Room 3 sounds like a barn. It was an unusually slow (and peaceful) Monday morning at my vet clinic. Any illusion of stillness is shattered by what can be appropriately described as the whistle of a goose quivering on an erupting wall. Maybe someone mistook me for a farm vet, or I knew pretty well what lay on the other side of the exam room door – and it wasn’t a winged creature.
“Chester got a cough at the dog park!” It was the greeting of a frenzied-looking woman clinging to 4-year-old Chester, the normally talkative Jack Russell Terrier, seemingly ready for another bout of cough. As I entered the room, Chester popped out of her arms and landed at my feet, and instantly froze, head bowed, neck spread and legs bent from a series of car horns. After the cog passed, he turned around to greet me again.
“He was coughing like this for three or four days. Neither of us could sleep, and he started acting a little lethargic last night. ”
On examination, Chester had a low-grade fever, a runny nose (yellow-green and slightly thick compared to a clear runny nose), lungs sounding normal, and was fairly fresh and alert, although I could tell he wasn’t. completely yourself. . He is currently vaccinated against highly contagious canine influenza (CIV) but not the more common “kennel cough vaccine”. Bordetella Diepseptica, canine adenovirus type 2 and parainfluenza. His mother said she skipped the vaccine, “because he’s never been on a plane.” Unfortunately, dog parks can pose a significant risk of many infectious diseases, and Chester’s mother may have been right about the source of the problem.
What causes kennel cough?
Kennel cough, commonly known as infectious respiratory disease in dogs (CIRD) or infectious tracheobronchitis, is considered one of the most common respiratory infections in dogs. Many organisms can cause kennel cough, including bacteria, viruses, and mycoplasma. Most uncomplicated cases include combinations of Bordetella bacteria with type 2 parainfluenza virus or adenovirus.
While Chester has proven the classic “goose cough” is easy to induce by massaging the throat area, there are many causes of cough in dogs. In fact, I only consider it a “kennel cough” when there is a clear route of infection and other illnesses such as heart disease, tracheal collapse, and even allergies have been ruled out. In Chester’s case, all evidence points to CIRD as the culprit for his cough.
Diagnosis of kennel cough
The diagnosis of kennel cough is usually made on the basis of clinical signs. In severe cases, a chest X-ray and blood tests may be evaluated. Unless it is a kennel or shelter outbreak, or a breakout in a vaccinated dog, I generally do not perform nasal, tracheal, or bronchial cultures on individual cases.
The rationale is:
- the vast majority of cases are self-limited and will improve without medical treatment;
- by the time I get the results, most dogs are doing better; and
- if due to virus, the treatment is only supportive, meaning nothing will change.
Cough treatment
Treatment depends on the individual dog’s condition. Most cases will resolve within 10 days with only basic supportive care of:
- Top
- Isolation
- reduce barking agent
- hydration
- good nutrition
I understand that many dog parents expect to go home with a course of antibiotics, but antibiotics are not medically necessary and can lead to antibiotic resistance and more serious infections later in life. .
If the patient is happy and alert without fever or pus discharge, antibiotics are not indicated. For an average case like Chester, with a fever and mucus discharge, I prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic, usually doxycycline. For patients with pneumonia, a combination of antibiotics, such as clindamycin with registerfloxacin, are good options.
For dogs who cough so much they can’t sleep (or keep their human family from sleeping), I would recommend:
- cough suppressants such as hydrocodone, butorphanol, or liquid codeine/promethazine
- humidifier
- mist some drugs in more advanced cases
Prevention of kennel cough
Preventing kennel cough has never been more convenient and effective. Depending on the dog’s risk profile, there are injections, nasal drops, and even oral vaccines to protect against the most common infectious organisms. Most dogs should be vaccinated annually. I also recommend the canine influenza vaccine (CIV) for people who travel frequently or who visit parks, shows, or kennels.
For the first three days, Chester needed a cough suppressant along with a humidifier to help him through the night. By the sixth day of treatment, Chester’s mother said that “he was almost normal and only coughed a few times a day, usually after running around on the potty”. He is JRT. He has a yard to defend.
By our re-examination two weeks later, Chester’s cough was only an indelible memory. The examination room is pleasantly absent from any whistles, calls, or other cacophonous calls of farm animals. The whole family enjoyed the quiet nights once again, and Chester had completed his duty as a yard guard.
Three months later, Chester was vaccinated against kennel cough and allowed to visit the dog park. For Christmas that year, we received a “Chester card” with a picture of Chester grinning. A note “written with feet” reads “HONK if you love JRTs!” I love it.
