Holly's KC

[Dixie_Girl]

I really needed as many people to answer as possible! What the deal is, is that everyone is suppose to come to my house for Christmas dinner. They all have dogs! Lucy, Missy, Cheyenne, and Holly will be in the master BR while we have dinner. But will the KC virus be contagious enough for them to take home to their dogs? My brother and SIL have a couple of older dogs, and my nephew has the pup Hank, with only one set of shots so far. So what do y'all think? I need to know soon! What if I went to one of their houses? Would I bring the KC with me?

 

Are we in quarenteen!??? Or should we be?

[Journey]

This is just my gut reaction, so take it lightly, but I would not worry about it. You will have her isolated, in a crate and not around the family and their dogs won't be there. I've never had to deal with KC, someone with more info/knowledge will be better able to answer your concerns. We don't even vaccinate for it down here, my vet doesn't recommend it unless you are boarding at their clinic. Sorry, not much help, I know.

[OffTopic]

That's an issue not covered in many of the sites when you google 'kennel cough'!

However, I did find one site which suggests that it can be spread on hands and clothing:

Agents causing tracheobronchitis can be transmitted on hands and clothing as well as through the air, so infected animals must be isolated and handlers should wear gloves and use proper handwashing to help prevent spread.

Here's the link to the article.

 

I dunno. It might be a risk. But if it were that big of a risk then you'd think kennel workers would have to be suited up like hazmat workers.....otherwise they're putting every dog they come in contact with at risk even after they leave work, right?

I'd say tell your family you have a contagious dog in the house and that they should wash their hands thoroughly when they get home before petting their own dogs. And maybe squirt a little Ozium (air sanitizer spray you can find at WalMart, Walgreens, etc that reduces airborne bacteria) or Oust (same kind of stuff only not as effective) to keep the airborne bacteria at a minimum. Remove any pet bedding or toys, etc. from the room.

 

KC doesn't sound like a lot of fun for a dog, but it also doesn't sound life threatening in most cases, so I'd say use common sense hygiene rules and enjoy your Christmas with your family.

 

But then, I've never dealt with KC and am basing my opinion on what I've read in the last 30 minutes on the internet, so take my opinion for what it's worth.

[Shetlander]

Sheesh! Doesn't if figure right before Christmas??? KC is highly contagious. I don't know what the incubation period is or how contagious your dogs might be. Did you check around on the Internet? I'd worry, especially about the puppy. He does not need to be fighting off KC while going through immunizatons. My obedience instructor cancelled all lessons so she could scour down her building after her dog came down with KC last month. It isn't a life and death disease, but it can bring complications. And most people don't want to be dealing with sick dogs.

 

Wish I had some good advice but I don't!

[Bordercentrics]

The kennel cough virus is airborne, but I believe the affected dog has to cough within 10 feet of another dog or person. If the affected dog is closed in another room from your guests, there shouldn't be a problem. Merry Christmas!

 

Kathy Robbins

[clara]

I've been following the threads about Holly, and really admire all you're doing for this poor girl. Thanks for keeping us all updated.

 

I don't know much of anything about vet stuff, but I can tell you what my trainer, who used to be a vet tech told me. When I had Cooper, she asked me not to bring Ling to daycare or agility the next week. The reason, she said, was because the incubation period is 7-10 days, so she wanted to make sure Ling wasn't going to get it before she came back to regular activities. Because Cooper had been in the pound then at my house just barely ten days before we transported him, we didn't know whether he was going to get sick either, so we had no way to tell about my dogs. Neither of mine got sick, so it was all good. I don't know if she was right or not, I just wanted to share that part with you. I'd be concerned about the airborne virus, but since she's been crated it seems like that would have dissipated. But I wonder what the lifespan of the virus on surfaces is, if she was loose in the house in the last while. I don't know what that lifespan is though... sorry no help there at all.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

It's about as contagious as the flu. In other words, airborne but not persistant. It's not like parvo, which lives forever and ever in porous unwashed surfaces.

 

Follow the same precautions as you'd take if you had the flu running around your house. Isolate her, keep her quiet (I do keep saying that, don't I?), give your house a good thorough cleaning, hitting the floors and washable surfaces with a disinfectant that is active against the flu virus (it will say influenza and probably HIV/AIDS also). All this is really overkill - the reason most dogs come down with kennel cough is that their immune systems are compromised. Boarding and abandonment at the shelter are very stressful and put dogs at high risk. Dogs visiting at a friend's, a familiar home, not so much - even young dogs.

 

I have brought in dog after dog after dog - I've got to be in the hundreds now - and have had a great deal of experience with KC. And not one of my dogs has ever caught it from a visiting dog - not ever! Not even Ben, who seems to totally lack a proper immune system. I'm either really lucky or my policy of not letting a new dog mingle with the group for a while has paid off there - but certainly KC isn't that contagious if the latter is true.

 

So, good luck, try to relax as much as possible and enjoy the holidays. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

[Dixie_Girl]

Thanks all! Am getting her crate tomorrow. What ever she was going to give my dogs, I reckon they are either in for it or not! No stopping that now! I really didn't worry about it since she was suppose to have been vaccinated on the 3rd. against it, and lots of people, NO, NOT BLAMING ANYONE, EVEN THE VET SAID IT WHEN I CALLED THEM ABOUT IT!, said it was normal for them to cough after being put under. But it seemed to be getting worse not better! So, that was the main reason for me taking her in to the vet. Of course, considering her "spay", makes me wonder about the the vac.! Well, I gotta cook for DH and I anyway, and as I am a snob and prefer my cooking to the others, LOL, I will just let them decide!

 

Rebecca, you have a very twisted sense of humor don't ya? I got 6 dogs, it's been raining, and I am to give my house a thorough cleaning, right before Christmas and the dinner and baking, and disinfect on top of it all! And then you say, have a holly jolly Christmas? Relax? Ha Ha!

[MaggieDog]

I work at a shelter so am generally exposed to kennel cough almost daily - my dogs have been vacinnated, but over 6mo ago so how protected they are who knows. I have yet to have either of my girls catch KC from me, and they generally sniff me when I get home.

 

If it were me, I'd just isolate her and suggest to any family members that are overly concerned that they should plan on changing clothes and washing hands before interacting directly with their animals.

 

KC isn't a huge deal imo - yea it's not pleasant, but in the grand scheme of things it's not a big health risk.

[Seelie Fey]

Zeph usually gets some variation of kennel cough every time he's boarded. Vaccination doesn't affect it at all, in my experience - neither shots nor the inhalation vaccination. During the worst episodes, he coughs, gags himself and vomits, repeatedly, and seems to have trouble even drinking water without setting it off. I take him to the vet, sure he has something awful, but it's consistantly diagnosed as kennel cough.

 

That being said, we practice every week at the facility where his was boarded. He's never developed it from his interactions with the staff that work there, or from the dogs of people that work there, or from being in the training field out back of the facility. Only when he has been actually boarded there.