MINNIE’S MAJOR RUN-IN WITH KENNEL COUGH
A GEELONG puppy is in isolation after contracting a bout of the highly contagious kennel cough.
Minnie Cooper, a sixmonth-old griffon bruxellois, started showing symptoms of the upper respiratory infection last week.
Owner Michelle Cooper said the usually energetic puppy was lethargic, sneezing and coughing.
Ms Cooper took Minnie to Bellarine Veterinary Practice where she was diagnosed with kennel cough and given a dose of antibiotics.
She said the puppy would continue to stay inside until she stopped coughing and displaying symptoms.
“It depends on the dog – some dogs get better quickly and (for) some it can linger, it can last,” she said.
Ms Cooper said the illness was very infectious and that Minnie could have picked it up at daycare, while out walking or at the dog park.
She urged anyone who suspected their pet had kennel cough to contact their vet immediately.
“They are very contagious (if infected),” she said.
“It’s one of those things where it could spread through. They are pretty miserable.”
Ms Cooper hopes Minnie will soon be back to her cheeky and playful self.
Bellarine Veterinary Practice vet Amanda HulandsNave said kennel cough was closely related to whooping cough in people.
“Most of the time it’s like a dry, hacking cough – the most common thing people present their dogs for is because they think they have something stuck in their throat,” Dr Hulands-Nave said.
She said the illness was “like dog Covid” because its transmission was airborne.
“Vaccination is good at reducing the severity . . . like with Covid in people, vaccination doesn’t completely prevent it, but it stops severe symptoms,” she said.