Sarah_Jess Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 HI All, We have a sick doggy! Our neighbor kindly informed us that her 2 dogs have KC - and I think out poor little man might have it now! I called into the vet on the way home, and they advised that we have 3 options - 1. Ride the cough out - it will last about 2 weeks 2. take him to the vet and get a course of anti-biodics 3 - benadryl Can anyone tell me how much benadryl we should give our boy? He is a 6yr old staffy that is about 15kgs.. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgie-boy Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Get the Benadryl original formula and give the child dose. Antibiotics for KC are useless unless there is a secondary infection present so unless your boy is REALLY sick then riding it out will be fine. Just keep him well hydrated and isolated from other dogs. KC tends to sound a lot worse than it usually is. Hope your boy is feeling better soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baifra Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Get the Benadryl original formula and give the child dose. Antibiotics for KC are useless unless there is a secondary infection present so unless your boy is REALLY sick then riding it out will be fine. Just keep him well hydrated and isolated from other dogs. KC tends to sound a lot worse than it usually is. Hope your boy is feeling better soon. Then why do vets perscribe A/B's if they are not required? One of my girls currently has KC (just waiting on the other one to get it) and she is on A/B's. I wont be happy if I am treating if it isn't necessary (sp) The vets told me that this is a strain that isn't covered by the vaccine!! Break outs everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Under 5kg - 1ml 6-10 kg - 2ml 11-15kg - 3ml 16-20kg - 4ml 21-30kg - 5ml 31-40kg - 6ml Info here I am sorry that your boy seems to have caught it. Unfortunately the nature of the virus is that it spreads before you even know your dog has it. My dogs have been inside all day today trying to stop the spread. What sypmtoms does he have? Like others have said, antibiotics are useless unless their is an infection, and they will only lower his immune system and not allow his body to fight it naturally if you give them when not needed. Your neighbour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baifra Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Isn't KC a respiratory infection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Hi- if your boy normally goes for walks in a collar- try and avoid it- it presses on their trachea- making coughing worse. keep him rested, hydrated and not in too hot & dry air. The benadryl "may" make him drowsy... I used to just use it at night... helps everyone sleep My vet used to say that if he treated it- the KC would go in around 3 weeks. If left untreated, it would take around 21 days Unless you see green/yellow muck exiting his nose/throat, he really has trouble breathing, or won't eat ...don't panic. Once I had a dog with KC, and two cats with URTI... lots of benadryl and snot everywhere!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Rules Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 The KC vaccine only covers the two most common strains of KC out of about 38 strains, so is no guarantee. I had one dog with KC and the other one never got it, so it's not 'automatic'. As previously mentioned, anti biotics will only help if there is a secondary infection, it doesn't make any difference to a virus which is what KC is. Cough mixture at night is a godsend. I gave it twice daily and my boy was clear of coughing within a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 The best treatments for KC are homoeopathic Bryonia 30c, several times daily for a few days and/or colloidal silver. If you know someone with their own colloidal silver generator that can give you a decent supply just replace the drinking water with it. The very best product for it is Bionaid, but that has to be brought in from the US and will take 6 days to get here. It will usually get rid of it in a day or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baifra Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 (edited) The KC vaccine only covers the two most common strains of KC out of about 38 strains, so is no guarantee.I had one dog with KC and the other one never got it, so it's not 'automatic'. As previously mentioned, anti biotics will only help if there is a secondary infection, it doesn't make any difference to a virus which is what KC is. Cough mixture at night is a godsend. I gave it twice daily and my boy was clear of coughing within a week. Thanks for that info. I had no idea that there were different strains. My 'non infected' dog needs to have a tumour removed and the vet doesn't want to operate until she gets KC like my other one!! We didn't bother seperating them as they had been together for days after the symptoms appeared so we didnt see the point. (They were kenneled) It's frustrating as I want the op done ASAP and nearly two weeks later she has NO symptoms of KC at all. Edited July 31, 2008 by baifra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aus_k9gsd Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 The KC vaccine only covers the two most common strains of KC out of about 38 strains, so is no guarantee.I had one dog with KC and the other one never got it, so it's not 'automatic'. As previously mentioned, anti biotics will only help if there is a secondary infection, it doesn't make any difference to a virus which is what KC is. Cough mixture at night is a godsend. I gave it twice daily and my boy was clear of coughing within a week. Thanks for that info. I had no idea that there were different strains. My 'non infected' dog needs to have a tumour removed and the vet doesn't want to operate until she gets KC like my other one!! We didn't bother seperating them as they had been together for days after the symptoms appeared so we didnt see the point. (They were kenneled) It's frustrating as I want the op done ASAP and nearly two weeks later she has NO symptoms of KC at all. she may not get it, out of my 4 dogs only 2 of them caught it so she might be lucky they were over it in about 4 days, i just gave them infant cough mixture as it was the 2 little dogs that caught it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baifra Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 The KC vaccine only covers the two most common strains of KC out of about 38 strains, so is no guarantee.I had one dog with KC and the other one never got it, so it's not 'automatic'. As previously mentioned, anti biotics will only help if there is a secondary infection, it doesn't make any difference to a virus which is what KC is. Cough mixture at night is a godsend. I gave it twice daily and my boy was clear of coughing within a week. Thanks for that info. I had no idea that there were different strains. My 'non infected' dog needs to have a tumour removed and the vet doesn't want to operate until she gets KC like my other one!! We didn't bother seperating them as they had been together for days after the symptoms appeared so we didnt see the point. (They were kenneled) It's frustrating as I want the op done ASAP and nearly two weeks later she has NO symptoms of KC at all. she may not get it, out of my 4 dogs only 2 of them caught it so she might be lucky they were over it in about 4 days, i just gave them infant cough mixture as it was the 2 little dogs that caught it Well thats good news cause if she gets it then there is another delay in her surgery!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teebs Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 As the others said, just beacuse one gets Canine cough, does not mean the other will. Kaos got it last year, and At never got it, but they both did get it this year I let At ride it out (he ended on Anti Bios anyway for hurting his foot) and kaos i got on ABs because she lost 3kgs in 3 days Last year i let kaos ride it out, used benadryl and all was good. And remember, it isnt just kenneled dogs that get it Canine cough spreads very easy and you could pick it up anywhere, if they did go to a kennel please call them and inform them your dog got Canine cough, the kennel cant fight it if they dont know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reddii Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 My dogs have both had it in the last month. Only mild and only lasted a few days each, then a few more days of lethargy. We had both of them on anti-biotics as a precaution against secondary infection. I don't mind doing it to myself for respiratory infection so treated the puppies the same way. Personal preference. Once they were off the AB's I put them on a course of pro-biotics to settle down their tummies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kermat Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 My boy Max had a very mild case of kennel cough a few months ago. I took him to the vets for a proper diagnosis - mainly because I couldn't tell whether it was kennel cough or had something stuck in his throat!! I wouldn't have said the noise he was making was a cough, it sounded like he had a hairball or something stuck. Anyway the vet gave him an anti-inflammatory injection to make him more comfortable (and it definitely worked, he was certainly happier afterwards) and prescribed him a course of antibiotics. I am very VERY against taking antibiotics when its not warranted and given that kennel cough can also be caused by a virus I was skeptical about treating him with antibiotics - but the vet said that kennel cough had been rampant in the area and initially she was not prescribing antibiotics for the dogs she saw but they always came back a few days later with secondary infections. So the antibiotics were really just as a precaution, I gave them to him and he was fine after a couple of days. Just make sure you keep your doggie nice and warm and give him food thats not too hard or crunchy and might irritate his throat. And lots of cuddles!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah_Jess Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Thanks for all the help/info! Alison - what a small world it is!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Your neighbour Really? Bloody inconsiderate neighbour! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Your neighbour :p Really? Bloody inconsiderate neighbour! ;) Yeah so inconsiderate that i informed my neigbours, and have driven 20 minutes home and 20 minutes back to work every day in my lunch break so that the dogs can stay inside all day ever since i discovered they had kennel cough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Hi-if your boy normally goes for walks in a collar- try and avoid it- it presses on their trachea- making coughing worse. I would hope no-one would be taking a dog out for a walk in ANY areas where other dogs frequent when infected with KC in order to prevent the spread to other dogs. That includes the 14 day quarantine period after the last cough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Years ago and old Indian lady said to try honey and turmeric (1 tablespoon of honey to 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric) cleared it up pretty quickly just administering when the coughing was happening on the end of a paddlepop stick. Years later I had Whooping cough and after coughing for six months with two broken ribs, a hernia and a split diaphram I thought I would try it on me - no more coughing after two days.. I used manuka honey and ground turmeric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Turmeric is worth checking out - I know a lot of people use it for cancer, so it is a pretty powerful substance. Must admit, hadn't thought of using it for coughing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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