Know what is Kennel Cough

Kennel Cough is an upper respiratory tract infection in dogs and cats. It is contagious and is caused by a combination of bacteria and viruses. This condition is also known as canine infectious trachaeobronchitis.

Kennel cough often resolves on its own within 10-14 days, but pets having severe symptoms may need courses of antibiotic therapy to prevent a secondary infection and also cough medications to ease the symptoms.

Symptoms include but are not limited to the following:

-Most prominent is a strong hacking cough with a “honking” sound

-Loss of appetite

-Lethargy

-Low fever

-Sneezing

-Runny nose

The most common agent which causes kennel cough is bordetella bacterium. Other agents are namely bordetella bronchiseptica, canine adenovirus type 2, canine parainfluenza virus, canine respiratory coronavirus, and mycoplasmas.

If your pet is undergoing such a condition, you must switch to using a harness instead of a collar as irritation of the trachea can aggravate the cough and possibly even cause damage to it.

It is always advisable to isolate the infected pet if you have more than one pet at home. Alternately, you may separate their food and water bowl so as to avoid the sick dog from infecting the other one. However, there is no known indication of humans catching kennel cough from an infected dog or cat.