I have always thought that kennel cough was a bacteria that a dog caught from another infected dog, but my next door neighbors GSD dog who is tied out 24/7 and has had no contact with any other dogs just came down with it. Any Vets out there with any experience or knowledge about this. I am concerned because the dog got lose the other day and I grabed him and put him in my kennel for the day with my dogs until his owners came home from work. He was coughing while he was here whenever he got excited but because the dog is literally never off of the property I thought his windpipe was irritated from years of being tied up. It has been almost 2 weeks since he has been here and fortunately no one here is coughing. The neighbor says his dog is now bringing up alot of mucus and the vet has him on antibiotics.Still scratching my head.

Gee, I hope he is now indoors???

Kennel cough is airborne. Dogs can get it in their very own backyard because of this.

I hope that the poor GSD doesn't have something more serious that is causing his cough like heart disease or lung cancer......How sad that the dog is tied out 24/7.

I agree it breaks my heart to hear him barking at 2:00am when it is ice cold and it is raining or snowing. I have said my peace with the family and they know how I feel. There is no more that I can do. He had such an awesome time the day he was here running around the acre paddock and butt tucking like crazy.They asked me if I would take care of him for a week while they are away in Feb and I said yes, I can't wait to spoil him rotten.

How about reporting the 24/7 problem to your local agency?

I had a similar situation here in Florida where a dog a block away was kept always tied to a tree. Black lab mix, and while I know you northerners don't think it gets cold here, it does.
I tried reporting them several times and because they had a flimsy plastic dog house that was often turned over even, they met the criteria of providing adequate shelter. Three walls, a roof, and a floor.
Eventually they moved and now a new owner lives there and has some mixed breed tied to the same tree, but thankfully only in the day time.

With your GSD buddy, I would worry about things like heart worm as well as it can cause that cough. I would also wonder about the vet only because if he is not cared for as by being brought in at night or in the rain, snow etc., you have to wonder about medical care. If he is a purebred I would check out a local rescue and let them know what is going on and ask if you reported him as a "sick" dog and the worst turned out to be true leading to him being confiscated if they would take him out of animal control.
I am sure you would hate for him to be taken away only to be put to sleep. But who knows, maybe he is on antibiotics and will get better and maybe you can offer to take him for a play day once a week and make his life worth living.
Good luck and thanks for being a caring sort.
Annie

About Kennel Cough - many incl. vets believe it to be a "complex".... meaning a variety of both bacterial and viral strains - and can have airborne transmission. It's not just one strain of one bacteria, and is why vaccines may not be effective.
Sorry to hear of that poor dog