My dog's kennel cough isn't improving with medication. What to do?

Kennel cough is usually a self limiting infection and in 1 to 2 weeks time will completely disappear without any treatment. However sometime an anti inflammatory medication and an antibiotic treatment is indicated (and probably this was your case). Your puppy should gradually improve but if you do not see an improvement in the next 24-36 hrs I recommend a recheck at your veterinarian, earlier if she is getting worse. In the meantime I suggest to use a harness instead of a collar to walk her outside to avoid pushing on the inflamed trachea and make her cough even more. Good and post again if you would like further advices. I hope this answer was helpful.

Kennel cough usually will resolve on its own within about 3-5 days and does not usually need antibiotics or cough suppressants. If, however, Bella seems very ill and like she may need medication, you will have to take her to be examined by a veterinarian so the proper medication can be prescribed. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

The cough can linger for a couple weeks. If he is otherwise acting normal than it may just take a little more time for the cough to resolve. If you notice any lethargy, anorexia, difficulty breathing, or fever than I he should definitely be rechecked.

Poor guy. If the coughing is lasting more than 12-24 hrs, then there is a good chance Toby has a bit of an upper respiratory infection (i.e. Kennel cough). I would highly recommend taking him in to your local vet to get treatment, which usually consists of a short course of antibiotics to clear things up. Pet vaccinated with the Bordetella vaccine once every 6-12 months are protected up to 87% from contracting URI's, so this would be best to do once Tobby is feeling better. : ) I hope that your fur baby feels better soon! Best wishes and take care.

Thank you for taking such good care of Milo. Generally speaking, when a veterinarian starts the combination of medications that you are currently giving, it does sometimes take two or three days for the medications to start decreasing the clinical symptoms. If Milo is eating, drinking, urinating, defecating, and playing normally but just has the bad cough, I would wait another 48 hours before contacting my veterinarian. If, however, your dog is starting to feel lethargic or anorexic, I would contact the veterinarian as soon as possible to either be seen again or possibly get a change of medications to treat the worsening cough. I hope I have given you some help. Thank you for reaching out to our service.

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!

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!