Just to let you guys know that one of dogs has come down with a really serious case of Kennel Cough so if any of you are in the Hampshire area take extra special attention of any coughs of mucous your dog might cough up.

Just remember that you don't have to put your dogs in kennels to catch Kennel Cough, it's airborne!!

My pup has it and she's only five months bless her.  She's coughing so hard she can't keep down any water or food or her antibiotics come to that.  Have just started her on Benylin and she's gone to sleep for the first time in a couple of days so hopefully that has helped her.

I have another dog in the house and am waiting for him to go down with it as well.  In fact the whole bl**dy neighbourhood will probably go down with it and cause a vicious circle of Kennel Cough.

If any of you guys out there know of anything other tips to help my little one I would appreciate some feedback.

Cheers

Sarah
xx

Aaah, poor little mite. Can't really suggest anything, but try to keep her at the same temperature - sudden changes from hot to cold & vice versa seem to start coughing fits - not easy if it's cold outside, I know.
Hope she gets better soon.

My chocolate lab started to cough up white mucous last night - could this be Kennel Cough and if so what type of Benylin would you suggest?   He is drinking lots of water and still eating his food.   We also have a black lab who at the moment isn't showing any signs of coughing.

They are in the house with us when we are there but out in their kennel and run when we are at work and today is very damp.

Chesty benalin i think....its the red one!!!:)  you wil have to get it from behind the counter and when your asked what age just say its for you dog, you know what you doing, and they wont say much!!!!

Personally i get the original to help the dog rest but some people do prefere to give their dogs the non-drowsy, its up to you.

I'm using the original one so she can rest too.  It is allowing her to rest but when she wakes up it's worse than ever, just the same as us really you always sounds worse in the morning if you've got a bad chesty cough.

My pup is coughing and throwing up loads of white mucous.  But she's managed to keep her breakfast down, which I'm glad about.  Unfortunately the antibiotic stayed in her for only fifteen minutes though!

I've also been massaging her throat when the coughing gets really bad and that's helping her too.

Honey and lemon mix with warm water and give as a drink it works wonders.

Vet's just charged me £30 for antibiotics and cough medicine for KC :( Apparently there's a lot about this year.

Poor thing has never been in a kennel in the 8 years I've had her and she doesn't even play with other dogs in the park just walks past with her nose in the air. Now I'm going to have to walk her in secluded places and early/late just to minimise the risk of passing it on...

Might not be able to get my Dane puppy next week either and I'm gutted :(

You wont stop it spreding by going out earlier and later.  Its airborn so even when shes in your garden shes passing it around.

Also when they are coughing they are less likly to be carryng then the week or to before they start coughing.

It should be ok to get your pup next week but if you want to be safe maybe you ask the breeder if she can keep him for another week?

Rox

there was a lot about last year at the same time,IT KILL MY LITTER OF 7 LIVER FLATCOAT RETRIEVERS.

kc raises its ugly head from aug to dec,when the weather is damp,and mild,when its a good breeding round for the vurises.

I read somewhere that the dogs are still infectious after the cough has gone for up to three weeks, does anyone know if this is correct?? If it is correct, how do you know when they are no longer infectious and can start to socialise them again?

Here's a quote from http://www.maccvets.co.uk/fact_sheets/fact_sheets_companion_kennel_cough.htm

"If your dog has kennel cough, please keep it away from other dogs at least until it has stopped coughing. It may be infective beyond this period, but risk of transmission will be much less if there is no aerosol spread."

Here's another quote from http://www.provet.co.uk/aol/Petfacts/healthtips/kennelcough.htm

"Infected dogs act as carriers and may shed the Bordatella organism for 3-4 months after apparent recovery from the disease."

The information that's out there is a bit confusing!!

It's best to not take them out when they have KC as it's airborne and it will spread very easily.  Next thing you know your dog will be over it and he's catching again!

hi new breeder, i thought that once a dog had KC once it was VERY unlikly it would catch it again as he will become immune to it.

We had it in our house just before midland counties (couldn't go in the end:( ) and it was only the youngest girl who hasn't had it before, the others all were fine and not a cough.

please could you put me right if i am wrong please:)

Thanks

Rox

Hi Rox,
Kennel Cough isn't just one disease. It is just a name given to a symptom (or group of symptoms) of several illnesses. The main ones are Bordetella bronchiseptica and Canine parainfluenzavirus, but other infections which are also known as KC are canine adenovirus (types 1 and 2),canine herpesvirus, reovirus and mycoplasma.

So although a dog may become immune to the virus he's already had, he is still at risk from the others.

There is more than one strain of Kennel Cough, that's why the immunisation injection is not one hundred percent.

I also read that the Bordetella vaccine, which is dropped directly into the nostrils, generally gives good immunity for about 6 months, and that the vaccines against canine parainfluenza and adenovirus are often included in the routine vaccine course.

Just as 'at risk' people require repeat injections against the common strains of influenza, the canine vaccines do not produce lifeong immunity.
:)

Hi all, dogs given the intra nasal KC vaccine are contagious for 14dys afterwards & should also be kept in. :)

Christine, Spain.

I have a 4yr Lab just starting to cough (1 Day) + a 4 1/2 month Utonagan can Benylyn realy help, I might sound 'daft' but is   it only for 'humans', many thanks

I have been using benylin on my pup for the last three days and it really is helping her.  It's soothing her throat and helping her to rest in between coughing fits.  Also try and keep him somewhere quiet so that he doesn't do a lot of running around as is aggrevates their throat and makes them cough.

When you feed him his food should be completely soaked so there is no dust as this also aggrevates the throat.

Hope he is ok.

I can see that my little girl is finally on the mend but we're not there yet.

To start with giving medication may increase the productive cough, this is what it is intended to do, loosen the mucus in the chest and throat and help the suffer to expel it. But it is the expelled mucus that is teeming with virus/bacteria and is along with those expelled into the air what spreads the infection.

It is often the secondary infection that attacks the inflamed tissue that causes illness and can be serious in the puppy and the older dog. The vet will give antibiotics to your dog if they feel that bacteria is causing the problem, as far as I know there is no treatment for viruses.

My girls on antibiotics to try and prevent a secondary infection.  But the Benyling sems to the cough and a couple of people have suggested Colloidal Silver too.

Glad she's on the mend :)

Sam hasn't coughed since the vet poked her fingers down her throat to bring on an attack yesterday :rolleyes: Not sure if it even was KC now but better safe than sorry! :rolleyes:

Many thanks for your message, I have just purchased a bottle of the 'red stuff', what dosage do I give, it it 1 teas for humans, but would 1/4 or 1/2 be better.
Thanks again

we give about 5-10 ml to our setters, boys get more then the girls as they are bigger!

Just thought I'd give an update on my pup.  She was diagnosed with Kennel Cough on 03/12/2003 after having emergency veterinary treatment on 01/12/2003.

She is still not over it and the vets now don't think it is KC.  Some kind of viral infection but not sure what.  She is now on her third course of anti-biotics and if this course does not work she has to have chest xrays in the new year.

All the time that she has been going for check ups they have checked her heart and lungs and they have been fine, however, when they were checked last night the verdict was 'not too bad'.  To me this sounds like it's deteriorated or am I being paranoid???

She is also being treated for lungworm just in case.  The vet says that the likelihood of her having it is very slim but it can hurt to treat her anyway.

I'm terrified that I'm going to lose my baby!!

Well I would say please don't worry.  Cops has had this terrible cough for a week now.  Still has the cough but mildly.  He has recovered with the treatment but still sounds like he is going to choke to death with every small attack.  My vet warned me that if it's viral the treatment won't work but we did it anyway.  I think a pup is more vulnerable than my dog (4 yr) so I wish you well.  I'm sure it will be fine.

CG

Just to say thanks for the people who recomended Benylin for my Labs cough, cleared it up very well, he is now in great form
Thanks

I really sympathise with this dreadful airborne virus.  I have boarded for 15 years and pride myself that never had IT. But last week a oarder came in with it!! Now I have had two of my own now getting over it, quite quickly within three days and not ill, and then now 5 boarders have it!! Two again, not ill and recovering very quickly but one is coughing up the mucous and seems miserable with it.  I live in Spain and the vets here always prescribe human medication for the animals as well which is very effective and much cheaper than U.K
Mine are on DOXICLAT tablets twice a day and a cough mixture which helps the coughing.  Morning and night are the key signs to kennel cough.  I have always used a product from the U.K which kills the kennel cough virus, but of course this can prevent it being in, but if someone brings it in, we cannot stop it spreading when airborne.  Cant get benylin here, but it sounds like it is working really well on all your dogs.  I have three german shepherds and none have contracted this, seems a coincidence but strange that this breed appear to be immune.
Adele, Spain

dogs given the intra nasal KC vaccine are contagious for 14dys afterwards & should also be kept in

Oh I didnt know that, do you know if its the same for the injection one???

My girls have KC right now, and it seems that the ones that got the vaccine are the ones that have KC.  Scarlet hasnt had the vaccine, and she doesnt have it (yet)........

I am using Benilyn DM for Children, and a course of ABs. 

But if they are still contagious for longer after they stop coughing, I didnt know that either.  My vet said I could go back campaining Cher at the shows in Novemeber.  Will give this a double thought.

The thing with KC is you should not be walking your dog out beyond your own property. It's airborne and all your dog needs to do is cough, then the virus is left on blades of grass etc for the next poor unsuspecting dog to pick up.
I know it's hard to contain your dog in gardens when they're unwell, but for the sake of other people you must.  This is a highly contagious infection and whilst for the majority of dogs KC is not a major worry in terms of health, there are a number of groups that are very vulnerable and can and do die as a result of contracting KC, such as elderly dogs, young pups and those that are ill.  So it does not have to be dog-dog contact to get it.
If your dog has KC, or you even suspect it of having it, then you must keep it on your own property until it is clear. It's as simple as that.
Sorry if this is coming across rude, it's not meant to, but so many people don't seem to realise the implications and the ease at which this is spread.
KC generally lasts about 4 weeks and dogs can be contagious to other dogs for up to 3 months!!

>dogs given the intra nasal KC vaccine are contagious for 14dys afterwards & should also be kept in
>Oh I didnt know that, do you know if its the same for the injection one???

This is a very old thread, and I don't know whether or not that information was correct at the time, but it certainly isn't the case now. Dogs are given the KC vax squirted up their nose and there's no recommendation from the manufacturers to keep them isolated for 14 days.

We don't have an injectible KC vax over here, so you'd need to ask your vet about any possible isolation requirements.

Thanks for the reply, I was looking up any info on KC since my 2 girls have got it right now.  Cher seems to be the worst, while Cas has just a minor cough.  Both are on ABs. 

I was looking for anything that could help them, feel a tad better.  Both are being isolated, and I am not letting any other person with dogs come in the house.  I would feel horrid if my dogs gave it to another dog. 

I read in today's newspaper that dogs can give a form of KC to cats, and vice versa. I hadn't heard that before, so shall make enquiries next week.

ETA: The particular pathogen is "Bordetella bronchiseptica" and yes, it does affect both species.

think it is quite rare though JG, we had a huge outbreak of KC at the hospital i work at earlier in the year, took us 2 months to be fully clear of it, absolute nightmare, and several samples came back as that strain and no cats were affected, owners were warned of the risk, but told it was minimal.

ive heard of places from cornwall thru to scotland with KC. its pretty widespread this year.

heard that you can use childrens cough medicine to treat KC so searched and found this site which confirmed this, thanks, dog been to vets and given antibiotics but still coughing and sounds dryer now and longer as if clearing throat so will try cough medicine tomorrow, if you know a dog owner in Redditch tell them of cases here.

My girl has a cough (assured by the vet its NOT KC, but just a cold) and I have been giving her Benylin for kids... worked wonders at night.

It was here in the Winchester area in July/Aug so i had both of mine kc done then hope your pup gets better soon.

Dogs don't realy get colds, they get rhinitis which is a snotty nose type infection, but usually "colds" are mild forms of KC come out in a different way, particularly if theres a cough involved. thanks what my vets have told me anyway. I would still treat her as infectious to be on the safe side.