Canine infectious tracheobronchitis, also called kennel cough is one of the most common infectious diseases. Most of the cases are not serious and within 1 to 2 weeks the dog won’t show any signs of infection anymore. Some dogs though do develop life-threatening complications, and it is advised to vaccinate your animal under certain circumstances.

Kennel cough is caused by a number of airborne bacteria and viruses that attack the animal all at once. Such virus attacks can happen when the animal is in close contact with other dogs, such as travel, dog shows, kennel boarding, etc. Dogs that stay at home have a much lower risk of infection.

The first sign of this disease is a dry-spasmodic cough due to an infection of the windpipe and bronchi. Sometimes the dog will retch and cough up white foamy discharge. In some animals this disease also triggers an inflammation of the lining of the eyelids and of the nasal mucous membranes. That results in discharge from eyes and nose.

Infected dogs normally don’t show any sign of appetite loss or a lower level of activity. More or less the coughing and probable eye and nose discharge is the only sign for Kennel cough, in some cases fever.

Kennel cough is rather easy to diagnose by your veterinarian. Some severe cases go hand in hand with fever or abnormal lung sounds. In that case the vet might take a blood test, x-rays and test the microorganisms in your dog’ss airways. These tests are necessary because another infectious disease, canine distemper, shows similar side effects.

In severe cases a treatment with antibiotics will be prescribed to help prevent further bacterial infection. Cough suppressants work well also.

It is important to know, that if you intend to bring your dog to a kennel for boarding, or attend a show, the vaccination has to be administered at least two to three weeks prior. The vaccine takes about 2 weeks to build up protective immunity.