Kennel Cough – What it is and How to Stop It

Kennel cough in canines sounds like the dog has something stuck in its throat, as it hacks every few minutes. Kennel cough is caused in most instances by bacteria known as Bordetella bronchiseptica, but a pair of viruses is also responsible for about ten to twenty percent of kennel cough cases.

Kennel cough is usually not a serious condition in dogs but can sometimes develop into pneumonia under the right circumstances. Kennel cough can be treated with the use of cough suppressants and sometimes with antibiotics, and it typically clears up on its own in one to three weeks.

The actual cough associated with kennel cough is caused by an upper respiratory infection, with the dog’s trachea and upper bronchial tubes affected. The linings of these regions are damaged by the infection of the bacteria responsible for kennel cough, or by one of two viruses- Parainfluenza virus and Adenovirus.

The harm done by such an infection is not severe, but it does expose sensitive nerve endings to the passage of air as the dog breathes, precipitating a dry, coarse cough. A dog with kennel cough normally does not lose its appetite and remains alert, with no sign of a fever.

Transmission of canine kennel cough happens in the same way as human colds are passed from person to person. An infected dog will cough and breathe out, with the tiny organisms that cause the kennel cough being sent into the air where another dog will breathe them in. These viruses or bacteria then attach themselves to the dog’s upper respiratory linings and begin to multiply, injuring the cells that they are infecting. Contact with an infected surface can also spread kennel cough.

The condition takes its name from the fact that wherever numbers of dogs are in close proximity to one another, such as in a kennel, the disease is readily spread from dog to dog in this manner. An infected dog in such a closed environment is all that is needed to send kennel cough through the entire population, and once infected, a dog can be contagious for weeks, even after seemingly recovering. This is why it is hard to blame a boarding kennel operator if your dog catches kennel cough while there, as an infected dog may be present in the building unbeknownst to anyone.

Dogs are able to build up a resistance to kennel cough by being exposed to it in lesser forms, meaning they will not come down with it after being exposed to the organisms responsible. Some cases of kennel cough will be so minor that they will barely be noticed and require no treatment, and they go away on their own in seven to ten days. Such an animal should still be seen by a veterinarian as other, more serious diseases such as heartworm, blastomycosis, and cardiac troubles have symptoms similar to kennel cough.

Treatment is usually focused on relieving the coughing with cough suppressants. Antibiotics are deemed necessary when a fever develops or a secondary respiratory infection takes hold, complicating matters. Some vets feel that to treat a bacterial in nature kennel cough can only make the strain more resistant to the drugs in the long haul and they prefer to let the condition resolve itself on its own.

Currently there are vaccines that have proved adept at preventing kennel cough. There are injectable vaccines that do the trick and intra-nasal types that are squirted into the nose. One such medication contains only the bordatella agent and is effective against just the bacterial form of kennel cough, so a viral-based vaccine may be needed in addition.

It is important to realize that any vaccine can take days or even weeks to boost a dog’s immunity against kennel cough, meaning that you should not expect good results if you vaccinate a dog on the day that it is first exposed to kennel cough. As a rule, the inhaled nasal vaccination is faster acting than the injectable, which gives a longer period of immunization.