and at night. He hasn't got it all the time but it is fairly persistant. He's had it since last night noticeably but he'll cough and wretch like he's going to be sick and make a harsh noise at the back of the throat like he's got something stuck in his throat and then after 10mins or so will be fine for another half hour to hour or so.

He sounds a bit like a baby with really bad croup does.
 
laceyfreckle said:
He seems ok in himself, well I mean he has gone a little downhill in the last couple of months but nothing drastic, just getting a bit well 'dotty' with age and being a bit of a drama queen with other male dogs.(Thinks he's still a young stud in the brain even now lol). His face has greyed in the last few months too which I think makes him appear a bit older but he still looks young for his age.

He does pant a bit more then he used to but is still energetic enough.

His cough is worse in the evenings and at night. He hasn't got it all the time but it is fairly persistant. He's had it since last night noticeably but he'll cough and wretch like he's going to be sick and make a harsh noise at the back of the throat like he's got something stuck in his throat and then after 10mins or so will be fine for another half hour to hour or so.

He sounds a bit like a baby with really bad croup does.
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poor lad.
you can give the, benylin if its quite bad KC but some vets think its better to get it coughed up properly. I used anti biotics once to try and keep secondary infection at bay but at the time we had around 20 dogs and it cost a fortune and didnt really do much.
 
I'm just uploading a short vid of him on photobucket..will add it on here, would appreciate you saying what you think of it.

He's been a bit clingy today as well, is quite a clingy dog anyway saying that.
 
benelin or tixilyx will do just fine:D - dont panic - unless he gets a secondary infection there is no great point rushing him to the vets. If he's still not right on monday you could take him but its not worth panicking just yet.
 
If you take him to the vets he'll be given either a short anti biotic course (expensive and not totally necessary if he's a generally fit healthy dog) or a few days of anti inflamatories.

If he seems fine in himself I'd just keep him well fed and watered and warm and make sure he doesn't mix with other dogs or exercise too much.

Coughing more during evenings and the hacking cough you're describing can also be the symptoms of heart conditions. My dog is 14 and she had an enlarged heart and she does this. She's not on any medication and she's perfectly happy but I do hate to hear her hack like that :cry:

If it doesn't clear up within a week I'd think about taking him in to get his heart listened to to see if he has a heart murmur or an enlarged heart.

Hope that helps
 
If he is well in himself, eating and drinking fine then don't worry. He won't need to see the vet. Benelyn (sp?) can be used in doggies to help with their cough. They only need antibiotics from the vet to treat any secondary infections.
 
Seems like it but if it persists get it checked out.
It seems to affect old and young the worst. Some of mine had it 2 days and others couged their lungs up for weeks. Depends on their immunity I guess.
Sending him healing vibes
 
Don't want to worry you but you better get him checked by a vet as a cough is not always what you think it may be and I know that some heart problems show symptoms of a cough. I haven't read all the posts sosorry if I have repeated what others have said as I'm just browsing in between chores.
 
Just thought I'd better just reply on this thread.

Freckle is still having problems with his cough. It's not maybe quite as bad but is still quite persistant particularly at night and if he gets excited.

He has also changed a little bit over the last few weeks, has been a lot quieter then normal (ok, so he's still nuts compared to a regular dog but he has always been REALLY nuts). He has been sleeping a lot more as well.

He has only in recent years been indoors overnight and always used to prefer to be outside all day anyway but has started to not want to go outside and just wants to stay/sleep on his bed.

He has also got a lot less tolerant of other animals/children and will growl/snap. Just before he developed his cough he had managed to get into a scrap with two other dogs (different times but both times the other dogs were off the lead and not being controlled) that isn't really like him either.

He has never been a fat dog but he has also lost a little bit of weight and asks for affection more then normal for him.He's also just got a wart like growth under his fur on the side of his back, it's similar to the one on the side of his nose by his eye that he has had for a fairly long while but the new one is slightly bigger.

I am a bit worried so have made a appointment at the vets for thursday. The vets know that it's on the understanding that if he goes back to normal before then then I will cancel the appointment otherwise I think he needs a full MOT.

Here's a pic of two poorly boys. (My eldest son was off school with a tummy bug but is fine again now)

004.jpg
 
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