Hi
just wondering , do you give the kennel cough to your show dogs or just when they are going into kennels , my vet said there is no need to give the vaccination unless they are going into kennels and that it does not protect against all strains

thanks
ginastarr

I've only once given the vaccine to my dogs, and that was when they were booked into kennels. Then 2 years ago my bitch came home twice from shows with KC :-( Obviously different strains, but it has made me think twice about it. My oldest bitch, now 10 1/2 years old, has never had KC or the vaccine, so maybe it's also how early they come into contact with a strain, and their own immune system.

Trouble is, most people don't KC their dogs, even though some have 5 or more dogs. Shows are just as likely to pass KC as kennels are. Unfortunately.
I used to only do the dog I'm showing but that didn't stop the puppy at home getting it and the only way she could have got it was by me or Molly bringing it home with us from the LKA a few years ago.  I gave all the girls' Benylin (with vets approval) but the puppy had to see the vet as she got it worse poor girl :)

Never ever vaccinated any of mine for this.  In fact I have known a few people who claim their dog came down with KC after having been given the vaccine.

I would prefer not to give it to mine, but as they go into kennels about once a year, they have to have it as its the kennels policy. Can't see the point really as there are that many strains of it anyway its probably not going to zap the right one.
I don't have it as a policy for my grooming salone ither as it can easily be picked up on a dog walk.
Wouldn't therefore bother for shows.

There is not much point in vaccination as Kennel Cough is a viral infection and there are many different types just like our common cold, so the chances of the vaccination being the one required for the infection your dog comes in contact with is long odds. Some kennels still insist on it but think most experienced dog owners do not use it.

Your dog can acquire KC by breathing, it is air born infection and although being kennelled means that an infected dog would be close by for a while the dog is just as likely to pick it up walking through the park or even in it's own back garden.

I had it done once and never again. It gave my bichons terrible runny eyes that took months to clear up and it upset them putting the drops up their noses.
The vet actually tried to put me off having it, but I went ahead as they were going to kennels. The kennels didn't even stipulate that they had to have it, but I was worried about them getting K cough. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to my vet now.
Liz

Ditto what Nova has said. My girl was quite poorly with KC last year, but when I asked my two of my friends (vet and vet nurse) they both explained about the different viral strains and advised against it, as it would be highly unlikely that the next strain she was to come into contact with, would be what she was vaccinated against.

Never given it to ours either and touch wood!

My boy has it as you never know what may happen and your dog has to go into kennels.

I have to say though that last year when there was a lot of the KC going about a lot of dogs i know who also came into contact with my boy had it, my boy never suffered and the same goes for recently, again dogs he has mixed with have come down with the symptoms only a few days after(had phone calls) and he didn't get anything.
Not sure if lucky or what but i feel that it may have something to do with the vaccination.

I know its a bit like the common cold or flu, but then there is a flu jab for people to have as well, may not give them immunity towards all strains but at least it gives some coverage. I personally don't feel you can be too careful.

It is even more hit and miss than the jabs given for human flu, with that they know what strain is spreading in our direction whereas with a cold they have no idea at all and that is why we can't get a jab for colds.

Most people do not bother because if a dog has just had the spray up the nose and then comes into contact with another strain it would seem that they can be rather poorly with it, one would suspect that is because the body is already busy producing antibodies for the injected infection when along comes another and the dogs body has a struggle to manage to keep the dog well.  Unless extremely frail or very young KC does no more harm to a dog than a cold does to us, in fact, imo it is far less of a problem in a dog than it is in the human version.

Both mine have had it in the past and just recently, as has previously been said, it was the boarding kennels policy.
But I would prefer not to give it to them for sure. 
Agree with Nova also, there are so many strains of it out there.
I get really cross when, particularly in my own breed, show goers have a real pop and a moan about other people bringing dogs that may have passed on KC to their own.  But my understanding of the illness is that it doesn't often show any visible evidence of being apparent in a dogs system, and that the incubation period can be anything up to around a fortnight.  i.e show goers could go and take an infected dog and not realise until a fortnight later perhaps when the dog starts with the cough, by which time the dog has already been in contact with several others and possibly passed it on.  I have tried asking this question to my fellow show goers, but they do not readily respond to that query/explanation.

Hi TT

>i.e show goers could go and take an infected dog and not realise until a fortnight later perhaps when the dog starts with the cough, by which time the dog has already been in contact with several others and possibly passed it on

it's the virus being spread through coughing, sneezing etc which causes the problem - a dog not yet showing symptoms won't pass on the virus unless perhaps through shared water bowls (which is an absolute no-go with my dogs whether at shows or training), judges handling so many mouths, dogs playing together etc.  Basically this is an air borne virus so caught in similiar ways to the common cold in humans and with probably as many variants.

It's correct there is an incubation period of anything from around 7-14 days and a dog may not start to cough until it has arrived at a show but often this excuse is made by people who are just too plain greedy and selfish to consider the health of other dogs at a show and, importantly, means spreading this disease when back home onto elderly dogs with compromised health or pups in the nest - both of which could die from it.

For the OP, I've never given my dogs a KC vac because of the many different strains for which it has no affect.  In 20 years mine have had around 4 bouts of KC, all picked up at shows, and thankfully not always affecting every dog at home - usually the more robust ones show no symptoms at all although all are kept segregated from other dogs for 3 weeks post symptoms to avoid cross infection.

regards, Teri

In 20 years one or two of mine have had Kennel cough, most likely picked up at training classes or locally rather than shows, but then I tend to show around once a month in the off season and twice a month during the main championship show season, so not at shows week in week out.

I agree Teri it is primarily an airborne virus, but I guess the point I'm making is it is possible to spread the disease by just being in contact with an infected dog, not just a dog that might be coughing.
I would like to think that not all other people are so blinkered that they would purposely take an infectious dog to a show.  There are some, no doubt about it.  But the possibility is there that they just did not know.

It is said that it can be picked up from sputum drying on the ground and from the air containing normal and microscopic water droplets expelled in normal breathing so it is not possible to stop a dog infecting or becoming infected unless you keep them in a sealed tent.

Think most people think of it in the same way as they do a common cold, they do their best to avoid it but if they get it then, unless male, will continue with their everyday activities with little inconvenience. It is however best to avoid your dog having contact with others if you are aware s/he is infected. 

> Think most people think of it in the same way as they do a common cold, they do their best to avoid it but if they get it then, unless male, will continue with their everyday activities with little inconvenience

Very neatly slipped in :-)  lol

Lol! The dreaded deadly "man flu" :-)

I vaccinate my dogs for KC, whether they are the ones going to shows or kennels, or not.  But, I had taken my dogs to one show, and the dogs that WERE vaccinated got KC, and the one dog I had taken in (who didnt have the vaccine) never got KC. 

I know it doesnt protect against all strains, but it was quite eye opening to say the least when the dogs that were vaccinated against KC got it, and the one that wasnt, didnt. 

Makes me think as to whether or not I am going to give the vaccine this year or not.

The thing is, like us, once the dog has been infected by the virus causing that particular strain of KC they are immune in exactly the same way as if they have been vaccinated and they may or may not show signs of the infection but the body will produce antibodies to deal with that particular virus.

The strain your vaccinated dog met was different to the strain that dog was vaccinated against

But the same strain of infection was one that the unvaccinated dog had come across before and even if he had not developed any illness he would have developed antibodies.

In the same way as the cold and flu virus that infects us changes and mutates so does the resporatry infections affecting the dog. It is impossible to vaccinate against every infection of this type just as it is impossible to treat although it is possible to treat secondary bacteria infection.

Brainless,

You can add me to the list of people that claim their dogs came down with kennel cough *after* giving them the vaccine.   In both cases - with two different dogs - at two different times - within two days each of the dogs had a light case of kennel cough.  And in each of those cases - with two different vets - when I called they said it was "impossible" for a dog to contract kennel cough from the vaccine.

(Lot's of 2's!)

>when I called they said it was "impossible" for a dog to contract kennel cough from the vaccine.

That's bad - the manufacturer's data sheet says that "mild discharges from the eyes and nose can occur from the day after vaccination, sometimes accompanied by sneezing and coughing", which can sometimes last up to four weeks.

My two that caught kennel cough from the vaccine were healthy, adult dogs.   The reason why I would never have my dogs vaccinnated now unless I needed to kennel them and it was required.