Kennel cough treatment, symptoms and how long it lasts

Kennel cough treatment is mostly rest and time. Most otherwise healthy dogs get over it by themselves in one to three weeks, with quiet days, a harness in place of a collar and moist air to ease the throat. A vet adds antibiotics or a prescription cough medicine in some cases, and decides which dogs need them.

Older dogs are one of the groups vets watch more closely. Their defenses are weaker, the infection is more likely to move down into the lungs, and a new cough in a senior is sometimes not kennel cough at all. If your dog is old, has heart or airway disease, or seems unwell in any way beyond the cough, book a vet visit instead of waiting it out.

What is kennel cough?

Kennel cough is the everyday name for an infection of the windpipe and upper airways. Vets also call it infectious tracheobronchitis or canine infectious respiratory disease. It is not one germ. Several bacteria and viruses cause it, alone or together.

The best known is a bacterium, Bordetella bronchiseptica, which is why the illness and its vaccine are often just called Bordetella. Canine parainfluenza virus, canine adenovirus and others play a part as well.

What does kennel cough sound like?

A loud, dry, hacking cough that people most often compare to a goose honking. It comes in bursts, and a burst often ends with a gag or retch that brings up a little white foam. Many owners are sure something is stuck in the dog's throat.

The cough is usually worse with excitement, exercise, barking, a pull on the collar or light pressure on the windpipe. Between bouts the typical dog looks normal.

Kennel cough symptoms in dogs

• The honking cough, often several bouts an hour at its worst
• Gagging or retching after coughing
• A runny nose, sneezing or watery eyes
• A slightly quieter dog who still eats, drinks and wants to go out

Fever, a poor appetite, real tiredness or fast breathing are not part of simple kennel cough and suggest the infection has gone deeper.

How dogs catch it

The germs travel in droplets from coughs and sneezes, by nose-to-nose contact, and on shared bowls, toys and hands. It spreads wherever dogs share air: boarding kennels, daycare, grooming salons, training classes, shelters, dog parks and vet waiting rooms. Signs commonly start within about two days to two weeks of exposure.

A dog with kennel cough should stay away from other dogs. Dogs can go on shedding the germs for some time after the cough has stopped, so ask your vet when it is reasonable to return to walks with other dogs, daycare or boarding. Tell the clinic about the cough when you book, so they can keep your dog apart from others. People very rarely catch it, but anyone in the home with a seriously weakened immune system should ask their own doctor.

How long does kennel cough last?

Mild cases commonly last one to three weeks. The cough is usually at its worst in the first several days and then fades. In older dogs, and in dogs with other health problems, it can drag on for longer.

A cough that is no better after a week, is getting worse, or is still there after three weeks needs a vet visit. So does a cough that keeps returning, which points toward a long-term airway or heart problem.

Kennel cough treatment

The vet listens to the chest, takes a temperature and asks where your dog has been. Many cases are diagnosed on the story and the exam alone. Chest X-rays, blood tests or swabs are added when a dog is unwell, old or not improving.

• Rest and time. For a bright dog with only a cough, this is often the whole treatment.
• Antibiotics. Not automatic, because many cases are viral and mild ones clear anyway. Vets use them when a bacterial infection looks likely, when signs are more than mild, or when a dog is at higher risk, which includes many seniors.
• Prescription cough medicine. Sometimes given for a dry cough that is exhausting the dog or stopping sleep. It is generally avoided when pneumonia is suspected, because that cough is clearing the lungs.
• Anti-inflammatory medicine. Used in some cases to calm an irritated windpipe.
• Hospital care. For pneumonia: oxygen, fluids and antibiotics given into a vein.

The choice of medicine and the dose depend on your dog's weight, age, kidneys, liver and other medicines, and only the prescribing vet can set them. If antibiotics are prescribed, give the full course as directed.

Kennel cough home remedies: what is reasonable

• Rest. Short, calm toilet walks only. Exercise and excitement set off the cough.
• A harness. Take all pressure off the neck until the cough has gone.
• Moist air. Sit with your dog in a steamy bathroom while the shower runs, or run a humidifier near the bed. Stop if your dog pants, seems hot or struggles to breathe.
• Clean air. No smoke, scented sprays, candles or dusty rooms.
• Water and soft food. Keep fresh water close. Soften dry food with warm water if swallowing seems sore.
• Separation. Keep bowls, toys and bedding apart from other dogs in the home as far as you can.

Honey is the home remedy most often suggested online. It is a sugar, so ask your vet first, particularly if your dog is diabetic or overweight.

What can I give my dog for kennel cough?

Nothing from the pharmacy shelf on your own judgment. Human cough and cold products often combine several drugs, and the added ingredients can poison a dog: acetaminophen (paracetamol), ibuprofen, decongestants and the sweetener xylitol among them. A cough suppressant must only be given if the vet has confirmed the exact product and amount for your dog. Never give leftover antibiotics or another pet's prescription.

Kennel cough in older dogs

The main risk is pneumonia. An aging immune system clears infection more slowly. Many seniors also have something that makes the lungs easier to invade: chronic bronchitis, a weak larynx, heart disease, Cushing's disease, diabetes, or medicines such as steroids and chemotherapy that damp down immunity. Flat-faced breeds are at higher risk too; see breathing problems in French Bulldogs.

Signs that kennel cough may be turning into pneumonia:

• The cough changes from dry and honking to wet and soft
• Breathing is fast or takes effort while resting
• Your dog is tired, off food or feels hot
• Thick yellow or green discharge from the nose

Kennel cough, heart cough or collapsing trachea?

In an older dog these three are easy to confuse, and a dog can have more than one. The patterns below are typical, not rules. Only an exam, and often chest X-rays, can tell them apart.

A heart cough matters most to rule out, because it can mean fluid is building in the lungs. One useful check is to count your dog's breaths for a minute while it is asleep. Vets commonly use about 30 breaths a minute as the upper end of normal for a sleeping dog. A count that is consistently higher, or climbing from your dog's usual, is a reason to call the vet the same day. See congestive heart failure in senior dogs, mitral valve disease and heart disease in senior dogs.

For the full list of reasons an old dog coughs, see why is my old dog coughing.

Does the vaccine prevent it?

Vaccines against Bordetella and some of the viruses lower the chance of infection and tend to make illness milder. They do not cover every germ involved, so a vaccinated dog can still catch kennel cough. Ask your vet whether it suits your older dog and how far ahead of boarding it should be given.

Call the vet today if

• Breathing is fast, noisy or labored at rest, or the gums or tongue look blue, gray or very pale. This is an emergency.
• Your dog has stopped eating, is unusually tired or feels feverish
• The cough has turned wet, or there is thick yellow or green discharge from the nose
• Your dog coughs up blood, collapses or faints
• The cough keeps your dog from sleeping or is getting worse instead of better
• Your dog is a senior, a puppy, a flat-faced breed, or has heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, Cushing's disease or takes steroids or chemotherapy
• The cough is worse at night or lying down, or the sleeping breathing rate is rising

This article is general educational information about kennel cough and is not veterinary advice. A honking cough can point to kennel cough but also to heart disease, a collapsing trachea, pneumonia and other conditions, and only a veterinarian can tell them apart. Never give your dog a human cough, cold or pain medicine unless your veterinarian has confirmed the exact product and amount. Decisions about your dog's care should be made with them.