kennel cough

[silvia]

ahi ahi, looks as Oberon catched kennel cough- despite never been in a kennel! apparently in this season there are bursts of this desease around..  :((

He's been coughing and with nasal discharge since last Tue.. Poor Obi, is so distressing.. Has anybody had  this nasty experience? the vet said they prefer not to give antibiotics/antinflammatories - despite the discharge, which is a clear symptom of batteric infection I would guess- and see if it clears in two weeks time.. unless it goes worse of course..

shame on us we didnt the vaccination.. we though it was only a need for dogs going to kennels, while, apparently, KC is anywhere:(

 

 

 

[Lois McCullough]

Hi Silvia so sorry Oberon has kennel cough it is so distressing to see them with it. We had 1 IS who also managed to get it at 11 months of age and the vet didn't give him antibiotics it took about 10 days to clear up. Needless to say ours now have kennel cough 'spray' every year. They used to be effective fort 6 months but the latest sprays last 12 months. Hope he soon gets better.  

[silvia]

thanks I hope so!! Oberon is 14 months now.. he's so sad since he sees all his friends from the window (we are facing a local park) and cant join them :(

I hope that we can clear in 10d as well.. I read that it can last even months..  

 

[silvia]

eh, even in Italy they tend to treat it.. i am wondering if is better to go back to the vet and say we wish treatment.. is difficult to draw the line: Oberon is otherwise happy and eating, so he's not letargic- he doesnt show symptoms of complications.. but the nasal mucus is a lot, so it really sounds he has lot of stuff in his respiratory ways..

I guess I will wait till tomorrow and then we'll decide... is interesting to know if there are other countries, other then us in the UK, in which the dog is left untreated and only the rest is suggested..

 

I also know that non-vaccinated dogs can have longer/nastier symptoms..

 

[Susan Stone]

Yes, it is the typical time of year for kc... and youngsters around 1 year old seem prone to picking it up. In addition to the regular combined vaccination mine are all given the nasal vaccination in spring or before the first dog shows. Touch wood I've been lucky so far...

Not usually a major problem if treated correctly but can mean big trouble in puppies and senior dogs. All the more important to keep a dog with kennel cough away from others until completely cleared up.

Good luck! 

[silvia]

thanks a lot, susan! Again, my big worry is what "treated correctly" means.. and if without signs of complications is a good idea to leave it without medications, as our vet suggested..

[Jo Ottinger]

Hawk has had KC every year even with vaccinating he still gets it. Not sure if benadryl would help with clearing the discharge.  I take him into the vet and get antibotics as it does seem to help him.

[eva ciechonska]

Silvia, I agree with Susan...........kennel cough does seem to hit young dogs worse.  The reason your vet prefers not to give antibiotics is because he wants Obi to fight it off himself.  I agree with your vet.......antibiotics can inhibit the immune system.  

Kennel cough in youngsters can last up to 2 weeks.  Obi is a healthy dog, he will gradually get rid of it by himself. 

I give Benylin, just as a preventative measure to stop it getting onto the chest...........dessert spoon morning and evening.  It is a virus so cannot be cleared by antibiotics.  It is also airbound.  Your dog doesn't need to go into kennels to pick it up.  It is like the common cold in humans.   In the UK we tend to pick it up later in the year.

I have never vaccinated my dogs against kennel cough.  There are very many strains of the virus and chances are the one your dog gets is not covered by the vaccination.  I have found that if kennel cough is going round the youngsters get it but, strangely enough, the older dogs don't.  Maybe they immunised themselves against it when they were young. 

[silvia]

thanks a lot Eva!! Oberon is crazy to play (he has not his dog-friends since last week, so he's making a mess inside with all his toys..) and has a very good mood, so I hope it will clear..

Re antibiotics/virus: i though KC is a combination of virus (acting first,  lowering the immune defenses and allowing bacteria to grow) and later a bacterial phase, less contagious but with the worse symptoms.. so I though the antib. can help with the bacterial part, i.e. with the discharge, etc.. maybe I am wrong:(

I will wait and see then !! Thanks a lot for sharing your  experience!!

 

 

  

[silvia]

Eva: I think you are talking about Benylin for humans? Which one? I wish to make sure I take the right one, since I never gave human medications to dogs before.. Thanks!!

[silvia]

thanks to everybody! Indeed, it looks we are getting better: Oberon is coughing only very occasionally now:) Hopefully a few days more and we'll be over!! I hope !! Honey with bit of milk is his favorite evening dessert: it will be  sad to take it away when he'll get better ;)

Poor Oberon doesnt know that- if he's better- he is already booked for a small surgery next Thu.. we need to fix a little umbilical hernia (he had since the mom bite at birth). I have been told he'll only need to stay at lead and rest for 2-3 d after, so is really minor, but still it will mean a few days more without his dog friends..  He'll definitely need some good long walks and plays after all is  over!! :)

 

en passant (but this may be another post): I read some controversy about the fact that umb. hernias may be an issue if we wish to breed him. His vet is of different opinion and she said is not a concern at all (as far as we know none of Oberon parents had some in the family, so is definitely something from the mom bite. )  Has anybody an experience on this?

We are not professional breeders, but it may be nice to find a girlfriend for Oberon at some point, we definitely dont exclude (and wish) it :)

thanks!!

s

 

[Eunice Marott]

the kennels here will not take dogs who have not had their kennel cough vac...

[silvia]

not even in the Uk.. reason why we have not vaccinated Oberon is that he never went in a kennel so far.. we always boarded him with companies that organize host families when we needed to travel (so basically the dog is staying in a family and there werent other dogs..)