Kennel Cough and Your Standard Poodle

Your dog catches the infection from other dogs, similar to the way humans catch colds from each other. When the infected dog exhales or coughs, his infection can be carried in the air in tiny vapor droplets or dust particles. If your dog is susceptible, he or she can then inhale this, and the organisms can attach to the trachea lining and upper airway passages. There, they replicate rapidly and eventually damage their host cells, the trachea lining.

Your dog can catch this disease from any other dog regardless of location, but it's called "kennel cough" as its nickname because it is especially common in areas where dogs are closely confined together, such as a kennel or an animal shelter. Of course, this is also true with human colds. It's also possible for a dog that appears to have recovered to still spread the virus, which makes it doubly easy to spread.

For healthy dogs, it's generally not a significant health problem. Their appetites and general state of health will still be good and they will remain alert, with little to no fever. In general, the infection will run its course in 7 to 21 days. It is rarely life threatening. Sometimes cough suppressants or antibiotics are helpful. If your dog coughs excessively, symptoms last more than several days, or if the dog appears very lethargic, a more serious problem may be present, such as heartworms. In general, you should see your vet if your dog does not appear healthy other than having a persistent cough during this period of time. Here's an excellent video that you can actually hear what a dog with kennel cough sounds like.

You can relieve the dog's symptoms with prescription or nonprescription cough suppressants; they should be appropriate to dogs and recommended by your veterinarian even if they are over the counter. Occasionally, antibiotics may need to be used to clear up the infection. Dogs who have had kennel cough will generally build up some immunity to a second occurrence, although it should not be seen as a complete protection. There is a vaccine that partially protects against kennel cough, but the commercial version only contains the Bordetella agent. In addition, it does not protect against other agents that may be present when the disease is spread. Other parts of the infection, such as parainfluenza or adenovirus, are already given in immunizations as part of routine vaccinations dogs get during their yearly veterinarian checkups.

Is your dog at risk for kennel cough? He or she is if you board often or if he or she is regularly in close proximity to other dogs. For example, if your dog is a show dog, this is another area where a the infection is very commonly picked up.

Should you vaccinate your dog against kennel cough? If your dog is regularly exposed to other dogs in close proximity, it may be a good idea. As stated previously, your regular yearly vaccinations should cover one of the agents that causes kennel cough. And of course, if you have other dogs in the house, they can spread the disease among each other once they've been exposed. Therefore, if you have a "multiple dog" household, vaccinations may also be in order.

One thing to remember it is if you do vaccinate, it will take several weeks for the vaccination's protective effects to come into play. Therefore, you should wait several weeks after vaccinating to put your dog into a situation where he or she may be exposed to the infection again. And remember, even if your dog does catch kennel cough, it's generally not a serious disease unless your dog has underlying health problems. As with the human cold, simple passage of time along with nonprescription remedies to help alleviate symptoms are generally all that's needed to take care of it.

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