I looked up kennel cough to see if it was viral or bacterial, looks like it could be either. Many doctors prescribe antibiotics for people with viral infections to "satisfy" the patient so that they feel like something is being done, not a very good practice...anyway, wondered if the same was true for dogs.
A: Ben- Tracheobronchitis, commonly referred to as "kennel cough" is usually caused by the bacteria Bordetella bronchiseptica. It can also be caused by several viruses. Some vets feel that it is best not to treat this condition with antibiotics since it is almost always self limiting and the organism is a normal inhabitant of the upper airways. Treatment may lead to resistance problems and difficulty treating the most serious complication, pneumonia, if it occurs. So many dogs are very uncomfortable due to the severity of the cough that I think most vets do use antibiotics to treat this. I personally like sulfa/trimethoprim combination antibiotics such as Ditrim (Rx) or Tribrissen (Rx) or doxycycline but I suspect that many antibiotics work well for this condition -- and no antibiotic at all is OK most of the time. Use of a cough suppressant can make the dog a lot more comfortable, whether antibiotics are used or not.
Mike Richards, DVM |