Thursday, October 23, 2008

Kennel Cough

Ah kennel cough. I would wager that every dog owner deals with it at some point, although some people just seem lucky enough to avoid it. Kennel cough is the "street name" for canine tracheobronchitis - doggy irritation of the trachea (windpipe). You'll know if your dog ever gets it, because all of a sudden they sound like they have a 2-pack-a-day smoking habit. The dry, hacking cough is really not a nice sound - almost like a honking goose. Add that to sneezing and runny eyes, and you have a dog that looks pretty haggard.

Kennel cough is basically the doggy equivalent to the human cold. Irritating, but not life threatening. It's very contagious, but of course, we can't ask our dogs to wash their paws every time they come into contact with something. It's spread through nose to nose contact, or snot (after sneezes, etc). Right now it's making the rounds in the community that I live in, and even the KLAD cockers are not immune. Poor Jack-Jack has kennel cough. Fortunately, so far the other two dogs have managed to avoid it, knock on wood. I suspect they just have better immunity than Jack does, what with him still being a puppy.

In an interesting turn of events, I also have a cold. So I guess the age old question of the chicken and the egg applies here, in a certain sense. Who had it first, Jack-Jack or I????

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awww... I hope both you and Jack-Jack feel better soon! HUGS! Oh and out of curiousity, is there something you can do for kennel cough? Or is it just something that has to take it's course like the common cold?

Visichy said...

The vet I used to work for said that kennel cough is the one sickness you can either give or pick up from your pet. Maybe you have kennel cough? Hope not... sounds yucky.

Feel better soon :)