Dog with a cold??

[belindarose]

Sounds very stupid, but I don't think I realised dogs could have colds. Well, mine has. Lots of sneezing, a hoarse voice and snotty nose. Is there anything I should be doing for him? He seems perfectly happy, by the way.

Mine have both recently had kennel cough (after a weekend in kennels no less :o) and we did nothing but phone the vet and see if they needed seeing. They didn't thankfully! They are both relatively young and healthy and other than being a bit quiet and lethargic, were fine (albeit with a funny snuffling cough thing!). I would keep an eye personally!

sounds like your dog has Kennel Cough. Please dont walk it! Call your vet, maybe some antibiotics are needed. My 2 had it a few weeks ago - after a visit to kennels

It was mild, mostly sneezing, little bit clear snotty, but I got antibiotics which cleared it up nicely.

As it is airborn if you walk your dogs you will pass it on to every other dog you meet and you dont know if that dog has immunity problems, ill health or is a puppy. It can kill in pups.

Oh - and both mine had the KC vaccine, doesnt stop every strain sadly.

Seeing the vet this pm. I didn't realise KC was airborne and had a dog walk planned with a friend, so we've cancelled that. Thanks for the advice. He seems happy just chewin today.

I would tell the vet before you take the dog in that you suspect KC - the vet will come out and do a check in the car for you.

I had to stand outside for half an hour, but was allowed to take him in. It is KC. A week of antibiotics and no contact with other dogs. Thanks.

very welcome. If I were you and you are friendly with local dog walkers or friends who you walk with I would give them a call with a 'heads up' that KC is in your area.

I filled Kongs, did lots of individual training with each dog and did lots of mental stimulation to entertain them while they were house bound.

I let the trainer know yesterday, so hopefully she'll spread the word. Vet said I need to walk him ('because all dogs need walks' !!), but not to allow him near dogs. But off lead in case the collar hurts his neck! Not quite sure whether to follow these instructions or not! I think a few days at home won't do any harm. Definitely not going up onto the lonely, foggy moors with a toddler and a sick dog on my own!

really? How can you walk him and know whether you are going to come across other dogs? Your vet is obviously psychic!

And being advised to walk off lead - is illegal if pavement walking and irresponsible if near a road.

Can you not do a bit of exercise in the garden?

Of course a dog needs exercise and stimulation but to put others' dog at risk is not a smart move.

oh - I did of course play with them in the garden! They were not confined to the house for 2 weeks!

Just incase 'housebound' had been taken literally.

He was too miserable to be walked today anyway. Vet really seemed to think I should go and let him run around the moors, but even then I don't think we could guarantee avoiding other dogs.

We'll just use the garden until he's clear.

What new tricks shall I teach him? He does a great 'roll over' now!

KC is an absolute arse for dogs, pretty much the same as if we have proper flu I think.

To keep things interesting I tried to teach mine to tidy up their toys in the garden. I got them to take them out the box, but only got them to bring them to me, not put them back in the box when they were finished.

To be fair to the dogs I didnt do th ebox part of it properly and as pupstar came into season at the same time as KC I was rather busy clearing up blood drops and feeling sorry for my pup being 'poorly'

That sounds like very useful training! I don't think we're at that stage yet though. He doesn't bring and drop consistently yet, so I'll practise that. Hideous weather here today - he needed forcing out just for the loo, so I'll stop feeling bad about not taking him out. He's slept most of the day, poor boy.

They don't get colds.

Well, I've realised that now, thanks, having taken him to the vets and paid out £40 for antibiotics.

alice you didnt read the whole thread did you?

Belinda - just keep enforcing basic training then. This could be a great time for some recall training. click/treat every time. Make distance longer, click/treat.

Every cloud and all that.

We still took our pup out and just made sure that if we saw another dog we avoided it or put ours on the lead and warned the other person to keep away. It seemed fine and meant that our dog still got exercise and time out of the garden without putting other dogs at risk.

but you did put other dogs at risk spring because its airborn and how would you know if any other dog had auto immune or other serious health concerns?

The fact that my boy dog got it could seriously have compromised his health if he had been in the midst of a 'bad spell' with his health. He had it quite mildly compared to what it could have been and then it took 3 weeks to recover fully.