Thursday, October 31, 2019

Kennel Cough in the Nairn area.

Moray Coast Vets are reporting a high number of cases of Kennel Cough in the area at the moment.

They said, 

"Kennel cough is an umbrella term given to a number of different viruses and bacteria that cause an infectious cough in dogs. They attack the lining of a dog's respiratory tract causing inflammation resulting in irritation and a dry cough. In the majority of cases this is self limiting and is much like us having a cold.

It is highly contagious however. Dogs can be infected via airborne spread, direct contact with infected dogs or indirect contact with things infected dogs have slobbered on eg toys and bowls. An infected dog tends to be contagious for 2 weeks and may still cough in this time or may not. 

If your dog has kennel cough it is not an emergency. Like the human cold it very rarely needs treatment. In majority of cases they will recover uneventfully with TLC and wetting dry food so as to limit discomfort on the throat.

There is no need to seek veterinary attention unless this cough is ongoing for over a week or if your dog is off food or listless.

If your dog is infected it would be good idea to isolate them from other dogs as much as possible for 2 weeks-eg avoiding groomers, vets, and popular walking areas.

There is a kennel cough vaccine available, It doesn't provide a 100% protection but will reduce the severity and duration of signs should your dog get infected. We'd recommend the vaccine for dogs most at risk ie those mixing with a lot of dogs for example attending classes, dog walkers, groomers etc."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a surprise, irresponsible owners, no vaccinations and no doubt letting their dogs run up to other dogs on the beach.