Kennel Cough

[Whippets Rule]

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Hi

any hints or tips for helping ease kennel cough....all four of my dogs have got it..

James the beagle is coughing and hacking and snorting but is lively and playful and still hungry etc.

Moonpig(Zoe) is only a bit hacky but is quite normal ie stroppy, mooing, eating etc

Badger has huffed a few times and blows through his nose a bit but he is off his grub this morning and a bit subdued.

Bryn has huffed and hacked a couple of times, only ate half his breakfast but is otherwise lively for an oldie etc.

I rang the vets this morning but they just said see how they are in 48hrs..

my main concerns are Badger and James, since one is old and the other has been like this for about five days..

anything I can do to help them at all? I did try giving James 5ml of Benyllin chesty cough stuff twice yesterday...most of it ended up all over me and up the wall and he freaked and tried to bite me..but he did seem too cough a bit less during the day but he was a nightmare during the night....

so help please

ps I did manage to persuade Badger to eat a small handful of treats and a teaspoon of live yoghurt just now but he is quite flat..

 

[peppermint sue]

Hi we found that cold milk helped ease their throat and gave them some relief :thumbsup:

it is nasty having to watch them hacking hope they feel better soon :wub:

 

[moonglow]

Honey & lemon in warm water.

 

[jinnyfizz]

Mine all had a cough of some sort before Christmas - not sure that it was kennel cough though.

A couple of them only coughed once or twice, whereas Jinny and Rosie kept on for a week or so - although not 24/7 by any means. It was exacerbated on exercise so I kept them quiet and it gradually disappeared.

Out of the two lurcher pups, who were 4 months old at the time, it was Timothy who coughed for quite a while. Cait hardly coughed at all!! Once again, it was when he was excited or running around first thing in the morning that it was noticeable.

None of them had any other symptoms and I just ensured they kept quiet and warm without too much excitement I think it's only if they develop a secondary bacterial infection that antibiotics are prescribed so just keep an eye on them and it should pass in time :thumbsup:

 

[Whippets Rule]

Mine all had a cough of some sort before Christmas - not sure that it was kennel cough though.
A couple of them only coughed once or twice, whereas Jinny and Rosie kept on for a week or so - although not 24/7 by any means. It was exacerbated on exercise so I kept them quiet and it gradually disappeared.

Out of the two lurcher pups, who were 4 months old at the time, it was Timothy who coughed for quite a while. Cait hardly coughed at all!! Once again, it was when he was excited or running around first thing in the morning that it was noticeable.

None of them had any other symptoms and I just ensured they kept quiet and warm without too much excitement I think it's only if they develop a secondary bacterial infection that antibiotics are prescribed so just keep an eye on them and it should pass in time :thumbsup:

thanks heaps...you really helped there....James is by far the worst but he mostly coughs and hacks during early hours say 2am until 5am then just occasionally through the day and definitely when excited or running around. I'll stick with it for now...Badger "managed" to force down a bit of cheese roll just now so although he is clearly under the weather, he's not at deaths door lol

thanks again.

 

[peppermint lady]

Mine all had a cough of some sort before Christmas - not sure that it was kennel cough though.
A couple of them only coughed once or twice, whereas Jinny and Rosie kept on for a week or so - although not 24/7 by any means. It was exacerbated on exercise so I kept them quiet and it gradually disappeared.

Out of the two lurcher pups, who were 4 months old at the time, it was Timothy who coughed for quite a while. Cait hardly coughed at all!! Once again, it was when he was excited or running around first thing in the morning that it was noticeable.

None of them had any other symptoms and I just ensured they kept quiet and warm without too much excitement I think it's only if they develop a secondary bacterial infection that antibiotics are prescribed so just keep an eye on them and it should pass in time :thumbsup:

thats sounds like KC to me Jane

 

[jinnyfizz]

Mine all had a cough of some sort before Christmas - not sure that it was kennel cough though.
A couple of them only coughed once or twice, whereas Jinny and Rosie kept on for a week or so - although not 24/7 by any means. It was exacerbated on exercise so I kept them quiet and it gradually disappeared.

Out of the two lurcher pups, who were 4 months old at the time, it was Timothy who coughed for quite a while. Cait hardly coughed at all!! Once again, it was when he was excited or running around first thing in the morning that it was noticeable.

None of them had any other symptoms and I just ensured they kept quiet and warm without too much excitement I think it's only if they develop a secondary bacterial infection that antibiotics are prescribed so just keep an eye on them and it should pass in time :thumbsup:

thats sounds like KC to me Jane

I thought it was because at first it was Poacher and the pups who coughed and they were the only ones who had been in touch with any other dogs (at the dog show before Christmas).

Began to doubt it because Poacher only coughed for one evening and a couple of them, Tizzy and Irie, never coughed at all!!! I always thought it was highly infectious and lasted for weeks on end? Although, I suppose like any virus, it affects every dog differently :thumbsup:

 

[Whippets Rule]

Mine all had a cough of some sort before Christmas - not sure that it was kennel cough though.
A couple of them only coughed once or twice, whereas Jinny and Rosie kept on for a week or so - although not 24/7 by any means. It was exacerbated on exercise so I kept them quiet and it gradually disappeared.

Out of the two lurcher pups, who were 4 months old at the time, it was Timothy who coughed for quite a while. Cait hardly coughed at all!! Once again, it was when he was excited or running around first thing in the morning that it was noticeable.

None of them had any other symptoms and I just ensured they kept quiet and warm without too much excitement I think it's only if they develop a secondary bacterial infection that antibiotics are prescribed so just keep an eye on them and it should pass in time :thumbsup:

thats sounds like KC to me Jane

I thought it was because at first it was Poacher and the pups who coughed and they were the only ones who had been in touch with any other dogs (at the dog show before Christmas).

Began to doubt it because Poacher only coughed for one evening and a couple of them, Tizzy and Irie, never coughed at all!!! I always thought it was highly infectious and lasted for weeks on end? Although, I suppose like any virus, it affects every dog differently :thumbsup:

about four years ago we had kennel cough and at the time had five dogs...only Bryn and Zoe got it really badly and needed antibiotics...Zoe had runny eyes/runny nose/wheezing and gagging...Bryn had a cough which sounded like whooping cough ..he needed two courses of antibiotics to shift it.....the other three Badger Woody and Parker didn't so much as have a sniffle.

 

[FeeFee]

Kennel cough definitely varies a lot from dog to dog, we had it here and little old Benji was quite ill and coughed for weeks, Taz and Jess were under the weather and coughing badly for about two weeks, Meg coughed for a day then nothing more and Sophie didn't have any symptoms at all. It's worth remembering that dogs are still infectious for 3-4 weeks after the cough has gone.

Liquorice water seemed to help the coughing - simmer liquorice root in a pan for 3-4 hours, then strain off the root and cool the liquid. My dogs actually seemed to like it, and I had much more success getting it onto them than children's Benylyn which my vet recommended.

Hope your poorly lot are better very soon :luck:

 

[Dar Khan]

All my lot have had the kennel cough . The symptoms vary greatly from dog to dog and can last a good while . Best to catch this nasty in its early stages and zap it with antibiotics but Benylin for dry coughs (sugar free mind ) can be used to good effect for mild symptoms of kennel cough .

 

[Dar Khan]

Sorry I meant non drowsy benylin

 

[Whippets Rule]

thanks for all the help..Badger still a bit off his food tonight but I'm going to give it until Tuesday morning before calling the vet again...

James still sounds a bit rough and I've just offended his sensibilities by sitting on him and syringing 5ml of Benyllin into him. (w00t)

 

[dizzyliz]

All my lot have had the kennel cough . The symptoms vary greatly from dog to dog and can last a good while . Best to catch this nasty in its early stages and zap it with antibiotics but Benylin for dry coughs (sugar free mind ) can be used to good effect for mild symptoms of kennel cough .

Yes I agree to. Its no fun when you have several dogs and they all go down one at a time. So I too act quick and do exactly what this poster has says but I guess it depends on your circumstances how the dog is and not acting poorly, then it definately is the time to act.

 

[Whippets Rule]

All my lot have had the kennel cough . The symptoms vary greatly from dog to dog and can last a good while . Best to catch this nasty in its early stages and zap it with antibiotics but Benylin for dry coughs (sugar free mind ) can be used to good effect for mild symptoms of kennel cough .

Yes I agree to. Its no fun when you have several dogs and they all go down one at a time. So I too act quick and do exactly what this poster has says but I guess it depends on your circumstances how the dog is and not acting poorly, then it definately is the time to act.

well I rang the vet first thing this morning and they said wait 48hrs before I do anything so I can only be guided by them...they didn't want to give me antibiotics yet so I just have to wait and see.....they said if there is no improvement in 48hrs then I can go pick up some antibiotics.

 

[Tigernidster]

When my oldie got kennel cough (the others didn't get it) she was given a 5 day course of antibiotics, linctus and a decongestant immediately by our vet.

His prompt action made sure that she shook it off in next to no time.

 

[Seraphina]

well I rang the vet first thing this morning and they said wait 48hrs before I do anything so I can only be guided by them...they didn't want to give me antibiotics yet so I just have to wait and see.....they said if there is no improvement in 48hrs then I can go pick up some antibiotics.

Most cases of kennel cough are caused by virus = antibiotics are no use. Sometimes a secondary bacterial infection occurs and that is when the dog needs antibiotic. The trick is to sooth the throat and stop the dog coughing. The cough irritates the throat more, which makes it easier for the secondary infection to get hold. We used to give cough syrup, which relives the cough and the dogs were usually fine in few days without need for other medications. :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[TillynPip]

Tilly and the late Pip had kennel cough as a direct result of having the puff up the nose to protect them from it when they had to go into kennels for four days last September! Had I known I wouldn't have put them through it and I would have dealt with it if they had picked it up whilst in kennels. When I collected them four days later, I dosed them at home with teaspoons of honey and kept them warm and quiet. This helped but the coughs didn't go and, eventually, I took them to the vet. They prescribed anti-biotics which cleared it pretty quickly.

Incidentally, I was dreading Gracie getting it and thought it was inevitable as she was only six months old but her natural immunity must be good because she didn't pick it up. There are many strains of Kennel Cough and I know there is one strain that is particularly nasty (which is the one the puffer up the nose immunises against) so I hope your hounds don't have that one. Good luck.