Kennel Cough?Montana.....

[MontananDakota]

is at the vets right now. Last night he started coughing & it was on & off until bedtime. Then it was quiet until about 3 am he started again & it was going until 7 am. Of course on & off. Hacking. Poor guy. Called the vet when they opened & they said they didn't have anything available until Thursday night. Booked it. Got to work & they called & said they could see him if I could drop him off during the day & get him after work. Asked my boss he said fine so I took off. Round trip in 16 minutes. Hes there now, with his blanket and kissed me before I left, smiling...but still coughing here & there. So now I wait for the call....gosh its gotta be something easy like kennel cough right?? despite his other issues...Im nervous. Hes not had vaccinations since his dx. Because of his dx I've been late with Dakotas...which she's going in for hers soon...but in the meantime ...
any thoughts???

[POPTOP]

Ah Montana. Sending tons of good thoughts and mojo.

[Berna]

Good thoughts for Montana. I know how it feels when you are at work and your furbaby is sick. Had the same ordeal earlier today.

[JenC]

Sounds like KC and its not a big deal as long as you don't let it get worse. It's like a human cough. Caught early, and given stuff to mitigate the symptoms, it won't turn into anything worse. It "could" turn into pneumonia if a secondary infection gets hold. I usually give 500 mg Vit. C a meal and an Echinacea pill to boost the immune system. You can give them a little honey for the throat. In a few days it usually goes away. If you see the vet, they will give you antibiotics in case the secondary infection takes hold. KC is a virus, but if it weakens the immune system, they can get a bacterial infection, which is why the antibiotics.

[MontananDakota]

thanks everyone...just called the vet. She did x rays. I didn't want her to unless she felt it necessary & told me first. I had that $ set aside for Dakota's appointment. They always get my ok before expensive stuff like that. Drowning here, just need a break to get back on my feet...anyway saw nothing on the films, hearts good & she hasn't even heard the cough in the 50 minutes he's been there!! wt... she doesn't think its kennel cough either. Because he's never kenneled. Well he wasn't kenneled when he had it when he was about a year old either... she said maybe its something stuck in his throat..or irritated his bronchial ways....
I'm glad he's ok. I wish he didn't have to stay there until I get out of here now though...i brought his blanket.

[MontananDakota]

Sounds like KC and its not a big deal as long as you don't let it get worse. It's like a human cough. Caught early, and given stuff to mitigate the symptoms, it won't turn into anything worse. It "could" turn into pneumonia if a secondary infection gets hold. I usually give 500 mg Vit. C a meal and an Echinacea pill to boost the immune system. You can give them a little honey for the throat. In a few days it usually goes away. If you see the vet, they will give you antibiotics in case the secondary infection takes hold. KC is a virus, but if it weakens the immune system, they can get a bacterial infection, which is why the antibiotics.

our posts crossed...thanks for the info...I was convinced it was KC and thought she'd give antibiotics but now I've got nothing and his immune system may already be weakened for the tumor..what do I do now? ok so if I can get him some vit C...can this be regular vit C for people?? And the Echinacea too-can it be for people?? I wouldn't wanna take the time to order from Dr Foster & Smith as I usually do, I'd wanna get him on this today. To avoid secondary infection.
She says hes fine..and his heart is good...that was good news. I would have ok'd the x ray anyway.

[JenC]

KC can come from anywhere, its airborne and a dog can cough on something and your dog pick it up. I don't take Jack to shows, in fact, he's mostly out in parks or water sources or on our property...and he still picked up KC.

Yes, these are human supplements I am talking about. Buffered Vit. C is best, but if you can't find it, aim for 500 mg of Vit C. whatever your drugstore or grocery store has. Same for Echinacea, I don't pay attention to mg. just what you find. They can't hurt the dog, and it can help the immune system.

And with the xray, nothing was seen in the lungs? Hudler (our 13 y/o), he was acting odd and we brought him in for other reasons, they xrayed his chest (I was afraid he had an internal tumor), and they found some cloudiness in his lungs, attributed it to pneumonia of all things. It wasn't until a few days later did he even START coughing!

[sheltieluver]

Could it possibly be allergies Gauge gets a hacking cough around this time of year. Kind of like post nasal drip how it's irritating to the throat.

[MontananDakota]

i don't think so because it came on fast. Like yesterday morning there was no coughing & when I got home after work there was. Then it increased. Weird. Just weird.

[sheltieluver]

That's how his is too one day he's fine then he is hacking. Just an idea hope he feels better soon.