Kennel Cough time of year
It’s a great time of year to be owning a dog. Long walks during lazy summer evenings are a wonderful way for us (and our pets) to get exercise. For dogs, meeting up with their canine friends at this time of year is also much more pleasant now that the misery of wet and windy winter is behind us. With increased dog contacts though comes the possibility of an increase in the respiratory infection called kennel cough.
What exactly is kennel cough ?
The term kennel cough is a bit misleading. Typically it is a respiratory condition that affects dogs following close association with each other. Traditionally, in the past, this was most commonly seen following a period in kennels. Hence the term. Of course it can arise just as easily following close association between our canine companions anywhere. In the summer, with dogs being out for much longer walks, it’s just more likely to occur at this time of year than in the winter. The area of the body it affects is the upper respiratory region and it can easily be passed from dog to dog by airborne droplets (coughing and sneezing) or by direct nose to nose contact. However, even dogs that keep themselves to themselves can pick up the infection as a result of its passage via airborne droplets. With most of us walking dogs along the greenway, tramway and the race course as well as the Welcombe hills, there’s plenty of opportunity for the spread of kennel cough.
How would I know if my dog had such an infection ?
It’s very easy for owners to recognise the classic signs of kennel cough, namely a painful, hacking cough. The infection affects the lining of the main breathing tube (the trachea), causing it to react by producing much more mucus to try and protect the region. That then gets brought up to the throat region leading to the typical choking type cough that many owners report. But these classic signs may well be absent. For some owners the only signs are a mild wheezing or even just a small amount of weeping around the eyes.
Where did my dog get the infection from ?
The big problem we Vets have with ‘kennel cough’ is that during the period when it is being spread from dog to dog there often are no obvious signs. It can take upwards of a few weeks for the signs of the infection to show itself and for most dogs they carry on eating and drinking normally throughout an infection. They’re just not ill. And that equally applies to the dogs that are shedding the infection. So trying to spot which dogs might be a problem to your dog is nigh on impossible. It’s for this reason that many boarding kennels will now insist on a dog entering their premises to be fully up to date with the specific vaccine to protect against one part of the disease caused by Bordatella infection.
Won’t it just go away in time ?
Untreated, this infection may last for many weeks. Because dogs often don’t appear poorly with kennel cough infection though it’s very tempting to ‘wait and see’. The danger with this approach is that a small number of dogs may develop a chronic cough that can persist, sometimes indefinitely. The protective mechanism the body brings in to play to help defeat the infection involves an overproduction of mucus cells, and therefore mucus, in the lining of the main breathing tube. These cells, however, have a habit of sticking around even after an infection has passed, potentially leaving a dog with a chronic cough. When Vets treat those dogs suspected of having kennel cough it often involves an extended period of antibiotic therapy, and sometimes this treatment isn’t always successful in the first instance. That’s why your Vet. will often be in touch around the time the treatment is ending to ensure that the whole of the infection has gone away. If it’s 95% gone, it hasn’t gone at all! Occasionally a second course of treatment is necessary, or even a different type of antibiotic.
How can I protect my dog from kennel cough ?
In all annual vaccinations for dogs, part of what is in the injection is there to protect against the viral element that causes kennel cough. There are other infectious agents though, with the most notable of these being due to a bacterial agent, Bordatella. Protection against this is afforded by a droplet vaccine applied directly up the nose of a dog. Fortunately, in recent years, this has been refined to just a few drops in one nostril, once a year (it used be a larger volume of drops up both nostrils twice a year!). Immunity is provided in just 72 hours. It should be mentioned though that there are other infectious agents that can cause kennel cough for which there is no vaccination at present. Fortunately these other agents are of minor importance normally, although they do have a certain nuisance value. By taking the precaution of protecting against the main agents leading to kennel cough the level of any problem is dramatically reduced.
© copywrite Dai Gittins MRCVS.
