Have you sent your canine buddy to a daycare facility and as you bring them back home, you hear a sudden unusual honking sound that refuses to go away? Most likely your furry buddy is suffering from a kennel cough. As the name suggests, kennel cough or canine infectious tracheobronchitis is a contagious respiratory ailment that dogs commonly contract from public places such as boarding, daycare facilities, and dog parks where large numbers of canines congregate. Through airborne droplets, direct contact, or contaminated surfaces, canines can easily spread to one another. The disease is treatable in most adult dogs but in puppies who are younger than five to six months of age and dogs who are immunocompromised, the symptoms can be severe and life threatening.
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What Bacteria Causes Kennel Cough?
Most cases of kennel cough are caused by bordetella bronchiseptica-a bacterium that is associated with respiratory disease in dogs and an agent of whooping cough. Sometimes the disease is caused by other pathogens such as bronchiseptica, canine adenovirus type 2, canine parainfluenza virus, canine respiratory coronavirus, and mycoplasmas. If you notice your pet has been coughing for a long time or if you plan to take your dog to large groups of animals, you must speak to your veterinarian at the earliest for proper treatment recommendations because irritation of the tracheal can aggravate the cough and even cause damage to the trachea.
Symptoms of Kennel Cough
If your dog is affected with kennel cough, one or some of the following symptoms will appear:
- Chronic cough
- Honking- the most apparent symptom
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- Lethargy
- Changes in pet behavior
- Loss of appetite
- Low-grade fever
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How Is Kennel Cough Treated?
Although kennel cough is easily treatable in healthy dogs, it is still important to report a coughing symptom to your veterinarian because it could be a sign of an underlying serious illness. The canine distemper virus, canine influenza, and some other conditions can cause coughing, collapsing trachea, bronchitis, asthma, and even heart disease in dogs and the symptoms can be confused with kennel cough. In most cases, mild kennel cough can be treated in minor ways and rest within a week or two, but a veterinarian may also prescribe antibiotics to prevent secondary infection. Besides, cough medication, nebulizers, and vaporizers to ease the symptoms are also given to pets.
Can Kennel Cough Be Prevented?
There is a specific vaccine available for preventing infection from bordetella bacterium which is the most common agent causing kennel cough. Though it is always good to get your dog vaccinated, sometimes it may not prevent your dog from catching an infection, but dogs who are exposed to large groups of dogs may benefit from the vaccine and the symptoms may not be life-threatening. Besides, many facilities require proof of vaccination against this deadly virus. The vaccine is easily available across pet stores and online, in oral, intranasal, and injectable forms. Be very careful if you have a house with many pets and one of them shows signs of a cough and has been exposed to an outside environment consisting of several dogs. There are chances are all dogs in the home may get exposed. As a safety precaution, avoid overexposure to unhygienic places, especially if your dog is not used to such environments. If necessary, make sure you keep your furry buddies' immune system strong and feed them a protein-rich diet backed by essential pet health supplements.
