Cold? Or kennel cough?

[Lisa]

Simba was at the kennel last week while we were away and he has been sneezing and hacking a bit since we came home on Friday. It’s not too bad, and seems to be getting better, but i’m not sure if it’s a cold or kennel cough. He doesn’t seem to be coughing much, it’s more of a sneezy sniffly thing. I’m not really worried about him, but am
just curious as to how to tell the difference between the two as I’ve never had a dog with kennel cough.

 

[Leanne]

A foster dog that I had, had kennel cough once.. there is no mistaking it.. horrible horrible sound.

 

[SwampDonkey]

It's that horrible hacking cough that's the give away they almost choke and foam phlegm gets coughed out. They are a bit flat but list dogs are ok.

 

[Emily_Babbelhund]

Maybe it could be more of an allergy thing to something he encountered at the kennel that you don't have at home? It could even be a slight irritation from a cleaning product they use. Or maybe he has a very light case (if there is such a thing) of kennel cough? As @Leanne says, the full blown version of kennel cough is a horrible hacking sound that makes you think they are going to choke on the spot.

You could always give your vet a ring just to set your mind at ease. I'm pretty sure if Simba is getting better that he wouldn't need anything to treat it anyway. If that was the case, though, he may be contagious so they may be tell you to avoid other dogs for a period of time.

 

[Lisa]

Ok gotcha. Very occasionally he has that hacking cough so I’m kinda suspecting it’s a mild case of kennel cough. I’ll just keep an eye on him and if he gets any worse will have a chat with the vet.

 

[Oberon]

Kennel cough is basically a cold. They’re more or less the same thing....an upper respiratory tract infection. I’d just keep an eye on it for now too. If it’s mild it should just resolve itself. When Obi had a similar thing it turned into the gross, hacking up a lung and throwing up your dinner variety and we had to go to the vet for anti-inflammatories to soothe his throat and stop the coughing. Hope Simba’s cough doesn’t progress.

 

[Lisa]

He seems to have turned the corner and is doing fine. Haven’t heard a cough for a couple days so I’d say he’s over it.

 

[Charlie]

I think Kennel cough can be extreme in some dogs and sometimes fatal. Hope Simba continues to improve Lisa. xx

 

[Oberon]

If a dog is vaccinated against kennel cough it’s extremely unlikely that they’ll get an extreme version of this illness Vaccination means it’s limited to the milder versions that a dog can recover from (even if they still have an awful cough for a time).

 

[Lisa]

If a dog is vaccinated against kennel cough it’s extremely unlikely that they’ll get an extreme version of this illness Vaccination means it’s limited to the milder versions that a dog can recover from (even if they still have an awful cough for a time).

Yes Simba has been vaccinated. So he got a mild version. He’s pretty much over it now. He’s going back in the kennel at the end of September so I want him in tip top shape.

 

[Oberon]

Good news that he’s recovering well Even a mild version is awful enough....and the contagion aspect is so hard to manage...