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My new baby has Kennel Couph!

2K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  ilovesadie 
#1 ·
I'm so upset! :cry: First of all I should know better but she came from a pet store. Annabelle and all my previous chis were from breeders. My DH took our 7 yr old to lunch one day and they stopped at the pet store. That's how we got Cody. He is one of the best chis I have ever had so we thought we would do it again. :roll:

We brought Callie home Saturday and that night she began coughing. I took her to the vet that works with that pet store and she was put on antibiotics. She isn't doing that much better and now Cody (5 mos) is beginning to couph even though he has been vacinated. I am taking them both to my vet this afternoon. Does anyone have any experience with this? :cry:
 
#2 ·
Hi there!

First of all, I am so sorry to hear about your little gal! From my experience with kennel cough, i think it can sometimes be difficult to decipher from normal 'reverse sneezing'. When I got Flea (from a backyard breeder - lived with lots of small dogs and didn't not have the Bordatella vaccine)..she was coughing a lot. So, the vet put her on antibiotics as well. In retrospect, she may have been reverse sneezing so much because she was in a new home, nervous, hyper..whatever. But...I will say, it DID stop. The antibiotics, regardless..will not hurt her if she doesn't have it.

If Cody has been vaccinated for bordatella, I wouldn't worry (easy for me to say!) Do you think you could be confusing his cough w/ reverse sneezing? But it is a good idea to have them vet-checked. Usually a dog with kennel cough, will cough easily when their trachea is tapped.

From what I have learned, Kennel Cough is basically a 'cold' that is common among dogs that live together that have not been vaccinated. Typically, it just runs its course with no problem...like we deal with common colds. However, with SMALL dogs, it can become more severe because they are so susceptible..so, you did the right thing by catching it early!!

Good luck..and let us know what happens!

One more thing..did the pet store give you a certificate of vaccinations? And can you hold them responsible?
 
#3 ·
Nat thank you for responding. I did get the record of vacinations from the pet store and Callie had been vacinated for it. I think because she is so young the vacination did not have time to protect her. The pet store stipulates that they are not responsible for Kennel Couph or Hypoglycemia. :roll:

Cody's episodes do sound like reverse sneezing. The reason I am concerned about it is he has never done that before and Callie is doing the same thing. These episodes last a good minute sometimes too and I can not calm them down. My older chi Annabelle, does the reverse sneeze thing but I can always get her to calm down and stop. I hope it is only reverse sneezing. When I first took Callie to the vet it was a definite hack.

Anyway thanks for your response. I'll let you know what the vet says.
 
#6 ·
I can't believe the pet store would not take responsibility....anyhoo..

Maybe Cody's reverse sneezing is just showing up now because he is excited about the new puppy. My chi will start doing it when she is over excited...and sometimes after she drinks water. The episodes can last for a few seconds to a few minutes...though, hers are usually a few minutes. Her entire body surges and it is scary to see..but normal. Next time Cody does it, you can see if distracting him makes it stop - sometimes I will dip my finger in the water dish and try to get her to take some...swallowing sometimes halts the wheezing - or rubbing the upper throat area.

And maybe the new pup's cough really IS reverse sneezing..unless it is all the time and at night as well.

I guess only a vet check will tell. In the meantime, the antibiotics are a great thing.....and I would monitor to see WHEN the cough occurs..if you notice it is after certain things...then you may be able to identify it as a rev. sneeze.
 
#7 ·
No Sillymom the store is not responsible for Kennel Couph. It's a new policy. :roll: I knew about it but was not concerned because I knew Callie had been vacinated and I had no problems with Cody. I just got Callie this past Saturday and she began coughing that night. She's 10 1/2 weeks and weighs 2.7 lbs. She's a short and stocky little girl.
 
#10 ·
I just got back from the vet. He confirmed that Callie still has Kennel Couph and Cody has the beginnings of it. He said that inflammation will cause them to do the reverse sneezing. He said it is most likely caused by a virus but gave me antibiotic for both of them just in case. He was not pleased with the antibiotic that the other vet had given Callie because it can discolor their teeth. Stupid other vet! :evil: He also gave me a couph suppressant for Callie.

Thank you guys for your support. :)
 
#12 ·
I bet it is too Ozzysmom. I know better than to buy from a pet store though. I am not surprised at all! :roll: I just want my babies to get better soon! The vaccine is not 100% so Annabelle could get it too. She isn't around the puppies much so hopefully she won't.
 
#14 ·
sillymom said:
About the Hypoglycemia, don't they only get that when they are very underweight??
No sillymom, hypoglycemia does not always come from being under weight.
Any small breed can have it. When they are young their body cannot store enough sugar. Most of the time they outgrow it because they get bigger and their body can store it better.

Although I'm sure if a dog is severly under weight it can become hypoglycemic also.
 
#15 ·
I have only had to deal with kennel cough once, and that was with a large breed dog. You feel so bad for them as if we can't do anything to make them feel better. Just keep them on the medicine, don't let them run around to much because that will cause them to start coughing, and give them lots of love. I even ran a vaporizer when mine had it to help keep her throat and nose moist. But check with your vet before you do that if you want to try it. I just know moist air seems to help calm a cough most of the time.

MD
 
#18 ·
Thank you all so much. It has felt like a dang animal hospital around here lately with all of the medicine and worry. I've had a hard time getting their medicine down them but have finally come up with a way. I mix the liquid medicine in with a tiny bite of ice cream and they lap it right up. :oops: Hey! I had to come up with something. :wink:

Maybe I should post this on my other thread but please say puppy prayers for Callie. Her left ear has not popped back up from her allergic reaction to the spider bite and the vet said it will take some time or it may never come back up. :(
 
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