My dog has kennel cough, isn't eating. What medicine or food helps?

Sometimes dogs with kennel cough, particularly with severe cases, do not want to eat because of the trouble they are having breathing. They need to concentrate on breathing rather than taking in food, and don't want to accidentally inhale anything. Sometimes the best way to combat this is with cough suppressants such as hydrocodone syrup, or something like Robitussin tablets. I don't typically associated dullness and being thin with kennel cough, so it is entirely possible that there could be something else going on entirely. If matters do not get better in the next day or two, I would take her back into the veterinarian for reassessment.

If the vomiting occurs at the end of a coughing fit then it is likely to be related to the kennel cough. I know it can be pretty scary, and make them quite poorly too. However, the worse is over in 3 days then things start to look a bit better. Kennel cough has its own course of about a week but can last 10 days or even a bit longer if the immune system is a bit depressed for other reasons.Have you tried to offer small amount of food throughout the day ? Something like Hill’s A/D or RCW recovery that you could mix with water and then just offer lukewarm. It is a diet that is quite rich in energy so he would not need to eat as much as his normal food. The most important thing in the acute phase, the first 3-4 days from when its starts, is supportive care. Make sure Peanut rests, encourage him to eat a palatable diet, keep comfortable, warm but not too hot. If you are worried, that he is vomiting all the time, he is too lethargic, have him checked over, better to be safer than sorry.

Kennel cough typically resolves with or without treatment in 7-14 days. The cough may linger though. Warm her food or add a teaspoon or two of baby food to stimulate her appetite. Offer a 50/50 solution of water and unflavored PediaLyte until she is eating regularly.

You can give honey if you wish to try and soothe your dog's throat if he has kennel cough - it can sometimes help a little, and won't hurt anything. Normally, kennel cough causes relatively mild symptoms and resolves on its own within a week or two, but in rare cases it can progress to pneumonia or other serious problems. If your dog is not eating, acting lethargic, or coughing so much that he has trouble resting or sleeping, then I would recommend having him examined by a vet - he may need antibiotics and prescription cough suppressants to help resolve the infection more quickly and make him more comfortable.

Congrats on your new dog, but I'm sorry Willow is sick! Kennel cough doesn't have a cure, the medications are used to lessen the severity of the symptoms, but it sounds like the disease is getting a bit worse. I would rest her tonight, keep her in a well humidified area, and use a harness instead of a collar when you take her out to potty to minimize coughing. You can also try bringing her into the bathroom with you when you shower as the steam may help with her congestion. Try gently warming up really smelly wet food to tempt her to eat. Dogs won't eat if they can't smell their food, so gently warming it may entice her to eat. I would have her seen by a vet again in the morning since her symptoms have become more severe. The vet may prescribe additional medications to help with them. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Unfortunately there is nothing very helpful over the counter that can be given for kennel cough. You can try to run a hot shower and let them inhale the steam for 10-15 minutes as sometimes this will help with airway congestion. The good news is that most dogs recover from kennel cough on there own fairly quickly. Make sure they keep eating and drinking normally because if they are stop this can be a sign of a more serious illness. If they aren't feeling better within a couple days or at any point their symptoms get worse you should have them examined by your veterinarian. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I hope Tango is feeling better soon!

That's not good! It sounds like poor Maddisyn may be getting sicker. Try to tempt her to eat by offering her some boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice soaked in low sodium chicken broth. If she refuses to eat this, have her seen by a vet first thing in the morning. I hope this helps!