Kennel cough?
 

Question for all who may know anything about kennel cough. My son invited friends over when he got home from school last nite, they brought their new puppy. She had a bad shot reaction to a lepto shot and they didnt want to leave her at home. Both my yorkies(one is 5 mths old) immediatly wanted to play with this pup and were running around. Then she told me the puppy had kennel cough!!!! I snatched all my dogs and threw them in the bedroom, they maybe were out 2-3 min with this pup. She said she had gotten the pup a month before at a PET STORE in our area. The vet had been treating her with 2 different antibiotics for this past month. How contagious could this pup still be? I want to add I do not vaccinate for bordatella as my dogs do not go to anyplace I think they would get it. I guess I never thought about it coming here. Pat, Rini? any one have any idea on what my chances are or how to minimise the risk. I have already bleached then nolvasoned my vinyl floor where the pup spent most of her time. I also took away the toys that she played with while she was here and the bowl she ate out of.She just made herself at home poor baby. Sorry this is so lengthy but I wanted to make sre you had all the details. I do plan on calling this pet store and complainig to my vet, Dont know how much good it will do but this infuriates me. I do not blame the kids they do not know any better, or at least they didnt until last nite.I do blame the pet store that sells sickly puppies

i think you did good....... always be watchful for sick babies coming over.... you bleached the floor, which is good...you can bleach or wash toys (using HOT water) you can also bleach the bottoms of youre shoes that you were wearing,...... did i forget anything??? :confused:

Usually, the dogs that get kennel cough are already not in the best of health. They are stressed, sickly from all the drugs millers and store owners give them to try to treat what the poor baby should not have been exposed to in the first place. Okay, I am getting off topic but I make no bones about how I feel toward those people..
Kennel cough is caused by many different strains of virus and you can never vaccinate against all of them,. Bottom line, I would not worry if your babies are healthy. Kennel cough as a rule is very treatable..and rarely is fatal. Your babies are gonna be fine. If you still have concerns, I would say contact your vet.

I think whispers mom is trying to say this may be the case in this instance....... but my baby had kennel cough and a whole bunch of people on here had to deal with it....... it doesnt necessarily mean to dog is in poor health, puppy imune system arent great because they are young and havent had exposure, therefore they are susceptible to get diseases easily (which is why all the shots are necessary) it is not something that only sickly pups get, it is something that ALL pups can get

Thank you both. I was a basket case last nite. I was pretty sure Rio would be okay as he seems to be the fittest dog on the planet but I was concerned about little Mignon as she is so little and young.And I really didnt want it running thru my house!!I am calling the pet store as these kids are 19 yrs old and after forking out all the money on such a poor breed example (she was sweet tho) now they have been faced with LOADS of vet bills. This is the second antibiotic the pup has been on so far:(

Actually I understood exactly what whispersmom said and honestly after being on the internet and talking with an er vet tech last nite she is right. Usually if the dog is in good shape physically they stand a better chance of not contracting the disease. Certainly there are cases of just plain bad luck but this pup was obviously NOT in the best of health.
As an aside when she had her shot reaction yesterday not only did her face swell horribly but a whole lot of her hair just fell out!!!! That is a new one on me.I had never heard of that!!!

I think Kennel cough is airborne and any dog can catch it from a kennel, groomer, pet store, vet etc. Bella had it and was on antibiotics for 3 weeks, still a little left.

I dogsat for the oodles of poodles I watch every now and then and while I was watching them my dogs got sick with kennel cough. I couldnt figure out how they got it cause mine dont go anywhere but to my van. I called the owners of the oodles ofpoodles to tell them I had seperated them and they may want to come and pick them up and that I was sorry if thiers got sick. they said oh just let them run with mine cause they had it 2 weeks ago. BOY was I pissed. They had brought thier dogs over while they were still contagious and gave it to mine! I was mostly mad cause they didnt tell me. I think they knew I would have never watched thier dogs if I had known and they needed a babysitter. Every one of my dogs got it but the vet said mine were good and healthy so he didnt want to put them on antibiotics unless they really needed it, We just let them ride it through. They are all better now but are still contageous so we are in quarantine so to speak.

Here is a link to an article you can read:

http://www.2ndchance.info/kennelcough.htm

I agree. It's kind of like the "common cold" that we humans get and it is almost impossible to totally protect yourself from it unless you cloister yourself and your dogs in your home. Even a simple trip to the vet may expose your dog to it, but you have done everything you can.

Chai got kennel cough from a vet visit and had it for a good month. It was almost impossible (and would have been cruel actually) to keep her away from Buddha and Hefner, but neither of them caught it, for what it's worth.

BTW I think the incubation period is 2 weeks if I'm not mistaken.

Encyclopedia of Canine Veterinary Medical Information

Kennel cough

Kennel cough is most commonly associated with a bacterial infection caused by the organism Bordetella bronchiseptica. While it is hard to be certain in veterinary medicine when discussing statistics, it is estimated that 80 to 90% of the cases of kennel cough are due to this organism. The other 10 to 20% of cases are caused by a variety of other infectious agents, most of them viral. Kennel cough has been associated with parainfluenza virus, adenovirus and canine distemper virus as well as the Bordetella bacteria.

The incubation period from the time a dog is exposed until clinical signs appear varies depending on which infectious agent is the cause. In general it appears to be about 3 to 5 days with Bordetella. The infection tends to be mild except for a very harsh cough that often prompts owners to think that their dog "has something caught in his throat". In some dogs it can lead to pneumonia or more serious signs. Cough suppressants can be used to control the cough and antibiotics may be necessary for stubborn infections or to try to stop the spread of the bacteria in multiple dog households. It is probably a good idea to vaccinate dogs who will be exposed to large numbers of other dogs, such as at shows, obedience classes or the classic cause -- when left in kennels. The intranasal vaccine is pretty fast acting, providing some protection in as little as 5 days. The injectable version of the vaccine may provide longer immunity, though. Some vets use both to get maximum protection. We don't use either one routinely but give the intranasal vaccine to our patients who will be exposed to groups of dogs.

After reading this article I guess I was wrong about the incubation period and you may want to still get the intranasal vaccine and some form of pre-antibiotic like echinacea.

I can't add to the advise here - it sounds like you've got great advise here and already done all you can do to prevent your babies from getting it - I really hope they're OK !!

You're right I'm sure when you said the kids didn't know any better - after being on antibiotics and such for a month - I'm sure they really didn't know it could be contageous - When Tessa (my cocker) caught if from a groomer - Chanel did NOT get it ....

but I have a question ? in this sentence [I have already bleached then nolvasoned my vinyl floor]

I know what Bleach is ...what is the other word ? Nolvasoned ? Is that a disenfectant ?

I know this is silly of me to ask.. but, what does kennel cough sound like? Does it sound like someone hockin' up a loogey? :rolleyes:

Yes a real deep lugey!LOL. The best way I can think of explaining it is it sounds like a kid with whooping cough. Hopefully you will never hear it. It sounds nasty.

[
but I have a question ? in this sentence [I have already bleached then nolvasoned my vinyl floor]

I know what Bleach is ...what is the other word ? Nolvasoned ? Is that a disenfectant ?[/QUOTE]
Villette, Yes nolvason is a disinfectant that the vets use. It kills everything from parvo to rabies virus'. I think there are a couple things it doesnt get but I cant remember what they are. We use it on foals umbilcals too. Belive it or not bleach is not that great as a disinfectant for virus',or so I have heard.

Thanks - never heard of that one ...I hope I never have the need !