We were on vacation last week so we borded our two dogs at the vet. Picked them up Friday night. Yesterday (Sunday) Missy was hacking all day long like she had a hairball or something. We thought she had something stuck in her throat that she just couldn't get out. Today Haley has been doing the same thing. I have a call in to my sister (she works at a veterinary research place) and the vet is closed so at this point I am at a loss as to what to do for them. Neither of them has nasal or eye discharge and they are both eating and drinking normally. They are both current on their vaccines so I am a little confused how they could get kennel cough since it is technically bordatella?? They both come due for those vaccines next month. Is there anything to help them in the meantime with the cough??
Anyone Ever Have Kennel Cough?
- Thread starter buzzytoes
- Start date
^^ i'm so sorry this happened to your babies 
...the same thing just happened to my 1 year-old puppy...we boarded him for the 1st time for 5 days, picked him up & he was coughing & vomiting non-stop...sadly, the boarding facility didn't tell us he was sick...i don't know whether they were trying to hide it or were neglectful & didn't even notice...either way, i knew as soon as we got home that something was wrong...luckily, i was able to get him to the vet right away...and she diagnosed him with kennel cough immediately...he also had the bordatella booster, but it doesn't protect dogs against all strains of kennel cough (just like the flu vaccine doesn't protect humans from all strains of flu)...i wish there was something i could recommend for their symptoms tonite...if things get really bad, you should visit an ER...i know that kennel cough can turn into pneumonia, which can turn deadly...since they've only just developed it, i'm sure they're not in danger of that now...but make sure to get both of them to the vet 1st thing tomorrow (((hugs))) 
...the same thing just happened to my 1 year-old puppy...we boarded him for the 1st time for 5 days, picked him up & he was coughing & vomiting non-stop...sadly, the boarding facility didn't tell us he was sick...i don't know whether they were trying to hide it or were neglectful & didn't even notice...either way, i knew as soon as we got home that something was wrong...luckily, i was able to get him to the vet right away...and she diagnosed him with kennel cough immediately...he also had the bordatella booster, but it doesn't protect dogs against all strains of kennel cough (just like the flu vaccine doesn't protect humans from all strains of flu)...i wish there was something i could recommend for their symptoms tonite...if things get really bad, you should visit an ER...i know that kennel cough can turn into pneumonia, which can turn deadly...since they've only just developed it, i'm sure they're not in danger of that now...but make sure to get both of them to the vet 1st thing tomorrow (((hugs))) 
Yes, the rescue we got 3 weeks ago had it and gave it to Millie. The good thing is it is treatable but get to the vet tomorrow. I would wait until then, I know it is awful to listen to the cough but the good thing is that once you get the antibiotics and couch meds it will go away after a few days. Hang in there.
I spoke with my sister and she said that the dogs that had it at her work coughed all night as well as all day. I am not sure if maybe they are just at the start of it or not but it doesn't sound like there is anything I can do to make them more comfortable in any case. I just hate listening to them trying to hack up something that isn't there!!! Thanks for the replies ladies!
^^ poor babies, just make sure your vet gives them medicine for the cough + antibiotics...the cough medicine helped my puppy alot & stopped that awful hacking...he finally finished his 2-week course of antibiotics tonite
It could be bordatella, but there has also been a nasty strain of canine influenza kicking around too.
I would definitely get them into the vet sooner rather than later. Kennel cough can be really nasty. Our dog picked up one time when he was in a kennel while we were away on vacation. He had been vaccinated, but like it was explained above, the vaccine does not protect against all strains and no vaccine is 100% effective. Our dog actually had to go through two rounds of antibiotics and ended up losing a lot of weight. He recovered after about a month. Some strains of kennel cough can be really nasty.
I would definitely get them into the vet sooner rather than later. Kennel cough can be really nasty. Our dog picked up one time when he was in a kennel while we were away on vacation. He had been vaccinated, but like it was explained above, the vaccine does not protect against all strains and no vaccine is 100% effective. Our dog actually had to go through two rounds of antibiotics and ended up losing a lot of weight. He recovered after about a month. Some strains of kennel cough can be really nasty.
not sure this will help you or not, but when I look at listings through our local animal rescue league shelters, if a dog has kennel cough they put that in the listing and say they will be adoptable after they are treated, however, they then also say that since they have had kennel cough that they would not adopt them out to anyone that already has a dog because it is contagious even if they are being treated.
can cats get this??? i only ask because one of my cats will hack and hack and hack like he has a hairball but nothing ever comes up. he's almost 7 and i've never seen him vomit once. he used to do this hacking quite often but i haven't seen him do it for quite some time, but i noticed that recently my youngest cat has done it a few times as well.
can cats get this??? i only ask because one of my cats will hack and hack and hack like he has a hairball but nothing ever comes up. he's almost 7 and i've never seen him vomit once. he used to do this hacking quite often but i haven't seen him do it for quite some time, but i noticed that recently my youngest cat has done it a few times as well.
I'm not sure if they can ILuvShopping. From what I was reading yesterday it sounds like it can only be passed dog to dog. So a cat wouldn't get it from a dog. Not sure if they have some version of it as well though.
I did call the vet to see if they had any cases of it going around and they said they hadn't had any come through. Not sure if they would tell me if they had any cases that were being boarded but who knows??
I did call the vet to see if they had any cases of it going around and they said they hadn't had any come through. Not sure if they would tell me if they had any cases that were being boarded but who knows??
Cats can get an upper respiratory infection from lots of things but they wouldn't catch canine bordatella, because it is host-specific.
It sounds like your cats might be working on a hairball. Sometimes, cats will gag and hack for a while before they actually throw it up.
One of my dogs has had kennel cough and it sounds just like what your described. A nasty sounding cough that went on day and night.
The vet actually did not find it necessary to put her on antibiotics, but just Robitussin cough syrup and it worked great!
The vet actually did not find it necessary to put her on antibiotics, but just Robitussin cough syrup and it worked great!
I was just about to say the same thing TallulahJane. My dogs got it after they were kenneled. It sounded terrible and I was worried sick. I took them to the vet and was told it sounds much worse than it really is. My vet said a adult young healthy dog recovers quite well on their own. My vet doesn't believe in the overprescription of antibiotics, since Kennel Cough of most often caused by a virus. He told me to give them a child's dose of Robitussin DM, and if they weren't better in a week then to bring them back in. They recovered in a few days!
If you do use cough syrup make sure there aren't any artificial sugars in it, they are toxic to dogs.
When I first adopted my cat from the spca she had what the vet referred to as a type of kennel cough. She was hacking, but not because of a hairball. A round of antibiotics later she was fine.