| If you plan to board your Chihuahua, enter him into a | | | | behind preventing kennel cough. If pneumonia sets in |
| dog show, or enroll him into puppy school where there | | | | antibiotics may be necessary to clear the infection. At |
| will be a lot of dogs around it is probably a good idea | | | | this point you should not try to suppress the cough. |
| to vaccinate your Chihuahua against kennel cough. | | | | The dog or Chihuahua needs to get phlegm out of its |
| Kennel cough is a highly contagious respiratory | | | | system. Clearing this phlegm out is the key to recovery |
| disease. The disease is thought to be caused by | | | | from the entire mess of infection. Therefore, do not |
| bacteria called Bordatella. In general kennel cough | | | | give your dog any kind of cough suppressant. The |
| vaccines are not necessary for house dog | | | | coughing clears the phlegm he needs to rid from his |
| Chihuahuas that have little contact with other dogs. | | | | system. |
| The greatest risk is if your Chihuahua is in any of the | | | | Your little Chihuahua may become quite uncomfortable |
| above mentioned situations. | | | | as intense coughing can be painful. You will need to |
| If you need quick protection ask your vet about the | | | | limit activity to avoid "intense coughing episodes." If he |
| intranasal (inhaled through the nose) vaccine. This type | | | | progresses to an infection, he probably will limit his own |
| is also best for more immediate pet contact situations. | | | | activity and will start to lie around acting as if he is sick |
| The other type of kennel cough vaccines is an | | | | and at this point he definitely is quite ill. |
| injectable vaccine. | | | | If you have other dogs in the house, kennel cough is |
| What age is safe to vaccinate for kennel cough? You | | | | quite contagious and they will probably get kennel |
| can vaccinate as early as 4 weeks of age. Annual | | | | cough too. To try and avoid this you can separate |
| and sometimes bi-annual boosters are available and | | | | everyone and wash your hands after contact with |
| may be necessary. This will depend upon your situation | | | | each dog. Use bleach to clean areas where your sick |
| and your personal vet's protocol. | | | | Chihuahua has been. |
| Symptoms of kennel cough: | | | | Not all coughs are "kennel cough." If your Chihuahua |
| Â-Bouts of high pitched, honk-like coughing for at | | | | starts coughing and continues for more than 2 or 3 |
| least 2 weeks; | | | | days without signs of improvement it is wise to take |
| Â-Some dogs may vomit that consists of large | | | | him to the vet for a definitive diagnosis. Also, if you see |
| amounts of phlegm. | | | | secondary signs of illness in your Chihuahua such as |
| With such a horrible sounding cough you would think | | | | lack of appetite, fever, blood in phlegm or difficulty with |
| your little Chihuahua would be just lying around all day | | | | breathing take him to the vet for an appropriate |
| and night. This is not the usual scenario with kennel | | | | assessment and treatment as soon as possible. |
| cough. During the infection dogs generally stay active | | | | It is important to not take your Chihuahua into situations |
| and don't feel or behave "sick." | | | | where there are other dogs if he is diagnosed with |
| There is no cure for kennel cough. Prevention is the | | | | kennel cough. All dogs are susceptible to the kennel |
| best way to handle the disease. Kennel cough will | | | | cough. It is quite contagious. There is no one breed of |
| usually clear up in a couple of week even without | | | | toy dog that is more susceptible to acquiring the kennel |
| medication. Dog owners which include the little | | | | cough. It is therefore advisable to keep him home from |
| Chihuahua owners should be aware of possible | | | | puppy school and all other situations in which there will |
| secondary infections, which may result in pneumonia. | | | | be any other breed of dog around. |
| These secondary infections are the real concern | | | | This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. |