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[R177]Remedies For Kennel Cough

by Martin. L. Willliams, Mar

Nature Of Dog Kennel Cough

The lining of the windpipe and bronchi of a dog suffering from dog kennel cough are damaged by a bacterial and/or viral infection, exposing nerve endings which become irritated when air passes over them as the dog breathes in and out. This causes the primary symptom of the illness, a dry, coarse, hacking cough which the dog usually develops within about a week of the initial infection.

How Long Does Kennel Cough Last

In most cases or kennel cough, the symptoms are mild. The affect on the health of the dog is minimal. Most cases come without a rise in temperature or lose of appetite. The main affect is the persistent cough that occurs every few minutes through the day. These symptoms normally last for one to three weeks in most cases. The use of antibiotics are not usually needed, however, it is useful to speed the healing of the cough.

How is the Disease of Kennel Cough Transmitted

Dog (bichon frise) kennel cough can be transmitted like a cold in humans. This means that the germs causing kennel cough can be carried in the air, inhaled by another dog causing infection, especially if the recipient dog is susceptible to the microbes. If more than one dog shares a dog kennel the illness spreads among the dogs (this is where the name kennel cough comes from). But it can be acquired anytime and anywhere from an infected dog.

How to Treat Kennel Cough

While antibiotics are sometimes prescribed to treat a case of dog kennel cough, most dogs recover on their own. However, as the illness is accompanied by a persistent and bothersome cough, a veterinarian will often recommend cough-suppressing drugs to help the dog deal with that.

A dog that is not frequently in contact with other dogs already has a low chance of catching kennel cough. It is important to have the dog examined by a vet because symptoms similar to kennel cough are also caused by other serious respiratory diseases. In case of vaccination, the dog should be given the vaccine at least a few weeks before taking it to a dog show or out in the company of other dogs. Vaccinating the dog against infectious organisms may prevent dog kennel cough.

Kennel cough is described asthe inflammation of your pet's respiratory system, more particularly the upperpart of the lungs. Kennel cough is very common in dog centers, especially incrowded shelters.
This disease is airborne, meaning dogs living within the same area are at highrisks of acquiring it. Kennel cough is a highly contagious disease and it isvery similar to human cough.

If you suspect that your doghas kennel cough, take it to the vet right away. It always pays to be surewhether your dog just has a mild case of cough or a more complicatedrespiratory disease. The vet would perform the necessary diagnosis for your petand he can give your dog the medicines that it need.

But aside from following thevet's orders, you also have to do several things to speed up your pet?srecovery. Milder cases of kennel cough rarely require medication. But it isstill necessary to give your pet the drugs that the vet had prescribed.Antibiotics are usually prescribed to dogs with kennel cough. And they have totake it as frequently as indicated in order to experience eventual relief fromthe disease.

If your dog has kennel cough,try to keep it away from your other pets as much as possible. All of them couldeasily contract the same disease just with mere association. If you must, keepyour pets in their respective cages. This way, you can prevent their contactwith each other. There are also preventive medicines that you can give to yourother pets so that they would have stronger immune system. This way, they won?teasily acquire the disease. Ask your vet about the possible vaccines againstkennel cough.

The best home remedy to givedogs with kennel cough is Vitamin C. There are Vitamin C soft capsules that canbe bought at pharmacies today and you can simply add it to your dog's meals.Break the capsule and put the content in the food of your dog. It is alsopossible to use similar tinctures and herbal remedies that are easily availableat pharmacies today.

The cold weather can makeyour dog suffer from the disease even more. Try to keep its environment warmand humid. Use a vaporizer or a home humidifier to keep the dog house or cratecomfortable enough for your sick pet. It is also possible to use a cough medicineused for children on your dog. However, this should be done only as a first aidand never as a continued medication for its disease.

Honey can help so much ineasing an irritated throat. You should also do your best to keep your pet frompollutants such as smoke. For the entire length of time that your dog is sick,try to keep smokers out of the house. This way, your pet would experiencespeedy recover from its condition.

Be sure to monitor your pet?shealth all the time. This is very important so you can stop the onset of anydiseases. Prevention and early cure are your best defenses against kennel coughand similar health concern.

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Both Martin. L. Willliams & Cristian are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

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