kennel cough - how contagious is it?

does anyone know about kennel cough? me and my friend have had our dogs from a rescue kennel and her dog has got kennel cough .we have only had them 2days. they come home together in the same car but they have not had close contact does this mean miller my dog will get it?

Your dog may or may not get it
Its very contagious & being in the same car together is close contact, but its like the common cold in us, we don`t know if we`ll get it or not.
Its caused by viral & bacterial agents & theres lots of them, maybe your dog has already had the 1 your friends dog has & he`ll be lucky he won`t catch it

If he does tho don`t worry as it only usually causes probs in very young or old dogs or immuno compromised ones . You can use a childrens cough mixture like benylin to ease it along with some honey as anti biotics are only needed if it causes secondary infections. But wait & see if he starts coughing first

Hi Kirsty this was discussed recently here..

my friend rung the kennels today and they said about giving him cough mixture as we have seven days cover if they are not well but she thought they were getting out of treating him because the vets said cough mixture would do nothing and that he needed antibiotics she is booked to go in the morning should she go or try the cough mixture first

If its viral anti biotics won`t do anything for it. As I said, they`re only needed if secondary infections there.
Also the age of the dog & the severity of the K/C needs to be taken into consideration but most dogs get over it without the need for any medication.
Vets can be a bit like Dr`s, give a/biotics out for anything

Its up to your friend, I couldn`t say whats best for her & her dog but maybe another chat with the kennels, I`d think they have a lot of experience with it?

Remember tho whatever she decides to do, she`ll need to keep the dog in till its cleared up as its very contagious