What is kennel cough? - AmericaNowNews.com

What is kennel cough?

"Kennel cough" is a common and sometimes deadly disease in dogs that can be contracted almost anywhere. Your dog may have been vaccinated for kennel cough when he was a puppy, but the vaccination only covers one component of the syndrome.

If your dog goes to the dog park, has ever been in a kennel, or is allowed to interact with other dogs, he's still at risk. And an untreated case can quickly turn into pneumonia.

Dr. Annette LePere, VMD, has been a licensed veterinarian for 10 years.

"Kennel cough is a symptom called canine infectious trachea bronchitis and it's typically an irritation in the airway of a dog," says Dr. LePere. "I usually use the flu to compare to kennel cough when I'm telling people about it, as an analogy because it's made of a couple different components. It can come from some viruses, like corona virus or adenovirus and sometimes it can come from different organisms like Mycoplasma."  

Your dog can get it anywhere that dogs congregate.

"It's easy for dogs to catch the other components, because a lot of these are airborne viral infections and sometimes it's saliva and dogs are licking their feet, walking on floors, especially at doggy day cares or boarding facilities, grooming facilities, there are a lot of dogs in one setting so they can be exposed to some of the different bugs," says Dr. LePere.

There is no cure for kennel cough and it is not preventable, but Dr. LePere still recommends that you vaccinate your dog.

"I always tell owners that the kennel cough vaccine is effective in helping prevent a really sick case of kennel cough, but it's not 100 percent preventive," says LePere. "Typically, it will just help them to have less severe symptoms if they happen to get it." 

If you think your dog might have kennel cough, take him to the vet immediately. It's always better to be safe than sorry. And the sooner you catch it, the sooner your dog will feel better.

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