Kennel Cough finally hit us. I have my 2 on Doxy, but was told by my vet to use Pediatric Robitussin for the coughing. When they cough it is quite fierce. She told me to give them 2 tblsp every 8 hours(wow is that fun to administer!). Does that sound right for 60-65lbders? We were woken up severalx last night with the honking and retching. I bought the Robitussin DM today in case someone out there has had better luck with that. My vet may also put them on Turbutol. Is that neccessary? This is my first encounter with kennel cough since I got my first dog in 1990.

Nother question. If my boys get it too their weights are: 100 lbs and approx 85lbs. How much Robitussin would they get?

Hello El---I was at Potomac and a couple of other local shows...where do you think your guys picked up the KC? So far so good here....

I think my girl picked it up in 15-18 sweeps or 12-18 yellow bitches. So far she is the only one out of 5 to get it.

I have her on Amoxy and sprayed her throat with Chloraseptic. I also put Vicks in her nose. It's a lot easier than the cough medicine. She seems much better.

They also brought home some loose stools which cleared up without treatment.

It could have been 3 different places: Potomac, Harrisburg, or the kennel that I groom at. We've had several cases there in the last 2-3 weeks...coinciding with the Syracuse shows and following.

My dogs were fine after Syracuse. I wasn't at Harrisburg, and I wasn't at your grooming shop, so it had to be the Potomac for me.

You have my sympathy! My first experience with KC was about a month ago when my bitch picked it up at the Monticello/Northern NJ shows. She brought it home & it spread to my 4 others one by one. My vet put them on Doxy and Hydrocodone (5mg). It seemed to last forever! I also gave about 1/2 tsp of Robitussin DM when the hacking just would not stop -- I felt helpless and that I had to do something more. It seemed to help. As I'm entering shows again, I'm having them vaccinated. I hope this helps -- does it? I don't know what other precautions to take. Any suggestions?

My experience has been that you can take all the precautions in the world and still get. I have been lucky, lately, and the one that did get it wasn't that bad. I think the Chloreseptic helped a lot.

My son told me today his dogs have had it 3 times in the last 6 months and he does the vaccinations, faithfully, every 6 months.

When it went through here this past fasll the Torbutol for the most severe hackers as well as robitussin and a vaporizer pointed into the crate. This really helped my one girl who has breathing issues anyway. Keep them as quiet as can be and I would put the crates in the garage where it is cooler. If you have had children, treat it like the croup. Lots of fresh air circulating and coolness to help relieve the coughing.
Good Luck
Debbie

Wish there was a solution. My boy came home from the boarding kennel with a very mild case - three coughs per day for three days at the end of last month.

As his sister was scheduled for sterilisation the first week of April, we decided to play safe and re-booked her operation two weeks later. Well, she didn't catch KC from her brother... but must have picked it up at the clinic!!! She was operated on last Tuesday... and started coughing on Friday. At first, we thought it was the tube that had hurt her throat but it's getting worse. Poor soul with all those stitches in her abdomen. What a mess!!

One of my girls got it at Syracuse, which kept her from going to the Potomac. The coughing is deep, intense, and usually enough to make her gag. Well, ended up the rest of my dogs (5) got it too, and I've had them treated with Baytril for the first 5 days, then Amoxi for 10 more days after that. Also had the more severe hackers on Robitussin DM AND Torbutrol. This strain, IMHO, is especially quick to hit, and hits hard. This was the first time in years that I ever had KC, and it was not pretty...

Robitussin makes "cough gels" which are a lot easier to administer than liquid...

Kennel cough is such a pain! I was lucky - I vaccinated everyone in the beginning of March and nobody got it, and I was at Syracuse and the Potomac. I use the injectible Bronchicine. Now if they could just invent a vaccine for the crud.

Sprig show...aren't they wonderful?

I sure hope my guys don't get it. We had it last year from New Bruswick show. I also have 6 day old pups.

Just wondering if you gave the vaccine for KC? I do know they can come down with it too...from the vaccine. Boy this year it does seem to be everywhere. Wonder if it is from the funky winter weather.

we have also been hit with kennel cough with our 6-9 month female who was at the potomac show. she came down with it on april 17, however she had the vacinne in Jan and the other dogs that i brought with us did not get it. she only had a slight cough for a few days. no signs in the other dogs so far, but all had their vacinnes.we let it run its course, no medication given

Darn! I spoke too soon. I now have 2 more hacking. Guess it's going to have to run it's course. Fortunately nobody is pregnant and no little pups.

When I have to give liquid meds I use a children's ora-syringe that I get a the grocery store. It has a soft, flexible tip that you can put along the teeth line and then hold the mouth closed while you administer the meds. Plus you can control how fast you "squirt". Works like a charm!

Johanne

Oh wow...that's a great idea Johanne!

Sorry to hear about the KC hitting all of you. A few weeks ago we posted about picking it up at the Raleigh Cluster, and had to stay home from the Potomac. All of our dogs came down with a mild case......within ten days everyone was back to normal. Poor babies!!!!! Pulls at your heart strings doesn't it? Hang in there....it will soon pass. We just wish others would be more thoughtful, and stay home while it's contagious. We've kept our dogs away from all our friend's animals for over three weeks, just to be safe. We hated missing our favorite/The Potomac. Glad we were able to get a refund on the hotel rooms.

Yes, It is wrenching to hear them cough so hard and gag so bad that they vomit. My poor girls. I did find another solution to giving them the cough meds. I take a half piece of soft bread(Pepperidge Farm Buttermilk) and pore the syrup onto the top. It absorbs quickly and they gobble it up!

My boy got it at the Potomac.

We are using the Robitussin gelcaps... so much easier than the liquids. He had a mild case of it, thankfully.