Walley has "Kennel Cough"

Yes, dogs also develop a cough sometimes just like humans do!! Walley has been having a cough since 4 or 5 days. We noticed him coughing for the first time last weekend. It was Saturday and Walley's doctor's office was closed. The cough was mild and wasn't really frightening so there was no need to take him to the emergency center especially since I've grown up with dogs and I know that dogs can sometimes develop a cough and usually there is nothing to be worried about. But as Walley's responsible adoptive parents, Elwyn and I decided to call Dr. Tufaro (Walley's Vet) and discuss Walley's cough with him. Dr. Tufaro assured us that Walley was only having "Kennel Cough"; an upper respiratory tract infection which is very common in dogs. The most common symptom of "Kennel Cough" is a dry hacking cough sometimes followed by retching. Occasionally, there maybe some phlegm associated with the cough.  Walley had exactly the same symptoms of "Kennel Cough". After a bout of cough, he would act like something is stuck is his throat and would attempt to get it out. There was no phlegm associated with the cough though. "Kennel Cough" in dogs is often compared to the "Flu" in humans.

Since, Walley is very active and has a good appetite despite the cough, Dr. Tufaro said there is no need for any medical treatment at this time. He only suggested that for the next couple of days, we give Walley only one big meal in the morning and keep him hungry at night. The advantage of keeping Walley's stomach empty at night is that there would be very little to no chance of him aspirating food contents if he coughed during sleep. Apart from that, Dr. Tufaro said that Walley will develop a good natural immunity against "Kennel cough" after this episode and will not really need any other artificial immunization against it later on either. It is, however, advisable to keep a dog with "Kennel Cough" away from other dogs as healthy dogs can pick up the infection from the infected dog. After all, Walley also must have picked up the "Kennel Cough" from another infected dog, either at his Daycare or somewhere in our neighborhood.

Some of you may wonder why this type of cough is called "Kennel cough"? Long ago ( I am not sure of the day or date), when the term "Kennel Cough" was coined, the cough was called so because it seemed to be spreading from dog to dog living in the same kennel. Later on, more detailed research revealed that the cause of the cough could be several different viruses or bacteria infecting the upper respiratory tract of dogs and since the disease is contagious, the infection could rapidly spread from one dog to another dog. Bordetella bacterium and Parainfluenza virus are the two most common organisms causing upper respiratory tract infection/ "Kennel Cough" in dogs. Since Walley was immunized for both these organisms when he was a little puppy ( i.e. about 8-10 months ago), Dr. Tufaro said there is no need for another immunization at this time. Actually, I like the fact that Dr. Tufaro doesn't press on vaccinating or immunizing Walley unnecessarily and all the time, unlike many other Vets, because over- vaccination/ over-immunization has proven to be one of the major causes of cancer in dogs at a later stage. Dogs develop really good immunity against common cold/cough and it is best to refrain from too many or too frequent vaccinations.

Walley is doing well, otherwise. He still has the dry hacking cough followed by retching but it is not as frequent at it was a couple days ago. In fact, I only heard him cough once today. He is very playful as usual!!!! Hopefully, he will fully recover from the cough by the end of this week.

That's about Walley and us for now.

Ciao!!

The "Central Park" days of our Summer!!

So, summer has officially ended for this year as of yesterday and autumn begins today! It's been a great summer for the three of us. We had so much fun being outdoors in New York. One of the best places the three of us just loved hanging out was Central Park. It's a spacious and beautiful park with lots of fun things to do with dogs!! We spent couple of our weekends just strolling in Central Park. Walley enjoyed himself thoroughly!! After strolling for an hour or two, we would just laze on the grass!! It was so relaxing! We may go to Central Park in the autumn too; if it's not too cold or rainy! Below are some pictures from our Central Park trips this summer. I hope you enjoy!! Have a great weekend!!