Advice on kennel cough please!

This is a bit long but please bear with me.

A neighbour of mine who lives across the street came home with a labx bitch, 8 or 9 months old from a cat and dog home last saturday. Sadly for the dog she has been letting the dog wander up and down the street and road each day. Lastnight she went to another neighbour of mine and asked if she would watch her dog while she went away overnight, my friend agreed but when she gave her the dog she was limping, my friend quizzed her about it and she said she had checked her and she was fine. Anyway this woman left and shortly afterwards my friend noticed the dog had discharge coming from her nose (snotty) and her limp had worsened, I went over and the dogs front paw was swollen and hot and I recommended that the dog be taken to vet as she couldn't weight bear and was lethargic. My friend couldn't get a hold of the owner and then this morning I had to help my friend carry the dog to a car and rush her to the vet, her leg had swollen further, she couldn't move and could not stand up on her back legs either, her co-ordination was wrong and she was yelping in pain. On arrival at the vets my friend told me the vet thinks she has been hit by a car, she has dehydrated very quickly and they also think she has kennel cough.

Although my two dogs are secure in their own garden, the little labx has been at our gate sticking her head through and barking and yipping at mine, could my dogs be at risk from kennel cough from that and myself after handling her? I am worried because my boxer dog is elderly and has a heart condition, would he be alright? I dont vaccinate for kc through choice and even if they were I dont even know if that would have prevented them catching it. My friends Border Collie is now at risk too and I am just waiting for a phone call from my friend to confirm what this little dog has or hasnt got. I dont know whether to call my own vet for advice or to wait to see if any symptoms start to appear.

Any advice much appreciated because I am worried and have never had any experience of this before. Thank you!

How worrying for you all. I think I would be tempted to ring the vet & ask for advice. I understood kennel cough was airborn from the cough so if she's not actually coughing I don't know. Its a strange thing as some dog's seem much more suseptible to it than others. Had one dog who got it everytime it was in the neighbourhood in spite of having the injections but his mother who was with him all the time nevr picked it up. Sorry I can't help more. Hopefully there will be people here who are more knowlegeable.

How worrying and i hope the neighbour gets a telling off when she gets back grrrrrrr...

Re: kennel cough as GSD sue says we have one that will catch anything going the other 2 generally dont, i dont think theres much you can do with regards to preventing your old boy from getting it , apart from the vaccine which doesnt cover all strains anyway, I'd ring the vet for advice at least to put your mind at rest...

let us know how the neighbours dog gets on wont you?

Thank you both. I am just so worried and it has been stressful today seeing the little dog in such distress, she is such a sweet natured dog and despite yelping in pain when we had to carry her to the car she was so well behaved. The vet says she is not in good shape at the moment but we are all hoping she will be alright, my friend was distraught.

I will have to wait for the confirmation from my friend and then I will give my own vet a call as soon as.

If it is confirmed as kennel cough, there's not a lot you can do other than vaccinate, but, as Sarah has just said, it doesn't cover all strains.

Some dogs will pick it up, while others have thier own immunity. When my Storm had KC, my other dog Shaan didn't get it, even though he wasn't vaccinated against it at the time.

I hope this little one recovers, and depending on the outcome at the vets, it might be worth giving your own vet a ring.

Do you know which home she got the dog from? I would be tempted to contact them and advise them re the lack of care shown to this dog after being re-homed

Re the Kennel cough it is transmitted by direct contact and airborne. Kennel cough can be caused by viruses, but is most often a bacterial infection in the airway. The incubation period is anything from 3 - 10 days, and one of the most characteristic signs is a 'honking' cough as if there was something like a stick stuck in the throat. Vaccinations for the viral kind, or a spray up the nostril for the bacterial infection are available but, as it takes about 5 days for the vaccine to become effective, I'm not certain if this would be of any real benefit to your dogs now. Best to check out with your vet to see.

Hope that helps a little.

Thank you to everyone for your replies, it seems despite the vets initial thoughts, the little girl doesnt have kennel cough although he cannot rule it out 100% yet, she has had antibiotics and been on a drip today and her nose has cleared, they have managed to bring her temperature down slightly too which is good news for her especially. However she does have a fractured leg which the vet says should heal fine with treatment. I am very disappointed and angry with her owner though, she hasnt even bothered coming home although she spoke to the vets to give them consent for treatment by telephone, the concern has been left mostly to my friend to find out if she was going to be alright.

I do know which cat and dog home she came from, should I give them a call? Or would I be interfering too far? despite the fact that someone said to her a few days ago that the dog wont have any road sense this has happened. It seems I can relax as far as my own dogs are concerned but am not sure what the future will hold for this lovely little dog now.

Oh god how awful in a way its good that your other neighbour said she'd mind it otherwise poor mite would be going round with a fractured leg!!

I dont know what to suggest really i'd be sorely tempted to ring the rescue and ask them their views? see what they suggest before giving out details?

I would think its proving the dog has been allowed to roam, the lady can say no and whose not to believe her (of course we know better tho)..

I am sure any responsible rehoming centre would wish to know about the dog. I collected mine on Sunday and signed a form full of conditions, if your neighbour has signed a form then she is not keeping to her side of the agreement, If she is content to let the dog wander then she is an irresponsible owner. I wonder how the new Duty of Care would affect this too.
The dog had a broken leg and according to the Vet had been in a traffic accident, the woman said she had checked it so it had obviously happened before she left and was therefore her responsibility - Yes I would inform the rescue centre. Kath

The owner came home tonight just before 8pm and my other half went over and invited her in for a coffee (so we could talk to her reasonably) my friend came over too and we had a good long chat with her in tactful and amicable terms, she seems like a decent person but naive and inexperienced (It still does not excuse what has happened) apparently she will be able to pick the dog up tomorrow at some point and we pointed out to her that the dog will be in recovery and that she cannot let this happen again no matter how 'hard' she thinks restricting a dog is, she is actually helping her dog more and being a better owner by putting her safety first and training her dog not thinking of her as a plaything for her son.

We have all decided together that she may have learned her lesson but believe me, one wrong move whilst that little girl is in recovery or recovered and we will do something about it without a doubt. My friend is going to phone the home tomorrow and find out anonymously the ins and outs of the situation although the neighbour did say she had phoned the home today to tell them what had happened (which is another reason why we have held off a little)

Thank you all so much. It is so upsetting and sometimes a persons ignorance can be one of the worst forms of cruelty for a dog. Hopefully the little girl will be okay, our eyes will be on her anyway.