Home Remedies for Kennel Cough?

[Slobberkiss]

Lana unfortunately came home yesterday from doggie day care with kennel cough :(
My question now is, do I need to take her to the vet or can this be treated like a cold in humans with home remedies?

It doesn't seem very bad as she only coughs every once in a while when she gets running around so I wasn't sure if giving her antibiotics is really necessary

we had just gone through treatment for a bladder infection so I would like to avoid over medicating but what has to be done must be done.

 

[GoCougs]

Lana unfortunately came home yesterday from doggie day care with kennel cough

How often does she go to doggie daycare? Most likely she didn't pick it up yesterday. Bordatella typically has incubation period of a few days, so she likely picked it up before yesterday. Unfortunately, since she's coughing she probably spread it around yesterday.

Not really much you can do. Just try to limit her activity and it will probably go away on its own in a week to 10 days.

 

[Kaybie's Mom]

Kaybie got it from the dog park years ago and I took her to the vet.....they told me it was something that just has to run its course and would clear up on it's own.....and it did....she got a little worse before it got better.......probably took 10 days to 2 weeks to be fully gone.

 

[BoxerRiggo]

I would go to the vet ASAP, a simple course of antibiotics will treat this if it is started early. My dog almost died at 10 weeks from bordetella (kennel cough) that was not treated by the breeder and developed into a bordetella pneumonia. Thank goodness $4000 later he had to be put on a ventilator to breathe, he is all better now and almost 2.

I guess everyones experience is different but as you can tell mine was very scarry. If you are going to let it "play its course" make sure he isn't around any other dogs for a few weeks and watch for signs of getting worse.

Does your dog get the vaccine against kennel cough?

Hope your pup feels better soon!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Antibiotics will not work on kennel cough unless there is a secondary infection which is not typical. It is a virus, it's like giving antibiotics when you have a cold. Antibiotics treat bacteria not viruses and KC is a virus. It is possible for them to develope a secondary infection however in dogs over 6 months who are otherwise healthy it typically doesn't happen (not to say it won't though so watch closely). Typically rest, a humidifier can help with the coughing, a good diet, and plenty of water and it will run it's course in one to four weeks. My boy's had it twice, both times it took about 4 weeks for him to get over it but he was fine, my foster dog also had it and again it took four weeks, he looked horrible but he was fine. The coughing can get annoying so the vet could RX some cough medicine, but IMO like humans I don't like giving it unless it's a dry cough as I don't want it to turn into pneumonia. You can also give a B-complex vitamin, a doggie multi-vitamin, and some vitamin C to help boost the immune system.

Watch for any nasty odors coming from your dog, green nasal or eye discharge, or green mucus coming from coughing. If anything turns green or smells bad or stops drinking for more than 24 hours then definitely take them in. If they stop eating you can add a little 100% meat baby food or canned food to their diet, sometimes they get a stuffy nose and can't smell very well and since they eat by smell that can be a problem so the smellier it is the better LoL.

Good luck!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I would go to the vet ASAP, a simple course of antibiotics will treat this if it is started early. My dog almost died at 10 weeks from bordetella (kennel cough) that was not treated by the breeder and developed into a bordetella pneumonia. Thank goodness $4000 later he had to be put on a ventilator to breathe, he is all better now and almost 2.

I guess everyones experience is different but as you can tell mine was very scarry. If you are going to let it "play its course" make sure he isn't around any other dogs for a few weeks and watch for signs of getting worse.

Does your dog get the vaccine against kennel cough?

Hope your pup feels better soon!

The "kennel cough" vaccine is misnamed. It's the Bordatella vaccine, it protects against Bordatella only, and unfortunately, like the human cold there are a bazillion and one viruses that can cause "kennel cough". So even with the vaccine dogs are not 100% protected from "kennel cough" they are simply protected against one strain called Bordatella.

 

[Kaybie's Mom]

Antibiotics will not work on kennel cough unless there is a secondary infection which is not typical. It is a virus, it's like giving antibiotics when you have a cold. Antibiotics treat bacteria not viruses and KC is a virus.

This is EXACTLY what my vet told me when I brought Kaybie in when she had it. I always kind of get annoyed at the vets that prescribe antibiotics for it because they aren't doing anything.....to me, they are either just trying to make some money or they are only prescribing them to make the owner feel better.

Your pup will be fine....just keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't get too much worse.....and she'll be fine.....and like others said, keep her away from other dogs because it's very easily contagious. It's truly no different than when a kid gets a cold....nothing to panic about.

Also, Kaybie was vaccinated with the Bortadella vaccine and still got kennel cough....my vet said that the vaccine only protects against a few strains of kennel cough and there are tons.

 

[Slobberkiss]

Thank you so much for all the replies. I will let it run its course then and keep a close eye on her. I just wanted to be sure I am not leaving something untreated that could end with bad results. We'll just take it easy at home until it passes.

 

[SallyC]

Dr Pitcairn, in Natural Health for Dogs & Cats, has a section on this if you have access to the book through your library or to purchase. He says antibiotics are not recommended in most cases since the disease is viral. "Though it sounds awful, it's not a serious condition. A minimal number of dogs have complications because of their weak immune system."

Not surprisingly then he recommends things to strengthen the immune system. Vitamin C is a good antiviral. Depending on the size of your dog, you can give 500 to 1,000 mg 3x/day. Vitamin E stimulates the immune response and you can give 50 to 100 IU of d-alpha tocopherol from a capsule 3x/day. Vitamin A also boosts immunity and helps counteract stress, strengthens the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. Use 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of cod-liver oil 3x/day or 10,000 IU capsule once a day for a total of 5 days.

He also goes into other herbal and homeopathic remedies as well. I have successfully used homeopathic treatments for various things and recommend them too.

Hope this helps.

 

[Barron's mom]

Zeus had eye discharge with his kennel cough and responded beautifully to a round of antibiotic treatment. His vet concurred that kennel cough is viral but most likely Zeus had a bacterial component to his cough because it was not getting better after a week or so.