I have a 4 year old bitch who developed kennel cough Friday. She has not been anywhere other than in my husband's pickup going from one farm to the other recently. No one else has any symtoms? We have not been to any shows recently and only had one puppy to the vet for a health certificate but held her the entire time and that was just Wednesday before my girl started coughing on Friday. How could have she contracted it? The vet put her on antibiotics for precautionary measures although she is not running a temp, is eating fine and wants to play but I am not letting her play as that causes her to cough. I have two puppies that are 11 weeks old and other dogs, what precautions should I take to avoid them getting it. All the dogs live in the house. I also have CERF appointments for my puppies and the bitch with kennel cough on Saturday the 14th, should I cancel for all of them? I have no expereince with KC at all. She is not coughing a lot and robitussin seems to help when she does have a bout of coughing. Any comment is welcome as I want to know what to expect from those of you that have had the experience.

Thanks much!

A. she needs to be in a crate and kept seperate from all other dogs. And hand washing is a must.
B. she needs to not go to her CERF exam
C. antibiotics are not necessary
D. Start scrubbing and disinfecting all areas washable, and double rinse.

Likey if she has been loose in your house, the other dogs will soon start , relax. Use the robitussin, and crate affected dogs, they need undisturbed forced rest. And throw a sheet over the top of the crate .

there is no point crating her as if they all live in the house, they are all going to get it within 10 days...that is a fact...unless they are vaccinated for it, and even the vaccine seems to not work nearly 100 percent, although have 10 that live in the house, and have caught it 3 times, and some have been vaccinated, some have not been, and the ones who have been have gotten it less. i would put her in an area of your house where she will be quite and still, no running or playing, that will just exacerbate coughing, you want her to just lye down. don't take any of them anywhere, no vets, no where. antibiotics will not kill this as it is a virus, it will only help with any respitory infections, but this just has to run its course which is 10 days...good luck. i know how bad it stinks when you have puppies and other dogs, mine have gotten it and when they eat they start coughing and throw up, it can be a mess. my vet sometimes gives a cough medicine called hycodan (codiene) to help them sleep and relax, that has helped in the past.

It is not a virus it is a bacteria.

There is a point in crating the dog, it's called forced rest, and of course there is the hacking and vomit all of her house , that would be confined to one spot.
And further more, I have had one dog get kennel cough and the other 12 NOT GET IT , but she was in a crate, w/sheet over the crate, and walked in a seperate yard.

How can you say the Antibiotics are not necessary if you haven't seen the dog? KC can -as well as colds in people - end up on pneumonia. It shouldn't be a problem in an, otherwise, healthy adult, but please, don't play online vet.

You are so wrong. Canine parainfluenza is the common virus and the bacteria is Bordetella bronchiseptica. Other agents that might be found in the complex are Mycoplasmas, canine adenoviruses, and canine herpesvirus and reoviruses. Herpesvirus can cause abortions or stillborns, if bi'ches are infected in the last 3rd period of pregnancy. It can cause the death of puppies infected in the first couple of weeks of life(got this one, and it is not nice. lost a whole litter).
if you have pregnant females or new born puppies take them away!!!new born puppies don't get kennel cough, they just get bad diarrhea, and can't keep temperature. They die within hours. The cause is the Herpesvirus associated with the kennel cough.

I am not wrong. All the viral causes of kennel cough are from diseases that we innoculate for. So if your dog has its innoculations which I assume most of the people here do it is a BACTERIAL bortadella that is causing it. If your dog has picked it up from the result of becoming infected with the virus of distemper,adenovirus,or parainfluenza you have much more to worry about then the cough. We are talking about bortadella which is the common kennel cough and it is a BACTERIA.
"Kennel cough or tracheobronchitis is a highly contagious canine illness characterized by inflammation of the upper respiratory system. It CAN be caused by viral infections such as canine distemper, canine adenovirus, canine parainfluenza virus, or canine respiratory coronavirus, or bacterial infections such as Bordetella bronchiseptica. It is so named because the infection can spread quickly among dogs, such as in the close quarters of a kennel."