!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!my maltese 4 month old puppy has kennel cough HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

There is more that you can do, you are a good mom and I would sincerely think about finding another vet for the future. Kennel cough is a very stubborn upper respiratory infection and I'm not thrilled with your vets standard responses. First, I would NOT give the Robitussin Cough medicine. It's not that it will harm the puppy, it's that it inhibits the healing. The body produces a cough for a reason and suppressing the cough with Robitussin or other cough medicine is NOT assisting in the healing. DO NOT STOP THE ANTIBIOTICS. I am not always a fan of drugs for dogs, more times it does more harm than good, but for an upper respiratory infection - your dog should take ALL the antibiotics and on schedule. I rescue dogs and pull many off death row and kennel cough is a big problem in Los Angeles city shelters. Personally, I have always found that the best way to knock out stubborn cases is to give both Doxycycline and Clavamox in terms of antibiotics, but there is natural help too. One problem with antibiotics, as almost every woman knows, is that it often results in a yeast infection. For dogs, this yeast accumulates in the GI tract which causes problems in and of itself. Being on antibiotics for 2 weeks isn't something to worry about but I would highly recommend a couple supportive products that you can give to compliment and reverse the negative effects Clavamox will have (again, the Clavamox will help so give ALL doses). I would pick up some Nzyme Granules, link in source below. This will help the body rid itself of the excess yeast. The tub will last you almost a year and is a healthy compliment to your dog's regular diet which can be used daily, even after he recovers. You can also give your little one a spoonful of PLAIN, low-fat yogurt to add live bacteria in his system. To assist the body in healing, I would also recommend two other products: (1) Ox-E-Drops is an anti-viral and I always use it to get rid of the infection in dogs afflicted with kennel cough, again link below. (2) what I call the "super pill". It is a live supplement called BioPreparation F3 (Holistic F3) and REALLY helps the dog overcome illness. I haven't found anything else like it. At about fifty bucks a bottle, it's not cheap but you can just give it to your baby now while he's recovering. Since I deal with so many abandoned, abused and neglected dogs - along with a variety of their illnesses, I spent years and years finding the best stuff out there to provide them optimum health. You can google those products but for your convenience, I put a link to a resource in the source below because I believe they have the best prices and all three of those products are available on that page for you to review. Kennel Cough can last up to 6-8 weeks but if you improve his immune system with some of the natural supplements, he'll be up and back to normal in no time. In fact, he'll likely be better than before! You are a great mom and your little one is lucky to have found you! I hope that he's feeling better soon!

Again, my favorite supportive options:

~Ox-E-Drops: an anti-viral that really does go after virus - as well as any secondary bacterial infection that may occur. Yes, it is safe for a dog of 4 months. It is a natural product.

~BioPreparation F3: hands down the best. If you can get only one supplement, get this. If you can get two, get this and the Ox-E-Drops.

~Nzyme Granules: a nice supplement that provides extra nutrients and counteracts the negative (yeast) effects of antibiotics.

FYI: the vaporizer is good to continue using. If you get the Ox-E-Drops you can also add them to the vaporizer which will help greatly with the cough

All of your questions should really be answered by the vet- not some stranger off the internet if you want to do what's best for your pup!

DO NOT STOP THE ANTIBIOTICS. The antibiotics are what is going to cure the kennel cough. I've also dealt with kennel cough at the hospital I work at- we haven't ever given puppies robitussin on the idea that we want them to cough the phlegm/mucous out of their chest and help break up congestion not suppress the cough.

Kennel cough isn't the end of the world- I have seen a lot of puppies come through just fine. Once in awhile it will progress into bronchopneumonia if left untreated (or if the pup doesn't do well.)

Schnoodles are NOT registered by the AKC. If it's the American Kennel Club you are talking about, there is no such breed as the "Schnoodle." Even Schnauzers are divided into separate categories. As for your dog possibly having kennel cough, the next day is not too late. Your "certified by the AKC" Schnoodle will be fine. However, if it is kennel cough, you need to contact whomever you got him from and warn them that they are selling animals that have kennel cough. Check and see if the person you got it from has a "health guarantee" with its sale. Any "reputable" breeder will include a health guarantee that states within x amount of hours of purchasing the dog, if you take it to the veterinarian, and it is diagnosed with something, they will either pay the vet bill or refund some money to you.

Kennel cough by itself isn't a major concern. The part that is concerning is that it doesn't lead to pneumonia due to your pup's weakened immune system. Kennel cough will usually clear up on its own within 2 to 3 weeks if the pup is kept warm, in a draft free environment and given some minor exercise daily (no more than 20 minutes) to help clear the lungs. Once your puppy is symptom free please have him receive his complete vaccination cycle and also the intranasal "bordetella" vaccine for kennel cough. The honking, rasping, and gagging are a bummer and the symptoms are worst in the early morning.

My advice is to also watch to monitor what color the nasal discharge is---if it is clear, that's okay, but if it begins to turn to a cloudy, green, or tan, this is a sign that pup has a secondary infection / pneumonia and needs treatment by your veterinarian. Hang in there.

As far as the Clavamox, it is what we like to give our dogs, but remember that antibiotics only arrest the development of new bordetella. DO NOT DISCONTINUE THE MEDS. And also remember that the cough medicine is going to inhibit the pup from coughing which can help ease the throat irritation, but will not treat the cause.

I recommend following your vet's advice, and realize that they went to school for a very long time to be able to give your puppy the best care possible. Having worked in an animal rescue for over 11 years has taught me that kennel cough is a drag and highly communicable, but will also go away if you take the necessary steps I listed above.

Pinky pick up the phone and ask your vet this question, the call is free and they will be happy to answer your questions regarding kennel cough and dosage of Robitussin, if the vet recommended it then it will be fine, and I'm sure he means to give the Robitussin ON TOP of the antibiotics, I don't believe you need to stop the antibiotics inorder to give him a bit of robitussin, it's only for his throat and to help ease the cough the antibiotics are to help CURE the cough so you don't want to stop those at all.

Kennel cough does take a while to go away that's why getting the Bordatella spray once a year is vital, it won't stop them from getting kennel cough but it will help lessen the severity of the symptoms.

Good luck

I don't know why they didn't do that to start with. I've been through this a couple of times and robitussin was the answer both times. That is for 6 hounds.

That just goes to show that you should always vaccinate your pups as soon as they are old enough and dont take them outside your property or near other dogs that you dont know extremely well...