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Kennel Cough?! Help please...

2K views 18 replies 7 participants last post by  basedinberlin 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi everyone,

Our GSD has started hacking and wheezing when she moves. It came on this morning and has become worse this evening, although still only when she moves. She's just been in a kennel for four days (went in Monday, came out yesterday morning). I'm worried, but a quick Google makes it seem like kennel cough...? It's after 23:00 here, so do I need to call out the emergency vet? Or do I wait until tomorrow and still see a super-expensive Sunday vet? Or will it disappear by itself (or wait until Monday)? I've never had this before.... Really worried!!

She's always been healthy, and I'm cursing myself for putting her in there... :(

Also: who normally pays for this? Do we have to suck it up as a fact of life, or is it the $70/day kennel?

Argh!! :(
 
#2 ·
My male came home from the shelter with kennel cough and 3 of my 4 dogs ended up with it. They all were on antibiotics. By the time the second one got it I expected it and took them immediately to the vet, it was caught very early. If I were you I would take the dog in, because it can lead to other things pretty quick. Some dogs can get over it but I didn't take the chance.
 
#3 ·
I took my dog to the emergency vet when he had kennel cough. They gave him a shot and some antibiotics. It was about $100.00 visit. The breeder later told me I could have just given him Robitussin (sp?).

When my parents dogs got kennel cough they put meds in their water they got at a feed store.

Personally I felt better going to the vet.
 
#4 ·
What helps to is running the water in the shower real hot and sitting in there with the dog, it helps break it up in the chest.
 
#5 ·
yes! The evet told me to take him in there when I showered, but he was on meds also.

I kept on eye on him, but when he refused food and then water (even with some chicken broth in it) I took him in to the evet. He also had snot coming out of his nose. He was just a puppy when he got kennel cough. My two older dogs got it too, but not near as bad. They still went on meds.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Okay, that's really useful information, thank you!!

Last time I went to the emergency vet it was nearer to €200 ($250+) for a consultation, albeit on my cat. Hence my reservation about going there... But I'll have to take a trip!

What do you think about sending the invoice to the kennels? Apparently they gave her a vaccination for it at the start of her stay (I can see it on their bill), so I don't know if that really happened. Unless it's not kennel cough, but I think that's unlikely on the balance of probabilities (the symptoms + the timeline). She's normally healthy and hasn't had any contact with other dogs since she came back. Would you expect the kennel to pay for the treatment?
 
#8 ·
My evet only charges $50.00 for an office call and then the rest was for the shot and meds...it may have been closer to $200.00, now that I think about it.

All my dogs were vaccinated for kennel cough, but there are different strains. The vet grabbed and pressed on my dogs throat and he made this cough noise. That's how he was diagnosed. My other two went to the regular vet. They did the same throat test, but those two did not cough. SO, they were not given meds. They were mostly sneezing. Once the puppy was diagnosed,I called the regular vet back and got meds for them.
 
#7 ·
Kennel cough is not necessarily an emergency, if the dog is just coughing and snotting, but is still eating and drinking. Many healthy dogs fight it off without antibiotics -- essentially like a common cold.

You can probably just wait to go to the vet on Monday -- let them know you suspect KC, and they may ask you to use a side entrance to keep your dog away from other dogs because KC is HIGHLY contagious.

KC can become an emergency if the dog can't fight it off -- GSDs with weakened immune systems can crash very, very quickly. They stop eating and drinking, and they become very lethargic. At that point, they really need to get antibiotics quickly (usually doxycycline). There's a serious risk of pneumonia when they crash like this. For this reason, my preference is usually to start a GSD with KC on a round of antibiotics, to prevent a "crash."

In the meantime, eucalypus essential oil in a steam vaporizer helps. So does adding some coconut oil (organic, unrefined, cold-pressed, hexane-free) to her food:
Remedies for Kennel Cough - Whole Dog Journal Article

I've fostered dozens of dogs with KC. With antibiotics, they start feeling better in 48 hours, and are in good shape in a week.
 
#10 ·
I've just pressed her neck to diagnose - she didn't cough, but she did wheeze. I'd like to use antibiotics to be on the safe side, but I'll obviously see what the vet says. I've found a vet relatively close by that's open on Sundays on a regular basis, so hopefully that will cut down some of the supplemental weekend charges.

They vaccinated her when she went in (I've just checked her vaccination record book as well). They used 'Nobivac KC', which is apparently against 'Bordetella bronchiseptica and canine parainfluenza virus'. Perhaps she picked up a different strain then...

Is this any reflection on the kennel, by the way? I realise that it's highly contagious, but is it any reflection on their policies/cleanliness? She was isolated for her stay because she was just coming off heat (I feel bad for her having to face this straight after!). At $70+ per night, I hadn't expected to bring home a sick dog, to be honest...
 
#12 · (Edited)
I guess they'll just say that it was one of their 'preconditions.' I didn't actually take her to the kennels; they picked her up and drove her to the kennels about an hour away. We live in centre of the capital city, so I suppose it's cheaper for them to be based further out. But they have a good reputation, and at $70+ per night I was expecting something good for my princess. :) I didn't sign anything that gave them permission to vaccinate, but I suppose they simply enforce a policy that every dog is vaccinated on entry. We were also charged for a 'veterinary examination on admission'.

I don't really have a problem with the vaccination for the vaccination's sake; I'm not anti-immunisation per se, and if that was what they needed to allow her to stay, then so be it. But I wasn't expecting to pick up an ill dog, and I certainly wasn't expecting to pick up a dog with an illness that they'd immunised against.

So I guess my questions are:

i. If she picked it up from the kennels, is this any reflection on their cleanliness/policies etc.? I'll be letting loose on Facebook etc. and involving my legal insurance if it's a case of negligence.

ii. If she picked it up from them/it's a side effect of their enforced vaccine, would you expect them to pay for the bill? My heart says absolutely yes to this; I paid top-dollar to leave my dog in their care and she came back with an illness that I'll have to pay even more to put right (even if only to be on the safe side). But this is the first time that I've kennelled, so I don't know what the 'protocol' is in these situations...

I'll let you all know what the vet says tomorrow....
 
#13 ·
The vaccine-on-entry also seems a crazy choice because of this (from BahCan's fact sheet):

Unvaccinated dogs should receive one dose at least 3 weeks prior to the period of anticipated risk, e.g. temporary kennelling, in order to get protection for both vaccine agents. In order to get protection for Bordetella bronchiseptica unvaccinated dogs should receive one dose atleast 72 hours prior to the period ofanticipated risk.

But what on earth can I say to them?
 
#14 ·
My guess would be your dog has picked it up from the actual vaccination. I don't know why they would give it to your dog the day they admitted her into the kennel, the dog is not instantly immune the moment it gets the vaccine, it takes several days to take effect.

As far as the actual KC, a dog can still get it even if vaccinated, there are so many strains the vaccine does not guard against. I would be more pissed about the fact they gave my dog a vaccine without my consent, which in my opinion is what led to your dog displaying the symptoms she has.
 
#16 ·
Nobivac KC

Vaccination against infectious tracheobronchitis (kennel cough) is recommended if dogs go into a high risk situation such as a boarding kennel. All dogs should be protected against the unpleasant effects of this whooping cough-like disease. It can be spread whenever dogs get together, and a single dog can cause an outbreak of infection. Intervet/Schering-Plough recommends that if possible dogs are vaccinated at least two weeks before entering the kennels


The problem with the shot is that it requires a booster if it was never given before. I'm not sure just one shot on the same day would work at all. Once diagnosed the kennel needs to be notified because all dogs are at risk, especially the ones that were given the shot for the first time on the day they arrived.
 
#17 ·
Huntergreen...I might be wrong but this is what the Data Sheet says

Nobivac KC Data Sheet

Qualitative and quantitative composition
Per dose of 0.4 ml vaccine reconstituted with diluent (water for injections):


Active substances:


≥108.0 and ≤109.7 cfu1 of live Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria strain B-C2


≥103.0 and ≤105.8 TCID502 of live canine parainfluenza virus strain Cornell
 
#19 ·
Hi everyone,

Sorry for the gap between this post and my last.

We went to the vet first thing on Monday morning. The vet didn't seem overly concerned either at the idea of kennel cough (he didn't ask us to use a side entrance etc.) or, when we arrived, at our actual presentation. He said that since she wasn't off her food then he wouldn't diagnose kennel cough at all, or even the after-effects of the kennel cough vaccine. He put it all down to the stress of kennelling instead (it was her first time). All he gave us was some paste to help with the diarrhoea.

It's not the response that I was expecting, and I'm not 100% convinced that his explanation matched up with the symptoms...but he's the expert, right? On the plus side she's stopped coughing. The diarrhoea is still bad, but it's also improving. She's still quite miserable and lethargic...but fingers crossed it'll all improve quite quickly.

All I can say is: for whatever caused this, I won't be rushing to put her back into a kennel anytime soon. We obviously need a back-up plan for if we both need to be away again, so I'd say that it's time to look for a trusty person to come to the house twice a day and walk her in that situation. That should reduce her stress levels and cut out most transmittable diseases... (Perhaps they'll also feed the cat? Although he's never had a problem with catteries when that's been essential).

Thank you all for your lightning-fast contributions when I was at my most worried... I really appreciate the support!!
 
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