Hello,

This is my first post so please be gentle!

I would really appreciate some reassurance over something. I have an elderly dog and am very vigilant at keeping him safe. We live in a rural location where he doesn't come into contact with other dogs.

Today, I was petting a lovely dog I met in town. He turned away from me and started mildly coughing. The owner said she thought her dog had kennel cough as a result of receiving the nasal vaccination.

I am now terrified that I am able to carry this virus home with me on my clothes/hands. Naturally, I am worried for my own dogs. I did wash my hands as soon as I returned home and before petting the dogs and also changed my clothes.

So, my question is how feasible is it for kennel cough to be passed in this way? I am sorry if this strikes you as silly, I just worry so much about my dogs especially the old fella who is very special to me.

I am sure I once read that it is passed dog to dog by droplet infection so am really hoping that I am worrying over nothing here.

Look forward to a reply and thank you for any advice

I can't say with 100 % certainty that it CANNOT be spread via clothes etc -hopefully somebody else will -but I'd have thought it extremely unlikely that your old dog would catch it after everything you did. A little story that may help you feel a bit better: In 2007 my mother in law adopted a Labrador from a stray kennels. The Labrador bitch was clearly incubating kennel cough as she came down with it after a couple of days with us. She lived in my MIL's granny flat, away from my own dogs but in the same house, but she HAD met my dogs very briefly, and all that was between the Lab and my dogs was a door, they used the same garden etc. At the time my Cavalier was 12 years old and with a very bad heart and we worried ourselves silly that he would catch it and die. He didn't get ill and lived another 3 years.

The nasal injection is for Kennel cough and I don't think it is a live virus. More to the point wash your hands and change your cloths before making a fuss of your dog but otherwise do not worry, chances are he will have come across the virus sometime during his life and will have immunity. If he is a normal healthy 9 year old it would not be too much of a worry anyway only like you or I having a cold, it is secondary infections they can cause problems but they can be treated with ABs the original infection can't because it is a viral infection.

oh thank you, thank you

He is actually a 17 year old dog and, although he does well for his age, I fear he wouldn't recover from something like kennel cough.

It wasn't as if the dog was coughing and spluttering all over my clothes or licking my hands. I really just petted his head before he turned round and started puffing and coughing.

I am still ruminating over it but feel much better after reading your replies. I know I must seem hypersensitive (and probably a bit ridiculous!!) but he is pretty special that boy.

I must have looked a real fright rushing into the bedroom and stripping off my clothes before zooming off to wash my hands. Only THEN did the barking army get a clap!!

Thank you again - I cant tell you how appreciated it is

Sorry I don't know where I got the idea he was 9, sorry but the same thing applies unless he is very weak he would be OK even though the chances are he has immunity after all 17 years is a long while to avoid having had contact with the bug.

you dont sound silly at all,just caring.I hope your older boy is ok,I just lost my oldie at 15 and a quarter.however long they live,its never long enough,good luck.

I think you are right to be cautious about kennel cough and I think what you did was absolutely the right thing to do. The person at fault is the person who was out in public with their dog with kennel cough, they most definitely should not have been.

The intra nasal spray is a live vaccine and there are many dogs who do develop kennel cough as a direct result of having it.

I don't want this post to worry you, but it's no good everyone walking around thinking that kennel cough is a harmless little 'cold type' infection. It isn't. I know.

It is passed by aerosol droplets - that means it can be carried on clothing and it can lay in wait in grass for the unsuspecting dog to come along. Not very long, admittedly.

I think you've done all you can under the circumstances, and I am sure you will have nothing to worry about, your dog will probably have met such infections and built up a level of immunity.

As said, I don't want this post to worry you as I think you've done everything to prevent any infection passing on to your dogs. But to me it's important that everyone who may read this thread is aware that kennel cough isn't a harmless little infection. :-)