Kennel cough protection AKA What to do about the Doggie Cold

If you’ve been following my blog or had a wellness appointment with me, you know by now that I’m not a big fan of vaccines and constantly stimulating the immune system.

You may also know that as far as protection from common dog illnesses, once we have the “puppy shots” done, we can test titers. If you have no idea what what is, click here for a blog post about titers. However, that only applies to distemper, parvovirus, and hepatitis. What about the other common disease dogs pass around, kennel cough?

If you never leave home, or only go for walks where there is very little contact with other dogs, you may not need to worry about kennel cough. Much like the human cold virus, it pretty much requires your dog be in close contact with or in areas where sick dogs have been recently. However, if your dog gets groomed, goes to daycare, goes to shows or trials, dog parks, or any other activity where there is a lot of contact with dogs, kennel cough is certainly a possibility.

There is no titer test for kennel cough, and although there is a vaccine, it is not one that covers all the causes of kennel cough, and, in my experience, it can sometimes cause a bout of kennel cough on its own. Hardly the result we want from a measure we’ve taken for protection!

Most kennels and some groomers require protection from kennel cough (generally the vaccine). If you’d rather not vaccinate and don’t want to give up your dog’s social life, there are options for you!

What I have recommended for years as protection from kennel cough is a kennel cough nosode, which is a homeopathic preparation. I do not recommend nosodes for other diseases, but because the risk from contracting kennel cough is generally low (it is very similar to us getting a cold), and because their chance of exposure is pretty high, nosodes work well in this case.

A homeopathic nosode is a little white pellet, much like other homeopathic remedies, and can be administered at home. I have generally been as successful preventing kennel cough with this method as most other vets are with the vaccine, and that includes agility and show dogs who regularly are around many dogs of unknown health status. Most boarding and grooming facilities my clients have used will accept a letter regarding nosodes as equal to a certificate of kennel cough vaccination.

If you are interested in a kennel cough nosode, call or email and we can schedule a time to talk about their risks and get them started with the nosode if it is appropriate for them!

If you want a consultation, or simply more information, please get in touch!

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