Kennel cough

[Jennifer and Sadie]

Hi everyone!!! My Sadie started coughing really bad last night so we took her to the vet and they diagnosed her with kennel cough. They gave her an antibiotic injection, pils, and cough meds, however, she is still coughing and isnt able to keep anything down.

Is this normal? I know they can throw up because of coughing so hard, but she is throwing up much more than I was expecting.

Thanks for your help!!
Jennifer

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry for you and Sadie.  Two of my dogs have had kennel cough.  One had been immunized and so I think his case was not too bad.  The other was a rescue from  the shelter.  He was so sick that all he did was lay around but as soon as he did any activity, he had a coughing spell.  The cough lingers quite a while but they do stop throwing up so much.

[Jennifer and Sadie]

Hi Nancy, thank you so much for your reply. Poor Sadie was also vaccinated against this, so I am hoping she will be feeling better soon. I feel so bad for her. We wish we knew where she picked this up. We go on walks every night, so we are guessing it might have been one of our neighborhood dogs. Her cough sounds so horrible and it started so quickly. It seemed like one minute she was fine and the next she couldn't stop coughing. Hopefully the shot the vet gave her will start helping her feel better soon. I am going to ask him about vaccinating her twice a year against this.

Thank you again, I really appreciate it,
Jennifer

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Daisy does the 2 times a year vaccine and her daycare requires that. Our older dog had it once to and it took forever for him to stop coughing....I don't remember about the throwing up.

Feel better soon Sadie.

[Judi, David & Maddie Irishdoodle]

Hi Jennifer - So sorry to hear your Sadie has kennel cough.  Our Maddie was also vaccinated but got Kennel cough when she was almost 1yr old - it was running rampant in our city back then.  The vet said they can still get it even when vaccinated however it won't be as severe.  She was given meds and I was also told to give her an over the counter cough medicine (can't remember the exact type the vet suggested) but it was for a dry cough. She was feeling much better after a couple days of meds however the cough hung on for quite a while. We also had to keep her from being in contact with other dogs for a couple weeks just so we didn't pass it along to anyone else. Hang in there - it'll get better.

[Richard Crowe]

Neither our Holly nor any of the three foster doodles we had in our home this year have developed kennel cough.

 

However, we did rescue several Maltese from some Los Angeles shelters where kennel cough is rampant.  We were able to set up a kennel area in our RV garage which is well insulated and quite large.  We used a portable evaporative cooler to keep it cool and to provide some moisture in the air.  The dogs that came down with kennel cough were not interested in eating but, the cough subsided after about a week. 

 

We kept Holly and our other dogs from developing the cough by isolating the sick dogs.

 

We medicated the dogs with prescription antibiotics to prevent any secondary infections.  However, one Maltese who was 14 pounds when he entered the shelter and was starved down to six pounds when American Maltese Rescue got him out (the shelter had "LOST" the dog and couldn't locate him on three occasions when a volunteer came to get him from the shelter) was in such bad shape that the kennel cough developed into pneumonia and he needed IV antibiotics as well as IV fluids. He went into respiratory arrest but was saved by an instant trip to a 24 hour vet.

 

Dogs do worse with kennel cough when they have been physically or emotionally stressed (or both).  They are most likely to catch the cough and do worse after they have become sick...

[Diana Erhart]

I am so sorry that Sadie has kennel cough.  Although my Charlie has never had it, his best friend a Goldendoodle named Sam had it last year.  He too was vaccinated but still got it very bad.   He was sick for a couple of days before going to the vet as his owner and I kept saying...listen to that funny sounding sneeze Sam is making....not even thinking about kennel cough because of the vaccination.  Luckily my Charlie didn't get it.  But anyway.....it took Sam a good week to start to get his strength back.  He was very lethargic and hardly ate, perhaps that is why I don't remember him throwing up much.  By the second week he was starting to eat and getting his strength back but it took at least that week and maybe another one or two before he was back to normal.  Hugs and kisses to Sadie....hope she is feeling better soon!

[Jennifer and Sadie]

Hi everyone!!! Thank you so much for your help! Sadie is feeling much better today!! Now I think she has a case of cabin fever!! Lol!!! She still has a slight cough, but nothing like it was!!!
Thank you again!! This site is the best!!!