KENNEL COUGH VACCINE

Before your next visit to Boothwood Boarding Kennels, we ask that you have your dog vaccinated against KENNEL COUGH. We require this vaccination to be given at least 4 weeks prior to boarding.

As KENNEL COUGH  spreads by airborne droplets from a dog sneezing or coughing, any large dog population is particularly vulnerable to episodes of infection. When lots of dogs are grouped together in close proximity, such as in kennels, Kennel Cough can spread quickly, possibly infecting all dogs!

Despite its name, Kennel Cough can be contracted simply by meeting an already infected dog whilst out on a walk, at obedience classes or even at the vets – in fact, anywhere your dog might come into contact with other dogs.

An infected dog will remain symptom free for up to 7 days before starting to cough. This is known as the incubation period, during which time your dog is highly infectious.

As so many different organisms can bring about Kennel Cough, it is impossible to completely safeguard against its occurrence, but keeping your dog up-to-date with the annual vaccination reduces the risk of catching Kennel Cough by 80%! Furthermore, if despite having the vaccination your dog does contract Kennel Cough, the vaccine makes the symptoms much less severe, meaning that your dog will be less poorly.

Kennel Cough vaccines are given intra-nasally and are effective for 12 months.