If you’ve visited the veterinarian for a wellness exam or boarded your puppy at a kennel, you’ve heard about kennel cough. Perhaps your puppy has been vaccinated with the CIRDC vaccine and still managed to catch this pesky condition at doggy daycare. After all, kennel cough is among the most prevalent infectious diseases in dogs. Luckily, it usually resolves on its own over the course of two weeks.
Kennel cough complex isn’t actually one specific illness. The term “kennel cough,” which is also known as canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), covers multiple diseases, including Bordetella bronchiseptica, herpesvirus, parainfluenza virus (CPIV), adenovirus (CAV-2) and mycoplasma. Many dogs will experience at least one of the infectious causes of CIRDC in their lifetime.
Common symptoms of kennel cough in dogs include:
- Coughing (usually dry cough sometimes followed by a gag)
- Sneezing
- Discharge from the eyes or nose
- Decreased appetite
This disease is passed in much the same way as the human cold. It can be passed through droplets in the air when a dog sneezes or coughs, direct contact between dogs or contaminated items like water bowls. Dogs who go to areas with other dogs, such as boarding facilities, daycares, dog parks or grooming facilities are at an increased risk of contracting kennel cough.
Most cases of kennel cough are viral and self-resolve with time and rest over the course of 2 weeks. If a secondary bacterial infection is suspected, an antibiotic may be prescribed, usually doxycycline.
One risk of kennel cough is the development of pneumonia. If your young dog develops a wet cough and labored breathing, you should contact your VCA care team immediately. Treatment may include hospitalization with antibiotics, fluids given via an intravenous catheter and oxygen supplementation.
So, why is your dog still getting kennel cough after being vaccinated? First off, we usually think of the kennel cough vaccine the way we think of the human flu vaccine. The vaccine may not always prevent illness, but it does lessen severity. And secondly, the vaccine does not protect against every pathogen included in the kennel cough complex.
If your dog has developed a dry honking cough after a social interaction, chances are that it’s kennel cough. Contact your VCA care team for help managing your pup’s recovery.
Learn more about adenovirus, a potentially fatal but preventable cause of kennel cough.
