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just interested on ppls views on these,my mums dog was spayed last week, she hasnt been well eversince, today , they took her back to the vet again cause she was coughing and being sick, they took her a few days ago and was told it could be down the the anasthetic, but as she was still coughing they went again and were told it is most likely kennel cough , mum went nuts cause lady is a monster and doesnt socialise with anyother dogs , so if it was the chances r she got it at the vets , they refused to accept responsibilty for it but offered to let lady have the treatment for free, im now wondering if i should get my 3 kennel cough shots??? what do you think ??????

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Kennel cough is caused by a combination of highly infectious viruses and bacteria that will spread rapidly in the air or by direct contact among a group of dogs in the right conditions. It usually presents with a few days of being off colour, then a hacking cough that starts whenever the dog gets excited or exercises.

The cough usually results in the production of white froth, or mucus, which some owners describe as retching. Generally healthy dogs are not too ill; they may have a mild temperature 103F (normally 101-101.5F) and may be a little off their food. The cough will get worse over the first few days then, if untreated, gradually resolve after three to four weeks. In very young or old dogs, or if there is concurrent disease, kennel cough may become more severe and lead to bronchopneumonia. This is very nasty and uncomfortable for the dog and in some cases may result in death.

Predisposing factors for catching and spreading kennel cough:

* Close contact with other dogs; for instance in kennels, backs of trucks, or at shoots

* Exercise, excitement and exposure to cold air stimulates the cough and spreads the viruses and bacteria

* High levels of humidity, such as foggy mornings, warm and poorly ventilated kennels

* Stress situations such as boarding kennels,or lots of barking

* Mixing with dogs of uncertain or no vaccination history

What happens to cause the cough?

The virus is inhaled as an aerosol which causes inflammation and damage to the cells lining the windpipe (trachea) and allows the bacterial part of kennel cough to move in. The bacteria are responsible for the paralysis of the small hairs (cilia) that line the airway which normally help to stop dust and foreign particles from entering the lungs.

The combination of the effects of the invaders results in irritation of the wind pipe and therefore the cough. Unfortunately the more the dog coughs, the more damage will occur to the airway, in severe coughing cases the animal’s defences are so poor that there is a chance that bacteria will reach the lungs and a pneumonia will begin. The mucus production from the cough occurs because it is the body’s only way to remove the build up of fluid that is present when the cilia are damaged.

The ‘tracheal pinch’ test

Obviously there are different reasons for why a dog will cough. To decide whether it is due to upper airway irritation (ie. the larynx or windpipe) or a lower airway irritation (ie bronchi or lungs) you can do a gentle test. It is known as the ‘tracheal pinch’ test and involves gentle squeezing of the windpipe behind the larynx.

Pinch test

If the dog coughs when this area is pressed it suggests that there is irritation here. This test is by no means definitive for kennel cough but just allows you to have a better understanding of what part of your dog hurts and therefore how you can help.

Management of kennel cough

The disease usually takes about five days from contact with the viruses and bacteria to the start of the cough. Once the cough is there it is important not to do anything to exacerbate it. Therefore avoid excitement, cause for barking and exercise, especially in cold morning air.

It is logical that every time the dog coughs it is producing an explosion of contagious particles into the air around it, so do not mix it with dogs who are not your own. Unfortunately, by the time the cough is evident, all of your dogs are likely to have been exposed. This usually means that all the dogs will become infected, however in some cases, like people with colds, the odd dog will be lucky and miss out.

I would always take a dog suspected of having kennel cough to the vet. When you arrive at the surgery leave the dog in the car and wait until the vet calls you – try to avoid further spread to any dogs already waiting. In most cases the vet will give the dog something to suppress the cough, this reduces further damage to the airway and allows the body to start the healing process. In many cases, especially those running a temperature, antibiotics will be provided to address the bacterial part of the disease. Unfortunately, as we know with ourselves, a virus must be left to be dealt with by the body’s own immune system.

Remember do not take your dog to meet other dogs until it has completely stopped coughing, this can be anywhere between five days and a month.

Remember do not take your dog to meet other dogs until it has completely stopped coughing (no beating or picking up). Even with treatment, this can be anywhere between five days and a month. Every time the dog coughs it is spreading the disease. If you are boarding your dog or sending it for training, check whether the establishment vaccinates against kennel cough or asks for it before accepting dogs. If not you should get your dog vaccinated at least seven days before it goes in.

Prevention of disease

The normal ‘full’ booster vaccination will protect against most viruses but does not include Bordetella bronchiseptica. The kennel cough vaccination includes Bordetella as one of its components and in some cases also boosts protection against the para-influenza virus. The vaccine will last between six months and a year depending on type of vaccine and the level of exposure to disease. Better protection is obtained by giving the vaccine intra-nasally or up the nose which is generally not a problem for most dogs. There is a small amount of liquid used which is trickled into either one or both nostrils and it helps to stimulate a local protective response in the passages that air will first encounter when it enters the body.

administration of vaccine

Incidence of disease

Unfortunately a wet, warm summer and winter will allow kennel cough to flourish. The Bordetella bacteria can survive in the environment for months if conditions are favourable. Towards the end of last year there was an outbreak of kennel cough reported in Devon and already this year I have seen more coughing dogs than I can remember.

As a vet it is easy to say ‘get your dog vaccinated’ but I hope that having read this article you will seriously consider doing so, both to protect your dog and to help prevent the spread of kennel cough.

If you are unsure what your dog is already vaccinated against, don’t hesitate to ask your vet – different drug companies use different ways of recording their vaccines so it is not always obvious when checking your record card. Above all, by keeping your dog healthy you should be able to enjoy as many days of the season as possible.

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The kennel cough vaccs are a bit of a cop out. If you want to use a boarding kennel, by law we have to have our dogs (here in Oz anyway) vaccinated each year with a C5 vaccination which includes the KC vacc - but it only vaccinates against two strains of KC, there are more than 30. Just because your dog has been vaccinated against it does not mean it will not get KC.

My dogs got KC last time they were at a boarding kennel and there's not much you can do about it because there are so many different strains. I chose not to vaccinate yearly anyway, I only vacc my dogs if they are going into a boarding kennel as it's required by law. KC is not going to kill your dog. It's like the equivalent of when we get a human cold.

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... and we wwere told the shot/ nose spray only lasts for 6 months

Hmmmm, thats something for me to query my vet over then - as it was him that told us it lasts for 12 months. Used to get our GSD done every March in preperation for her going in the kennels (if she had to) when we were away!

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suppose it depends on what strain they vaccinate against maybe?

It really doesn't - there are only a couple of strains they have a vaccine for and it's all including in the one kennel cough nose spray or shot if you get a C5.

The most important thing for puppies, Dief, is that you get them vaccinated with at least a C3 - the KC part is not important.

There is a LOT of information out there about vaccinations and it pays to do your own research so you can decide for yourselves. I went to a Dr Jean Dodds seminar last year and it made me confident, after doing a bit more reading, that vaccinating each year is unnecessary. You can do a titre test to test your dog's immunity levels if you are worried. However - the facts are that vaccinating each year is, scientifically, unnecessary - the only reason the yearly protocols were bought in was because a group of vets in America wanted to think of a way to get people coming in for yearly check ups. Many vets worldwide are now accepting that yearly vaccinating is unnecessary and even three yearly is a better option.

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sarah , mine dont have kc , lol , yet , fingers srossed, gonna spend a bit of time this am looking things up like smeagle says , then go talk to the vet, cause tori needs her vacs anyway , the meet is 2 weeks away so plenty of time to make sure they dont have kc, and if they did , i wouldnt bring them, but me and mark would still come

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i havent been round to my mums house and neither have the kids, lady is a grotty little bitch at the best of times so we r stearing well clear, god i feel like i need to put a sign round my neck saying unclean , anybody got a bell i can carry round lmfao , yes i know its serious b4 i get jumped on, but we have taken every precaution we can , and from the sounds of it thee seems to be quite an outbreak of kc

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so if it was the chances r she got it at the vets , they refused to accept responsibilty for it but offered to let lady have the treatment for free, im now wondering if i should get my 3 kennel cough shots??? what do you think ??????

Thats like Gizmo with his undecended blueberry at 6-7 months they said he was fine in that area and then at 12 months suddenly I notice he only had one there and when he was checked out again by the vet they said they couldnt feel for the other blueberry and so he propabaly only ever had one, which then made me feel bad for not double checking! Edwina (Jamies mum) was furious with the vets but they refuse to take any responisibility! I know Gizmo has to be castrated asap but I have to say since they made that mistake I am not really wanting to let them do the castration and with what happened to Butch aswell (his septicemia was caused die to castration) I am a little anxious to let the vets we are currenly with do the work! I am still trying to find a decent vet, we are having one open up accross the road from our shop which is almost up and running and due to open soon so hopefully will have some luck there.

I would say yes to get your 3 to have the kennel caugh shot is your mums dogs is likely to have it as it will soon spread if she does.

I would also advise your mum to change vets!

Keep us updated

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my mum is currently staying with the vet as she is demanding free treatment untill the kc is cleared, then she will be movingto where ever we end up, gonna start phoning vets and asking if i can just go and see them to have a chat, if they want the bussiness and they really care about animals surley they wont mind

thats fiar enough, they made the mistake they should be responisible to treat it!

Im having the same problem finding a decent vet down here, may be the case that I will have to travel to a decent vet.

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