‘Kennel cough’ is a threat to your dog
What you need to know.
No, your dog doesn’t have to mask up in public. But there are important steps you can take to protect him or her from the infectious respiratory diseases that veterinarians say have been on an uptick this summer.
With people back out and about this summer, some South Bend-area veterinary practices and kennels have reported increased cases of such diseases in dogs, broadly referred to in popular terms as kennel cough.
“We have definitely seen an increase in veterinary clinics across the state that are seeing dogs coming in with a dry hacking cough,” the director of small animal health at the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, Melissa Justice, said.
This cough is part of the canine infectious respiratory disease complex, Justice said, “and it causes signs that we typically classify as kennel cough.”
“Kennel cough” can be caused by a number of different infectious agents. Whether bacterial or viral, the disease is airborne and spreads easily in spaces where dogs congregate, such as kennels, where it originally got its name.
However, kennel cough can be contracted anywhere, and there are preventative steps to take against it.
The most common and well-known variation that causes these respiratory problems is the bacterium called Bordetella bronchiseptica, and the most wellknown prevention against it is the Bordetella vaccine, Justice said.
Because a variety of infectious agents can cause kennel cough and are not typically tested for in clinical settings, much less reported to the state health program, Justice said she could not quantify the increased illness in the area.
“But I’ve heard from several veterinarians across the state that they’re seeing a lot more cases of coughing dogs that they’re classifying as the infectious respiratory disease complex for kennel cough, per se,” Justice said.
How to treat
Often it is more cost effective to treat the symptoms of these infectious respiratory diseases than to conduct lab tests to form official diagnoses. Dogs can be successfully treated with antibiotics and other medication, in addition to recovering well on their own.
Sometimes veterinarians prefer not to have the animals enter their facilities unless the issue progresses because kennel cough is so contagious.
Justice stressed the increased trend is not a cause for alarm, especially because kennel cough is easily treated.
“The clinics that I have seen that are running the diagnostics are getting inconsistent results,” Justice said. “So they’re not finding just one common infectious agent causing these symptoms in all the dogs across the board. I want to reassure the public we are not seeing an emergence of a superbug or anything like that.”
Justice hypothesized, like their owners, dogs have been in quarantine this past year. Now in the summer months, they have been reintroduced to other dogs and mingling in dog parks, kennels and out in public.
“I would equate it more to kids going back to school,” she said.
She added hot weather can cause irritation in dogs’ tracheas, allowing infectious agents to take a stronger hold. Although kennel cough can for these reasons be more prevalent in the summer, Justice said, the number of cases she has heard of is substantially higher this year.
The diseases can be spread in a number of ways, either through direct dog-to-dog contact or through the air. Kennel cough is easier to contract in indoor spaces.
Additionally, canine infectious diseases can live on surfaces such as toys and water bowls.
Typical symptoms
The typical symptoms of a canine infectious disease is a dry hacking cough, and the typical treatment aims to soothe it with an antibiotic or cough suppressant.
Veterinarian Samantha Dawson with University Park Veterinary Hospital in Granger said that although she’s seen a few cases recently, the practice saw more cases after the Fourth of July, although she could not quantify the trend.
Dawson guessed owners going on vacation this summer and leaving their dogs with other dogs in boarding facilities opened the door for sickness to spread.
Tami Kobb, manager of
Linda’s Camp K9, an animal boarding facility in Mishawaka, said kennels get a bad rep when it comes to kennel cough.
“I think people really associate it with a kennel facility, but I wish people knew you can get it out on a walk,” she said.
Through her connections in the regional veterinary community, Kobb said, kennel cough is “highly prevalent in the Michiana area” right now. Linda’s Camp K9 requires its dogs to be up to date on their Bordetella vaccines.
Kobb also attributed the rise in kennel cough to increased contact between dog owners this summer after the end of many pandemic restrictions.
To protect their dogs, owners should monitor their pets’ health, get the Bordetella vaccine and consistently change their dog’s water bowls and sanitize toys and other surfaces they touch, Kobb said.
She added that if a dog has symptoms, it should not be taken out of the house, even to go on walks.
Lindsey Cuellar with the South Bend Animal Resource Center said the organization saw a number of cases of what could have been kennel cough back in June among strays and other animals brought into the shelter.
Alexys Mclay, a registered veterinarian technician with Animal Care Clinic North in Elkhart, Indiana, said that in the last month especially, “We have seen an increase in upper respiratory infections in canines.”
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Mclay said because kennel cough is an umbrella term and they generally treat clinical symptoms instead of diagnostic testing, the numbers they have seen are unknown. As a precaution, any dogs that are coughing are brought in through a back door in the veterinarian clinic.
She encouraged pet owners to make sure kennels and other facilities in which they board their dog require the Bordetella vaccine.
Finally, Mclay encouraged owners to especially monitor the health of their older and/ or immunocompromised dogs. Although bronchitis, pneumonia and other secondary infections are rare, they are a possibility, especially in dogs with a higher risk of becoming sick.
“Most of the cases, (it is) not a serious illness,” the the Indiana State Board of Animal Health’s Justice said. “They just have this dry hacking cough that’s very annoying for them and their owners.”