Kennel Cough in Dogs
Kennel cough in dogs is a fast acting and highly contagious illness, that is not actually caused by dogs being boarded in a kennel, but rather, is passed along by way of an airborne organism, which is similar to the human equivalent of the common chest cold.
The reason it is referred to as kennel cough, is because it is more prevalent where many dogs are housed or grouped together, much like our kids being in a daycare center. 
It is also sometimes referred to as Bordetella, or technically as Tracheobronchitis. Its most distinctive symptom is a hacking cough, but there can be several other symptoms involved. Treatment for this condition, ranges from none at all, to possibly antibiotics, steroids, and lots of rest, depending upon how severe it becomes.For mild cases, there are a few safe options of home remedies that can be tried, to help relieve any temporary discomfort. There is a bordetella vaccine that can be used as a preventative, but that does not guarantee 100% protection, as kennel cough can come from many various organisms. 
Prevention may play a key role
in keeping dogs healthy, but as it is similar in nature to the common cold for us, there are only so many things you can do, with the origin of this illness being what it is!Most occurrences of kennel cough, and their symptoms, do not last long, and generally, it does have a short lived duration period, but again, this depends upon the severity. If you have a litter of puppies in the house, then prevention does become a very urgent matter, as young puppies' immune systems have not been developed yet, and they could easily and quickly become dangerously sick. This is also holds true for any elderly dogs you may own. All in all, kennel cough in dogs is not quite as scary as most expect it to be, and it can and will eventually clear up and go away.
|