My dog has kennel cough. When can they walk & how to prevent spread?

Kennel cough is very contagious and can be bacterial and/or viral. The bordetella vaccine can help shorten the course of disease if your dog is exposed, but does not prevent infection. With a deep cleaning and decontamination, the daycare facility should be able to eliminate it for now. Great job of them letting their customers know of the illness at their facility! I would wait at least a week to make sure they haven't had any more infected dogs.

I would not take in any more dogs unless you can keep them isolated in a separate airspace (an unconnected building). It is recommended dogs are not admitted to kennels, training groups etc unless vaccinated against kennel cough and this should be done at least a week beforehand in order to ensure they have a chance to develop immunity. As dogs can shed kennel cough for up to 3-4weeks all dogs being discharged and all future customers for the next month should be advised of the recent outbreak. It is of little concern in healthy dogs but can be very serious in puppies and older dogs and owners should be allowed to make an informed decision about the risk

They should not pass it back and forth once they have recuperated from this strain of infection kennel cough is caused by a variety of viruses and bacteria. It can take up to 6 weeks to pass. Usually it is an uncomplicated infection. Unfortunately kennel cough is rampant in shelters.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Huck. The bacterial can survive for up to 48 hours on surfaces. Make sure at least that amount of time has passed, and the area has been disinfected before bringing your dog in. I would also get Huck his kennel cough vaccine, and do not allow him contact with this dog. I hope this helps!

Dogs are typically "contagious" for the first week or so of illness. To be safe, isolate Luna from other dogs for about two weeks. The cough may linger for longer but is not an indication of active infection.

There are a few reports of Bordetella bacteria affecting severely immunocompromised people, but the other viruses cannot affect people. I typically recommend moderate exercise restriction until the cough improves. The virus and bacteria are not very hardy in the environment, and direct contact is necessary for spread. Routine cleaning should be fine.

I generally recommend waiting about 2 weeks after recovery from kennel cough to give a dose of the kennel cough vaccine. As long as your vet feels that Dallas has a clean bill of health, it should be perfectly fine for him to get the vaccine anytime now. I'm glad to hear that he's made a full recovery and is doing well!