Coughing Dogs

Coughing Canines

August 2014

In Wayne County and and the surrounding counties, there has been a recent outbreak of a cough going around among dogs of our area.  The affected dogs break with a cough and upper respiratory signs shortly after coming into contact with other contagious dogs.  Fortunately the clinical course appears to be short, with no dogs displaying severely concerning signs.  It has been limited to a mild to moderate cough for the most part.  Dogs have developed this cough from many local boarding and grooming facilities, as well as local dog parks and other areas where dogs often come into contact with one another.

Orrville Veterinary Clinic has taken a lead role in attempting to discover the reason for this most recent outbreak.  Dr. Judy Jackwood has been at the forefront of this investigation.  We have submitted some respiratory panels in an attempt to determine the causative agent of the contagious cough. Unfortunately, a cause has not been determined at this time.  The possibilities included a strain of kennel cough, parainfluenza virus and canine influenza. Most of the dogs that we encountered with the cough had been vaccinated for kennel cough.  Most are also protected against canine influenza. Parainfluenza is typically considered to be a secondary invader, rarely causing clinical signs on its own.

Orrville Veterinary Clinic has partnered with our vaccine manufacturer to not only discover the cause, but to develop a solution or action plan.  Boehringer Ingelheim supplies the majority of our canine vaccine, so they have assisted in the investigation.  Though parainfluenza is rarely a clinical disease, Boehringer Ingelheim has stepped up to the plate to provide us with a combination vaccine that protects against both kennel cough and parainfluenza.  At this point, it does appear that the mild scare is behind us, but we want to protect our patients to the best of our ability.  We will begin vaccinating many of our regular day care dogs at the Orrville Pet Spa and Resort with this combination vaccination very shortly.

We pride ourselves on going above an beyond for both our patients and their owners.  This is just another example of us delivering on our promise: "For the excellence you've come to expect, we've grown to provide."

Please contact our office at (330)682-2971 if you have any further questions or concerns.

Article and information written by Dr. Jeffrey R. Fink