Popularly known as a kennel cough, the canine infectious tracheobronchitis leads a suffering dog to make seemingly continuous coughs and sounds like choking on something. It is one of the leading cough problems faced by both pet dogs as well as the stray ones. Although on most occasions, dogs recover from the condition on their own, they might require medical assistance during other scenarios.

What is a kennel cough?

There are several different viruses that can cause a kennel cough. In most cases, it is caused by a bacterium dubbed Bordetella bronchiseptica. Because of this, the infectious tracheobronchitis is also referred to as Bordetella. Inhaling bacteria or virus particles into their respiratory tract leads to this undesired health condition in dogs.

Most dogs that contract Bordetella bronchiseptica get infected with some kinds of virus simultaneously. These viruses include canine adenovirus, canine distemper virus, canine herpes virus, canine reovirus, and parainfluenza virus. Contracting such viruses worsens the Bordetella condition.

Symptoms of Bordetella

The symptoms of the infectious tracheobronchitis might vary from one dog to another. Nonetheless, following are some of the common symptoms associated with kennel cough:

• A persistent, choking cough sounding like a goose honk
• A running nose
• Continuous or irregular eye discharge
• Frequent sneezes
• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Decreased energy level

Why kennel cough in dogs needs timely treatment?

Even though the infectious tracheobronchitis isn’t an alarming medical condition, it’s better to treat your dog with the right medicine to save it from undesired, long-term suffering. Some of the most important reasons why the right and timely treatment is important are as follows:

• Medicines make tracheobronchitis less contagious –

  Being a highly infectious disease, the Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria can instantly spread from one affected dog to another healthy one. Though it might take some time for the symptoms to appear in the newly affected dog, it affects one with full force. Medicines can control the rate at which the infection spreads.

• Medicines allow faster recovery –

  Dogs can recover from kennel cough without any medicines as well. However, the recovery time might take as long as six full weeks, which is undoubtedly a long time to be suffering from kennel cough and its associated symptoms. With proper medicines, dogs are able to recover from the uneasy health condition in about 3 weeks.

• Medicine help in minimizing symptoms –

  Along with offering a reduced recovery time from the highly infectious disease, medication effectively reduces the symptoms of the disease.

• Curbs chances of pneumonia –

  Though most cases of kennel cough are safe, some instances might lead to your pet suffering from pneumonia. Therefore, to keep the chances of your dog acquiring pneumonia in check, you need to consult a vet for the correct medicines and medical counseling, especially if the condition of your dog seems to deteriorate with every passing day.

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