The Kennel Cough is back!

This is to confirm that we had a few cases of suspected kennel cough recently and that the numbers are on the rise.
Your dog does not necessarily have to been boarded by a kennel to contract this disease, but kennel cough is highly contagious and can spread extremely fast in multi dog households or anywhere where several dogs get together (e.g. agility classes, waiting room at the vets etc.).

Kennel cough is a multi factorial disease and is caused by a mixture of viruses and bacteria. It can take up to three weeks for a dog to get over this, but most dogs are expected to make a full recovery. Some very young or old or immune compromised animals may show a more severe form of kennel cough or suffer from complications.

Other than the typical hacking couch and retching some dogs show a high temperature, may be off food and lethargic.

Some dogs profit from antibiotics to weaken the bacterial input of this disease and/or from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to lower the temperature and ease throat pain.

In all cases: please keep your dog away form other animals, try to avoid walking in highly frequented areas, wash and disinfect your hands and if possible change your clothes before touching other dogs.

Should you decide to have your dog vaccinated against kennel cough please be aware that the first vaccination (or a subsequent vaccination that has been given more than a year after the last one, might need 3 weeks to provide optimal protection). The safest way is to booster against kennel cough every 12 months (or in areas with extremely high infection pressure even every 6 months). Goods news are that the vaccine is a one-off, so does not need to be “restarted” and repeated after 4 weeks like for example the distemper vaccination. Please contact us on 01398323285 should you have any queries.