Kennel cough is an umbrella term for respiratory infections involving several infectious agents (viruses/bacteria/mycoplasma), and it is also known as parainfluenza (Pi).
Symptoms
Kennel cough is a highly contagious disease whose typical symptom is sudden coughing fits, often so sudden that the owner thinks the dog has got something stuck in its throat.
The dog may cough so hard that it gags or retches and coughs up white, slimy foam.
The dog often has a brief spike of fever when the cough starts, but this is easily missed.
Apart from the cough, sick dogs are usually bright and happy. Sometimes a runny nose is seen; a few dogs get a sore throat and sometimes find it hard to eat.
The disease itself is not fatal, but in weakened dogs it can give rise to, and pave the way for, more complicated respiratory diseases. Complications can include bacterial pneumonia and bronchitis.
Treatment
If you suspect that your dog may have been exposed to infection, avoid contact with other dogs during the incubation period, which is up to two weeks.
If the dog falls ill, keep it calm and quiet, with only short walks.
Viruses cannot be treated, but the symptoms can be relieved:
- For a mucous, productive cough an expectorant can be given, e.g. Bisolvon oral solution (0.8 mg/ml), 1 ml per 10 kg 3 times a day.
- For a dry, harsh cough a cough suppressant can be given, e.g. Nipaxon oral solution (2.5 mg/ml), 1 ml per 10 kg 2–4 times a day.
However, it is very important not to give a cough suppressant for a mucous cough, as the mucus produced must be cleared from the lungs.
Contact a veterinarian if the dog:
- has difficulty breathing
- has a fever above 39.5°C
- has such a sore throat that it will not eat (it may need pain relief)
- does not stop coughing, as secondary pneumonia must then be ruled out.
A dog with kennel cough should not meet other dogs for 14 days after it started coughing, and should have had at least five cough-free days before contact with other dogs. The cough usually fades within three weeks.
Prevention
Vaccination gives about 80% protection, and if the dog does fall ill despite vaccination, the illness is much milder and shorter.
I vaccinate dogs against kennel cough with Nobivac DHPPi every three years and Nobivac Pi every year in between.
Read more about kennel cough on the website of the Swedish Veterinary Agency (SVA), in Swedish.
