My chi-poo puppy has been having a dry cough and I want to know if it could be kennel cough?
06.November, 2009
He’s 3 months old, he only coughs when he’s playing tug-of-war or occasionally when he’s running. But not really. If it isn’t kennel cough what’s the reason and if I can, how can I treat it?
The only one who is qualified to answer your questions is a vet, not us! Take your dog to the vet, get it properly diagnosed and treated. You can’t treat a problem, until you know what the problem is. Never try to diagnose and treat your own dog! That’s what vets are for!
ADD: Hello Iggy!
06.November, 2009 um 4:07 pm
Sorry kiddo, no vets on here, and yes it could be Kennel Cough
She needs a vet visit asap, don’t take any chances
But, again I am not a vet.
Call a 24/7 er vet clinic, phone advice is free, better safe than sorry
Hope the baby gets to feeling better soon
Good Luck
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06.November, 2009 um 4:51 pm
The only one who is qualified to answer your questions is a vet, not us! Take your dog to the vet, get it properly diagnosed and treated. You can’t treat a problem, until you know what the problem is. Never try to diagnose and treat your own dog! That’s what vets are for!
ADD: Hello Iggy!
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Chihuahua Addict
06.November, 2009 um 5:32 pm
Your puppy should be innoculated against kennel cough if he got his puppy shots. Best to just have him looked at by a vet before it gets worse.
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06.November, 2009 um 5:57 pm
Vet! It can be anything from infectious tracheobronchitis to a collasped trachea. Either way get him to the vet ASAP
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06.November, 2009 um 6:22 pm
Kennel cough sounds like a dry hacking cough and usually gets worse when the dog gets excited plays or gets stressed. The dog will get worse before it gets better. The best course of treatment is antibiotics.
He could just be having his trachea collapse during excitement causing him to cough. This can happen with small dogs and would need to be diagnosed by a vet. There are other things it could be too, but nothing you could treat at home
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06.November, 2009 um 6:35 pm
Kennel cough (or Bordetella) is an airborne virus that comes in various strains and strengths. Your dog should be vaccinated against kennel cough if he is in contact with or near any other dog (a simple sniff or passing by on the street is all the virus needs to find a new host).
If he does have kennel cough, your vet will prescribe a medication called Doxicycline to help alleviate the symptoms. But kennel cough is kind of like the common cold or flu in humans, you can treat the symptoms, but you ultimately have to wait for the body’s immune system to overpower the pathogenic material. Additionally, if your dog is diagnosed with kennel cough, he must be isolated from other animals. Make sure to wash your hands after handling him if you will come in contact with other dogs.
I worked at a doggy daycare and when one dog came in not vaccinated against kennel cough (and was not exhibiting symptoms), there was an outbreak in a matter of a few weeks. Attendance dropped over 50% because of its contagious nature. Vaccinations won’t make your dog foolproof against kennel cough, but it is a good preventative step to take. Because your pup is so young, he may be more vulnerable to the kennel cough and it may affect him more drastically.
But kennel cough is a consistent cough that persists throughout the day. See this description of kennel cough symptoms: http://www.chathamanimalrescue.org/kennelcough.shtml
Be sure not to walk your dog on a normal collar if he is a puller, because this can exacerbate tracheal problems. Try a harness instead.
My own adopted dog was found as a stray with an embedded collar in his neck, which caused tracheal damage. He coughed only when pulling hard on a normal collar or when playing hard. It was alleviated with a no-pull harness. But because of the damage done to his trachea, he still coughs occasionally.
Ultimately, you should go to the veterinarian and get his input. Some x-rays are probably in order to ensure there aren’t any structural abnormalities in your pup.
p.s.: There’s no such thing as a "chi-poo." It’s a mutt.
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I am an animal rescuer and dog behavioralist.
06.November, 2009 um 7:22 pm
Apart from the cough, the dog will develop a fever and stop eating. It will also get a runny, snotty nose and will wheeze a lot. Very disturbing. And it also gets much worse within 2-3 days. You can trigger the cough by pressing gently on his throat.
One of my dogs got impounded and caught kennel cough before he could be released. He infected my other dog when he got home. It was a lot of work getting him better (antibiotics once a day, carbocisteine three times a day, analgesics as needed), but he eventually pulled through. My brother was dealing with the other dog, which died. It turned out, he wasn’t giving the meds as regularly as he should. I stuff them down the dog’s throat, because they avoid it in their food (and they don’t eat their food much of the time). My brother wasn’t doing this because he was afraid of being bitten. Silly, since his dog was the tamer, smaller female one. I actually *was* bitten by my dog while giving meds. It was when he was becoming stronger (getting better) and struggled more against the meds. I’m not afraid of being bitten because I know my dogs are vaccinated (against rabies at least. I won’t catch the other dog diseases from him), and so am I (against tetanus). It took nearly three weeks for my dog to recover.
You’ll have to ask a real vet about the dosage of antibiotics, carbocisteine and analgesics (paracetamol or whatever), because it will depend on the size of your dog. Generally, it’s the same as what you would give a human child of the same weight. I gave the analgesic only an hour before feeding, to lower their fever, the fever being the main reason for their loss of appetite, it would seem.
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06.November, 2009 um 7:38 pm
It most likely is kennel cough. In mild cases, activity often triggers the coughing.
Ideally, you should get your pup to the vet asap. However, in mild cases you can choose to treat just the cough. If you choose to try and treat it yourself, you can use children’s strength Robitussin. 1ml (1cc) twice a day should be more then enough to treat the cough.
A big thing to remember is that kennel cough is a viral infection, not a bacterial infection. It is passed from dog to dog the same way a cold passes from person to person. Therefore unless it turns into something more serious, like an upper respiratory infection, antibiotics should not be used to treat it. Using antibiotics while kennel cough is in a mild stage can make the virus resistant to antibiotics should it turn into something more serious. Although, kennel cough does often turn into an upper respiratory infection especially in dogs with a suppressed immune system, or dogs with compressed sinus cavities (Pugs, Shih Tzus, Bulldogs, etc).
Symptoms to watch out for are: Nasal discharge of any color other then clear. Eye discharge of any color other then clear. Sneezing. Wheezing. Persistant coughing fits that for last one minute or more. Lack of appitite or lathargy.
Should any of these symptoms occur, see your vet right away. If an upper respiratory infection is left untreated, it usually turns into pneumonia. I cannot stress this enough… *Pneumonia is deadly*
To sum it up.. It sounds like your puppy’s case is not severe enough yet to neccesitate getting antibiotics. I would certainly treat the cough, and if you do not want to get an over the counter medication, you can get a prescription from the vet. Just make sure you keep a close eye out for any other symptoms.
As always.. When in doubt, ask your vet.
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