two dogs with kennel cough

[kyerstane]

I have bhad an Italian greyhound since he was 10 weeks and he is very healthy!!! Always eating, lol..  Well last Tuesday we rescued a puppy from a dirty pound and she seemed VERY healthy just alittle hungry. Well then by Thursday she started coughing and took her to the vet he said her kungs seemed clear and she seemed other wise healthy.  The next day we took our italian greyhound to get his bordatella shot but too late he has it too.  they are both on antobiotics and on the cough pill but now neither of them will eat and they are barley drinking and they just lay there and barley move I am so worried.  what else besides kennel cough is contagious and makes dogs cough and become lathargic????  I do not want them to die!!!!

[kyerstane]

Tank you so much for responding.  it seems to be an influenza of some sort we go back to the vet tomorrow I will post tomorrow evening after the appt and let you know what our vet says.  The pupp seems t be doing a bit better where as my IG is really bad.  They are my babies!!  I do have two boys two and I treat them the same as my boys!  they have got me worried!

[AireScottie]

There's also a new dog flu going around that acts a lot like kennel cough.  I know one of the vets here on MedHelp has written about it, but I can't find the right journal at the moment.  Argh!

[Ghilly]

There are several different diseases that fall under the very generalized term "canine cough".   Bordetella bronchiseptica, the bacterial agent responsible for canine cough, often pairs up with other viruses because when the Bb attaches itself to the cilia in the dog's nasal passages, resulting in "kennel cough", the immunn system is compromised, thus allowing the Bb to pair up with one of the more serious cough-producing agents, such as canine parainfluenza, canine adenovirus or canine reovirus.  If your Italian Greyhound has been vaccinated and has adequate immunity against the parainfluenza, adenovirus and reovirus, then it shouldn't go beyond the run-of-the-mill "kennel cough" for him.  Depending on how badly compromised the puppy's immune system is, coming from a stressful situation like a dirty, overcrowded kennel, there could be serious consequences for her.

The best thing I can tell you to do is to keep in close contact with your vet and let him or her know about everything you think looks odd to you until this situation is resolved.  Normally, kennel cough isn't serious and the dogs are back to normal in a few weeks.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that this is all you're dealing with, but like I said, keep in close contact with your vet and don't be afraid to call him or her with any new developments, no matter how small they may seem.  This is one situation you definitely want to stay on top of until you are sure you've got it beaten.

Please keep us up to date on how your dogs are doing.  Good luck to you!

Ghilly