What is kennel cough?
Kennel cough is the common name given to infectious tracheobronchitis. It is a highly contagious dog respiratory tract disease caused by a cocktail of viruses and bacteria including:
- Bordetella bronchiseptica, a Gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the respiratory system of mammals, and, in particular, the tracheal and bronchial cilia,
- canine parainfluenza virus (CPiV),
- canine adenovirus type 2,
- canine herpes virus,
- the reovirus.
How is kennel cough transmitted?
The name of this disease is linked to its type of transmission. It spreads very quickly during dog gatherings, during a dog show, a hunting party or even during a stay of the dog in a kennel!
Pathogens are expelled into the ambient air by sick dogs in the form of aerosols when they cough and when they are in the close environment of other dogs, the latter "breathe" the droplets contaminated and contract the infection in turn.
The weaker the animal's immune system, which is the case for puppies and old dogs, especially when they are not or poorly vaccinated, the more the symptoms are marked. In these more fragile dogs, the disease can even be complicated by bronchopneumonia, fatal in many cases.
What are the symptoms of kennel cough?
" Infectious tracheobronchitis can manifest itself in a mild form, which most often affects vaccinated puppies.Its symptoms then include a dry, strong, persistent and cavernous cough and a deterioration in general condition but without fever. They may be accompanied by signs of rhinitis such as sneezing and a runny nose."
But kennel cough can also manifest itself in a marked form, in unvaccinated or poorly vaccinated animals. The symptoms are then:
- anorexia (the dog refuses to eat),
- a lethargy,
- fever,
- a productive cough,
- muco-purulent discharges from the nose and eyes.
The marked form of the disease results in the death of the animal in 20% of cases.
If you observe these clinical signs in your dog and, even more so, if it has been in contact with one or more potentially sick dogs, consult your veterinarian. Your practitioner will be able to establish his diagnosis by analyzing your dog's nasal secretions to highlight the possible presence of infectious agents.
What treatment for kennel cough?
The treatment is medical and call for:
- antibiotics to stop the infection and avoid secondary bacterial contamination,
- antitussive drugs, anti-inflammatories, mucolytics, expectorants or even bronchodilators to relieve the dog of his symptoms.
Some of these drugs can be administered to the dog by aerosol therapy.
Due to the contagiousness of the disease, sick animals should be kept away from other animals during and after treatment (up to 4 months after disappearance of symptoms). They should also be placed in a dry and quiet place.
Is there a natural treatment for kennel cough?
Herbal medicine is full of herbs that can help your dog recover from kennel cough. Thus, we can use a synergy of plants using the properties:
- antivirals from cypress and saro and ravintsara essential oils,
- anti-infectives and immunostimulants of echinacea,
- anti-inflammatories and expectorants from licorice,
- mucolytics from Scots pine and fragrant inula essential oil,
- plantain antitussives.
Always seek advice from a veterinarian specializing in phytotherapy in order to establish a synergy of plants and a dosage adapted to your animal.
It is also possible to use the essential oils of eucalyptus radiata, ravintasara, tea tree, Scots pine or Saro (among others) in diffusion to help treat the sick animal and clean up Ambiant air. They have an antitussive and anti-infective effect. Again, ask your veterinarian for advice before using them.
Prevent through vaccination
If vaccination against kennel cough is not made compulsory by law for dogs, it is still strongly recommended to effectively and easily protect your faithful companion. Even if you are not a fan of canine gatherings of any kind, your pooch will certainly meet, during walks and occasionally, other of his congeners whose state of he alth you do not know. !
The vaccine can be done in two ways, either intranasally (the veterinarian instills the vaccine in your dog's nose) or, more traditionally, intravenously. The choice of one vaccine over the other will be made by your veterinarian.
Keep in mind, however, that no vaccine protects against all the infectious agents responsible for kennel cough.