My dog has a cold!

[TinaTurnipp]

Poor little mite has a runny nose and sounds quite bunged up! I wasn't aware until now that dogs could catch a cold but that's exactly what it sounds like.

He doesn't appear to have a cough and has already had his kennel cough vaccination not long ago so I don't think it's that. However, he was in dog daycare for a few days last week whilst DP worked away so he may well have picked something up there.

So far he's eating, drinking, toileting and playing just like normal so I'm not concerned enough to head straight to the vets just yet.

Is there anything anyone can recommend giving him to help 'unclog'? I've heard honey may be an idea!

[Wolfiefan]

How long ago was the kennel cough vaccination?

[MrsJayy]

My dog had a cold last year i didn't know dogs got colds either he was miserable for a few days and it cleared up

[TinaTurnipp]

Wolfiefan last Friday was his vaccination.

[BiteyShark]

I guess it depends on whether it's a cold or an allergy.

My dog gets lots of allergies (sneezing and runny nose) and we give him piriton from the vets (as it's been recommended by the vets we know the correct dosage and amount).

Btw kennel cough vaccination is like the flu vaccination. Don't assume because yours has had it he won't ever get KC as it only protects against some strains.

[Wolfiefan]

Isn’t it a live vaccination? If so he shouldn’t have been in daycare and it could be a reaction to the vaccination. They shed the vaccine after it is given.

[TinaTurnipp]

Don't assume because yours has had it he won't ever get KC as it only protects against some strains

Yes the vet did mention that when I took him and with him being in daycare it's entirely plausible he's picked it up from there. He doesn't have a cough at all though so far as I can tell it seems to just be the nose.

He is waking up a lot in the night sneezing but seems happy enough.

[Wolfiefan]

If he had the vaccination and then went to daycare he could well infect every dog there.

[BiteyShark]

Wolfiefan yes you are right in that's it's a live vaccination which is why most kennels and daycare want 1-2 weeks after it before they allow you to attend.

OP I have just seen you have only recently had it. I think I was told mine might exhibit some symptoms a few days after.

[TinaTurnipp]

Wolfie, he had his annual vaccination on Friday just gone. He was in daycare the Monday-Wednesday (so before).

[Wolfiefan]

Apologies. I misread.
Could be a reaction to vaccine.

[TinaTurnipp]

PS we only use daycare very rarely when DP works away otherwise he goes to work with him so he won't be going back until well after the recommended 1-2 weeks.

I will keep a close eye on him over the next couple of days I think!

[Wolfiefan]

Maybe worth calling vet and asking if they’ve similar side effects from other dogs. Wouldn’t go rushing in.

[itsnowthewaitinggame]

I've never heard of a dog contracting a cold virus

[BiteyShark]

itsnowthewaitinggame I don't think they get colds like we do but they can get infections.

[MrsJayy]

Yes it isn't the same as a human cold virus it is passed from dog to dog . My dog caught it from boarding kennels

[TinaTurnipp]

Yes I don't think it's the same as a human cold but from looking online it seems they can get a dog equivalent!

I'm thinking it may be something to do with the vaccine for KC he had.

If he wasn't eating/drinking properly I'd be taking him in but he seems fine in every other way so hopefully he'll be okay in a day or two.

I do have a habit of panicking/ overreacting whenever he acts in remotely out of the ordinary.

When we first got him, I rushed him to the vets at the first sign of a runny bowel and was stung with a bill for absolutely nothing so OH is wary of my worrying now

[MrsJayy]

Oh i took my dog to the vet for whst i suspected was a twisted bowel he had trapped wind ans the vet gave him doggie gaviscon

[itsnowthewaitinggame]

Well after 30 years of dog owning I've learned something today from MN!

[Wolfiefan]

Tina you and me both. My dog was extremely restless the other day. I started suspecting bloat or torsion. She would not settle. Kept wandering round and crying.
She needed a poo. Or several.

[MrsJayy]

wolfie my dd still ribs me about the day i took the dog to the vet too fart !

[Wolfiefan]

Haha. Better that than miss something awful though. Thankfully we have insurance.

[Ratterschnatter]

I would say he picked up Kennel Cough from doggy day care. The KC vaccine would not have done nothing and can actually give them KC much like the human flu jab. The KC vaccine is fairly pointless and just another chemical to pump into dogs bodies.

[TinaTurnipp]

Wolfie, it was the first or second day we had him. I felt like a bit daft when the vet said with a smirk that they all have a runny bum for a few days at first, and that'll be £60.00 please.

I had rang OH frantically thinking he was about to pop his little clogs on the way.

It is better to be safe than sorry though. He's my best pal!

[TinaTurnipp]

Felt a bit daft*

[BiteyShark]

I like the think that vets prefer to see our pets even if it turns out to be something daft rather than those where their symptoms are ignored and only bought in when they are seriously ill.

I went in once for nail trimming and he looked at them and said they were perfectly fine . I honestly thought they looked really long.