Stew has kennel cough, apparently :(

[Jess & Stewart]

I have no idea how or when he got kennel cough but last night he suddenly started hacking like a seal. I watched him all night and this morning he started coughing up white foamy mucus. Took him to the vet this morning and they said he seemed fine, it's mild and gave me a week's worth of a cough supressant. Hopefully that eases the coughing and he won't irritate his throat more.

Now that I think back over the week & weekend, he's coughed a bit more lately, 2-4x more a day, but he usually coughs like he's clearing his throat daily too.

It's painful to hear him cough like this. At first I thought he'd swallowed something on a walk & got really worried. I still don't know how he could have gotten it so suddenly, we don't interact with many dogs during the day aside from maybe 1-2 of his friends we occasionally see on walks, like 3 times a week.

I've read some previous discussions on here about kennel cough. Now I'm wondering if he should have been given antibiotics along with the suppressant? I have class later today and I'll be nervous to leave him now :(

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry Stew is ill.  I hope he feels better soon.  One of our dogs got sick with this after a dog park visit.  He then gave it to our other dogs as well as my daughter's dogs, who visited before the coughing began!  All of the dogs had been immunized, but obviously this strain was not in any of their immunizations.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

My Doodles have had it a couple of times....they do go to Daycare so I'm assuming that's where they picked it up.  It has always cleared up without antibiotics.  Because they get vaccinated they get a mild case and the cough suppressant is all they need.  Hope he's feeling better soon.

[jenn D]

Feel better Stew! Hope you are on the mend!

[Jess & Stewart]

Stew slept all night like a log, I only heard the coughing once maybe twice. He seemed perfectly fine this morning, happy, jumping everywhere with no coughing. I gave him another cough suppressant and he's been laying around all morning. I might give him one more tonight just to be safe, but it seems to be over!

Is he really still contagious for 2 weeks? I have a boarding reservation for him next weekend & had planned to get him groomed next Friday. Maybe I should put off the grooming and have a family member watch him.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would give the medication as directed by the vet, whether he is coughing or not. The meds are what is reducing the coughing and allowing him to rest. He may seem much better, but it is not "over" in the sense that the infection is still present in his body. If you stop the meds before the prescribed time, the symptoms may come right back. 

I also think it would be better not to board him next week if you have another choice. Not just because he is still contagious, but also because you want to be sure that he's completely over this before exposing him to a boarding situation. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Amen to what Karen said!

[Jess & Stewart]

The vet gave me 4 days of meds, so I'll give them until Sunday. I know the infection isn't over, but the cough seems over at least. I'll probably cut back tomorrow-he's pretty sleepy. I don't want him too sedated.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jess, again, the cough "seems gone" because of the cough suppressant meds. Please finish the meds as prescribed. It won't do any harm for him to be a little sleepy. When you have a respiratory infection, I'll bet you feel sleepy, too. 

Sleep and rest help the body fight illness. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Karen, he still would be contagious too, correct?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think so. 

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

I think so too

[Emily, Bentley, & Maserati]

I hope he feels better!