Friday, 21 June 2013

Treatment for Kennel Cough - What is the right treatment?

What is the right kennel cough treatment? If your pet is sick, finding a treatment for kennel cough that is fast and effective can become an all-encompassing concern. There is much discussion on what exactly caused Kennel Cough. Some believe it is from a virus, others believe it is caused by a bacteria known as Biordatella Bronchiseptica. Because this disease primarily affects the trachea, minor irritation can be caused there which leads to the loud, hacking cough that is the primary symptom found in kennel cough diagnosis. This can be can sound very worrisome at times, but if you are a dog owner, there is no need to be overly concerned.



Here are a few basics that pet owners should know in order to insure that their dog receives the proper treatment for kennel cough. One of those things is that a kennel cough is very contagious, and can easily be spread among pets who are in close proximity with the sick dog. Secondly, this disease affects dogs of all ages. Breed does not play a factor, though a pet’s individual immune system and increase their risk of contracting kennel cough. Thirdly, the only sure way to have peace in your home is ensuring that this disease is completely done away with. It is only through having your dog receive a treatment for kennel cough that the rest of your family can have peace. 

When in comes to different treatments for kennel cough, most will turn to home remedies first. There is some controversy as to whether these remedies are effective or not, but those who believe they are not typically have not applied them properly. Doing a small amount of research as to what treatment for kennel cough will work best for you pet will give you all the details you need to apply these homeopathic remedies yourself, ensuring your dog’s overall long-term health.

One thing that should be noted, however, is that even with success home-based treatments for kennel cough, the use of an antibiotic may still be necessary. This is because if kennel cough goes untreated for too long, the infection in your pet may need to be addressed by some sort of anti-inflammatory medication or treatment to relive any pain or symptoms your dog as experiencing until the infection itself clears. Apart from these different home remedies found below, one may also want to consider seeking additional immunity boosters for their dogs.

Another important thing to remember is that when using homeopathic remedies, you’ll want to ensure that they do not negatively affect any additional medications your pet may be on.  Some argue that treatments for kennel cough offered by vets or other health organizations actually worsen the symptoms and increase the severity of your pet’s illness. This is because your if pet is already on different medications and has a low immune system, some of the treatments of kennel cough available may leave a negative effect on the long term health of your pet. 

Here is one final note to remember in choosing different treatments for kennel cough: Those who are considering the use of traditional kennel cough tablets as a home remedy will most likely want to seek out an alternative treatment. These tablets are made of chemicals that could actually harm your pet, rather than help them. It’s would be wiser to stick to chemical-free or other natural herbs as alternatives. It is through this reflection that you will appreciate the use of home remedies for kennel cough. In addition, this reflection will help you pay closer attention to the different medications, foods, and treatments you offer your dog on a regular basis.

Thursday, 20 June 2013

Looking for Home Remedies for Kennel Cough? Try the Ones Given Here!

Kennel cough home remedies: Dog owners will agree with me that kennel cough seems to be an extremely worrisome illness in dogs. In actuality, kennel cough in dogs could be compared to a common cold in humans. Research indicates that kennel cough is a actually caused by a virus, not a bacteria or disease as originally believed. Because of it, kennel cough can spread easily, and while the symptoms of it are indeed scary to hear, contracting kennel cough is not necessarily a sign of something more dangerous or serious. So all you dog owners out there – no need to worry! All you’ll need to do is search for different home remedies for kennel cough. This is because, luckily, most cases of kennel cough do not require medical attention.

There are a number of different home remedies for kennel cough. Some of them include Conventional Home Treatments, Home Steaming Treatments, Soothing Botanicals, and Homeopathic Remedies. Below you will find greater details about these different treatments below.

Home Steaming Treatments

Most pet owners agree that this is one of the most efficient methods of treating kennel cough in dogs. It involves placing of a vaporizer that has warm water in a room. Hot showers are also ideal for providing this type of steam treatment. It is advisable that dog owners carry out this process at least three times in a span of one day. One of the nice things to know is that this one of the cheapest methods used in ensuring that kennel cough is eradicated. With this treatment, the steam produced actually opens up a dog's bronchial tubes, which prevents clogging of mucus or other discharges from lodging in a dog’s lungs. Once these bronchial tubes are clear, the Kennel Cough symptoms will be gone.

Conventional Home Treatments

This remedy consists of simple steps that can be done at home to remove the kennel cough infection from your dog’s system. For example, dog owners should ensure that their dogs are kept in clean kennels. A good way to do this is to make sure you dog is properly potty trained, so that they are not resting or living in wet spots from careless urination. Another important thing to remember is to ensure that your dog eats healthy and regularly. This will decrease their vunerabilities to different infections. Wet food and fresh food help in this, allowing your dog to heal faster than expected.

Soothing Botanicals

There are different products on the market that can be used by dog owners as home remedies for kennel cough. These products help in strengthening the immune system of your dog in order to prevent infections. Some of these products include, Plantago Lanceolata, Bryonia C6, and Echinacea Purpurea.

Homeopathic Remedies

Homeopathic remedies prove to be the most efficient home remedy for kennel cough. These remedies include, KC defense, Respo K and HomeoPet Nose Relief. Ensure that you use these remedies as instructed in order for them to be effective.

With the number of home remedies for kennel cough available to dog owners, I’m sure you can agree with us in that there is no need to be overly worried if your pet contracts this virus. While kennel cough symptoms may sound horrible when your pet is experiencing them, in the scheme of things, they are nothing too serious.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Kennel Cough Vaccines: Are they work?

Bordetella vaccination: is it necessary? Like the human cold or flu virus, it is known that kennel cough lacks treatment. The most highly recommended method to prevent this illness is through the use of different kennel cough vaccines and home remedies.

There is not much of a difference between kennel cough and the common cold found in humans. However, just like a flu vaccine can never completely eradicate colds or the influenza virus in humans, many pet owners argue that kennel cough vaccines are no different. That being said, you should not let that belief effect your decision in whether or not to immunize your dog with a kennel cough vaccination.

Before making any decisions, it is important for pet owners to consult with their veterinarians before carrying out or denying any sort of vaccination on their pets. Different guidelines have been provided by American Animal Hospital Association to ensure that veterinarians use safe vaccinations on all pets. This association advises that before providing vaccination, the dog's lifestyle and medical history must be considered. For example, placing your pet in kennel, whether public or private, can be seen a “high risk” behaviors if you are looking to avoid kennel cough. In cases like that, your vet may lean towards administering the kennel cough vaccine for your pet.

There are other high risk behaviors or lifestyles for kennel cough that dog owners will want to take note of. They include:

Dogs with a history of respiratory problems
Senior dogs (older dogs)
Hospitalized pets
Show Dogs
Dogs who sped large amount of time around other pets
Dogs who attend different boarding facilities (doggie day care, etc)
Dogs who live in a kennel or confined space within their home

If your dog fits any of these criteria, you may want to speak with your vet about whether or not they should receive the kennel cough vaccine.

Intranasal spray and injection are the main kennel cough vaccines available all over the world. Intranasal spray proves to be the most effective vaccination for dogs who spend large amounts of time around other animals. One of the reasons for this is because this vaccination is very inexpensive, and can be used to vaccinate a large group of dogs within a short period. In case you are vaccinating your dog or puppy for the first time, it is important to use intranasal. Injection on the other hand is effective for older dogs.

The big question still remains - are these vaccination methods effective in eradicating kennel cough? While that decision is still up for debate, most dog owners will do whatever it takes to ensure the long health and safety of their beloved family pet. With this in mind, if you are still concerned about kennel cough vaccines, we would recommend following up with your vet for additional information.

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Is kennel cough contagious to humans?

When people hear their beloved dog coughing away, it not only sounds a bit weird, but it can be very scary as well. This is because coughing is mainly associated with humans. The truth is that there is not that big of a difference between dogs and humans when it comes to respiratory infections. Dogs suffer from respiratory discomfort as well. There has been some concern over the relationship between kennel cough and humans. While the possibility of an infection travelling between and animals and humans may at first appear confusing, there is research that supports that this is indeed the truth.

Human Bordetellosis

Humans with a weak immune system are prone to Human Bordetellosis. Although this condition is not common, it’s not rare either, and it’s effects cannot be ignored. Vetcentric.com states that this illness can be transmitted between dogs and humans through coughing. Apart from individuals with a weak immune system, children and pregnant women have been reported to be at risk of contracting kennel cough. This disease is caused by a bacterium known as Bordetella brochiseptica. This bacterium can be compared with the Bordetella Pertussis Bacterium that leads to whooping cough. Some scientists argue that there exists no relationship between kennel cough and humans, as they hold the belief that there is no possibility of humans contracting these types of diseases.

Transmission of Kennel Cough

Air is known to be the main transmitter of kennel cough in humans. Those individuals living in dirty and poorly ventilated areas are more vulnerable to this disease than those that live in well-ventilated areas. Therefore, it is important to ensure that your environment if clean. In addition, humans should avoid interacting with infected dogs. Flu as well as bad colds are also two symptoms that are often associated with kennel cough.

Prevention

Health care practitioners believe that there is no need to worry about kennel cough and humans. This is typically because prevention of these diseases is easier than treating them once they occur. Those who would like to avoid going through the troubles of being infected with kennel cough should avoid interacting with infected dogs, since the illness is airborne in nature. In case you believe you cannot avoid interacting with dogs, then you should consider vaccinating them.

Treatment

Although some scientists argue that there is no correlation between kennel cough and humans, we can see some people having the same symptoms as their dogs do after interacting with them while they had kennel cough. The use of antibiotics has proven to be effective for treating kennel cough in humans. In order to control mild symptoms, patients are advised to use cough suppressants. Using steroids is highly discouraged, for they weaken ones immune system. 

From these facts, it is clear that kennel cough has led to deterioration of health among humans and dogs. It does not matter its transmission source, all individuals have to rise to the occasion and ensure that they fight this illness.

Monday, 17 June 2013

Symptoms of Kennel Cough to Watch Out For

What are the symptoms of kennel cough? We keep dogs for different reasons. Some keep as pets, while some keep them for protection purposes. Whatever your reason for having a pet, the health concerns of your animal are very important. Not a single individual would want to see his pet suffer from any ailment. In addition to this, pet illnesses are very costly, as medical care for dogs and other animals typically come directly out of a pet owner’s pocket book. 

It is therefore important for pet owners to ensure that they are vigilant in protecting their pets from being infected. An illness like kennel cough is one that may sound horrific to pet owners, but is actually not very serious in nature. Because of this, knowing the proper treatment for kennel cough and kennel cough symptoms can save you a lot of money over the long term.

Kennel cough symptoms in dogs can be detected within three days after your pet has contracted this disease. Some of these symptoms include:

Dry and callous cough
Snorting and retching after exercise
Sneezing
Eye discharge
Runny noses

The above symptoms usually last for a period of ten to twenty days. Fevers can be detected in some dogs especially those infected at a young age. Research indicates that the infection that causes kennel cough may also put dogs at high risk of contracting pneumonia. It is because of these reasons that dog owners are advised to ensure that their dogs are provided with extra care. 

In addition, it is important to provide your dog with the right treatment to prevent them from being vulnerable to other illness.

Symptoms of kennel cough in dogs should not be a source of fear among dog owners. These symptoms are never fatal if the underlying illness is infected in time.

Lack of knowledge about this disease has led to some people believing that it can lead to death. The only fear about this disease should be based on the fact that, it makes dogs vulnerable to other ailments. Kennel cough itself does not lead to death. This does not mean that it should not be taken seriously. Learning about different home remedies now can be used for preventing and curing this disease.

One reason why dog owners should not overly worried about symptoms of kennel cough in their pets is because very rarely do they need medical attention. 

Appropriate use of antibiotics help in minimizing these symptoms. In most cases dogs recover from kennel cough within the first three weeks. Dogs with weaker immune systems may take a little longer to heal, however. 

While antibiotics can be an effective pain reliever and lessen kennel cough symptoms, dog owners are generally advised to stick to home remedies such as steam treatments. Another option would be to use Vitamin C in order to help boost those immune systems, use or using raw honey or peppermint tea. All these methods help in doing away with dry cough in dogs. 

Listlessness and rapid breathing are some of the more serious symptoms of kennel cough that dog owners should observe. These symptoms typically appear after an individual has failed to provide their dog proper medical care after an extended period of time. If you encounter serious symptoms like these, our best recommendation is to contact you vet as soon as possible.