By Dr. Emma Bush
It is that time of year again. Everyone has gone back to school and everyone seems to have the sniffles or a cough. It is cold season.
Did you know that dogs can get colds too?
Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC), or more commonly known as Kennel Cough, is a common affliction of our canine pets. Just like people, all ages can get sick with this infection, with younger and older patients generally being more seriously affected.
Dogs become infected through transmission of respiratory droplets. Picture your child in their classroom and another sick kid sneezes. Within days (or sometimes it can feel like hours) your child is sneezing too. Transmission is similar for dogs. If your pet is in the vicinity of an infected dog, particularly in more crowded settings like daycare of dog classes and where toys and food bowls are shared, their risk of infection rises as their proximity to shared respiratory droplets is higher. What can make prevention of transmission so difficult is that many dogs are contagious prior to showing clinical signs, so one dog may infect another before it even develops symptoms!
So what do symptoms look like?
Kennel Cough commonly presents as classic cold-like signs including, but not limited to, runny nose and/or eyes, sneezing, lethargy and coughing. Coughing in dogs can sometimes have secondary gagging and retching, and may even lead to production of white foam or froth being coughed up. It is always important that you describe this production to your veterinarian as this is different from vomiting or throwing up. Coughing can be worse with activity or exercise, and, with Kennel Cough, is commonly described as sounding kind of like a hacking or goose honk.
What’s the prognosis?
Similar to the human cold, Kennel Cough is normally self-resolving. This means that your dog will feel under the weather and have some clinical signs for a few days, but generally is able to get better on their own in 1-2 weeks. Just as you or I might take some cough drops for our cold; there are some symptomatic and supportive care medications that we can provide for dogs with Kennel Cough if their symptoms are significant (with the care of your veterinarian). However, as this is typically a viral infection, there is no cure for it and your dog should be able to resolve the infection on their own.
It is important to be aware that in more severe cases, Kennel Cough can progress to pneumonia. If your dog develops a fever, poor appetite, becomes restless, or the infection is not resolving in a reasonable amount of time, the concern for pneumonia significantly increases and further workup is recommended. At this time (if not already done so) your veterinarian will likely recommend x-rays and/or bloodwork. Pneumonia is commonly treated with antibiotics and appropriate supportive care. In some severe cases, dogs may require hospitalization with oxygen therapy and intravenous (IV) antibiotics and fluids; while other less serious cases may be able to be managed at home.
What about Vaccination?
I have mentioned above that prevention is difficult, but isn’t there a vaccination? There is a vaccine for Bordetella or one of the players that is commonly involved in the Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex. However, as implied in the term “complex”, there are multiple agents that can cause Kennel Cough. Because of this, I will commonly compare this vaccination to the flu shot. Just because your dog has the vaccine, it does not mean that they will not get Kennel Cough. However, having the vaccines does mean that it is potentially less likely that they will get it, and more likely that they can clear it more easily if they do get it.
A vaccination for Kennel Cough is not useful if a dog is already harboring Kennel Cough, and immunity following recovery typically can last for up to 6-12 months for the particular strain that they were infected with. The other key to prevention, of course, is minimizing the risk factors listed above as much as possible.
If you are concerned that your dog may have Kennel Cough, or has come into contact with a dog that has Kennel Cough. Please contact your veterinarian as they may recommend an exam. Please make clear your concerns as your veterinarian may have you come into the building through a separate entrance to limit the risk of spread to other pets in the veterinary hospital.
Resources Used:
- Kennel Cough in Dogs:
https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951478 - AVMA Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (Kennel Cough):
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/canine-infectious-respiratory-disease-complex-kennel-cough#:~:text=The%20classic%20sign%20of%20CIRDC,which%20can%20irritate%20the%20airways.