kennel cough

1382 Views 7 Replies 6 Participants Last post by samsonsmom, Sep 22, 2007

jacenjess

Discussion Starter · Sep 11, 2007

We just got Bubba on Saturday and he coughed a few times yesterday but I didn't think much of it (we got him at the humane society). Today he has been coughing more and coughing up white foamy phlegm. Makes me want to cry! He's going to the vet tomorrow afternoon but I am worried still. I am also worried Gracie will catch it. She has only had 2 of her shots so far and from what I have read even with vaccinations there are so many strains she may end up catching it anyways. They both got some vitamin C today but have any of you dealt with this? If so can you tell me about it and keep me from stressing too much?

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Zhanna

· #2 · Sep 11, 2007

Both our pups were adopted from shelters and both had kennel cough. Rocky was not too bad, but poor little Henry was just horrible!

Try to not let him run around too much. Keeping him quiet will help the most. Doc will be able to give you some good helping meds. But, the meds will make bladder control more difficult if he's really little. Rocky was 5 months old when we got him and was more healthy in general, so he didn't have as much trouble. Henry was 12 weeks old and very thin and down when we got him, so he had a really rough time. It almost got into his lungs. And it was Christmas!

Good luck and keep us posted. We'll pray for you guys!

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nano

· #3 · Sep 11, 2007

You can try giving him some honey mixed in with some warm water to drink. That will help sooth the throat. Good advice from Zhanna who has been thru it. I was fortunately surfing this forum when I saw her urgent plea for help at christmas. It sounds terrible, I had a puppy with it years ago and he was from a breeder. The kennel cough "shot" can also cause them to get kennel cough which is what happened to mine. Hope he gets better soon and the vet has some good things to give him to help him thru it.

Nano

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ChloeAndBrodisMa

· #4 · Sep 11, 2007

Poor little guy.. My first dog that I rescued from a shelter had that. I used a vaporizer at night when we went to bed with a little vicks vapor steam in it. Hope Bubba starts feeling better soon.

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Newcastle

· #5 · Sep 11, 2007

I give honey as well, though just straight off the spoon, and I use raw honey since it has antiseptic and antibacterial properties which pasteurized honey doesn't have. If the cough is really bad, I'll bring the dogs in the bathroom with me while I shower for a 'steam treatment'. (Though honestly I've only had one dog with more than mild kennel cough since I stopped giving the vaccination back in 2000.)

Really kennel cough is just the doggie version of the common cold - in and of itself, it's just annoying, and generally clears up in a week or two without medication. What you want to watch out for is a secondary infection - that's why giving things like Vitamin C, echinacea, goldenseal, B-Complex, etc. is often recommended, to support the immune system. (Some vets give antibiotics 'just in case', but this practice is frowned upon by many because it encourages bacteria resistance.) Typical signs of infection are a thick green nasal discharge, and of course a fever. You also want to watch out for changes in activity level, appetite, and elimination - most of the time dogs with kennel cough play, eat, and eliminate normally, though sometimes if it's a very 'wet' cough the mucus can cause mild digestive upset.

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jacenjess

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 21, 2007

Well about 12 hours after this post Bubba got much, much worse...took him to emergency vet and they tried to charge us $1000 which we couldn't afford. He got subcutaneous fluids and IV antibiotic and went home. Took him to the humane society and they said, "yep pretty bad kennel cough!". $40 and some antibiotics and he is MUCH better (still coughing but now it's dry and he's back to his normal goofy self). We were keeping him and Gracie separated and than she started to cough so they were reunited (I know we should have waited but it was just way too stressful!).

Fast forward... Gracie started coughing a bit....Well I have read that since kennel cough is viral in most cases you don't need antibiotics... so we went to the feed store and got Gracie a homeopathic remedy which she has been taking 4 times daily. Now for the past three days she has looked really, really bad but we thought maybe we would wait it out. Now she won't eat or drink (I am giving her water with a syringe). It's killing me to see my baby so sick and I can't wait anymore so she's going to the vet at 3:15 (a different vet). It's totally stressing me out because I have no idea whats going on and I hate seeing her so miserable plus I have no idea how we are going to afford this. I don't want the vet to see us as the totally irresponsible pet owners because we waited to bring her in. We've only had Gracie since August and Bubba for a couple weeks and so far we have spent a ridiculous amount on them. They are priceless though...

I think I may just lose my mind.

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jacenjess

Discussion Starter · #7 · Sep 22, 2007

So the new vet is awesome! We didn't even have to work out a payment plan because we actually had the $... Gracie is now on 3 antibiotics and a special wet food because she wasn't eating. It's only been 8 hours since she got her first doses and she actually is eating and drinking and seems a bit less lethargic so YAY!!

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samsonsmom

· #8 · Sep 22, 2007

Aaahhh, sounds like the new vet is pretty good. Glad to hear that Gracie is already starting to feel better...Hugs to all of you, I know this has really been stressful

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