A Charlotte dog daycare closed after kennel cough outbreak. What to know about the virus
Charlotte-area pet owners and animal lovers are sounding the alarm over an uptick in a respiratory disease spreading among dogs in the community.
Recent cases of kennel cough in Charlotte have already caused one local business to temporarily limit its services.
Dogs All Day — a dog daycare that also offers boarding, grooming and training — said on social media Tuesday its daycare is closed “until further notice due to a canine cough outbreak in the Charlotte area.”
While kennel cough is typically easy to treat in most dogs, experts note, it’s still important for pet owners to be vigilant and get coughing dogs checked out, because coughs can progress or be a symptom of something more serious.
What is kennel cough?
Canine infectious tracheobronchitis, commonly referenced as “kennel cough,” “is a highly contagious respiratory disease,” the American Kennel Club explains.
Kennel cough can be spread “through airborne droplets, direct contact (e.g., touching noses) or contaminated surfaces,” the AKC says, so it can spread quickly in places where dogs congregate like boarding facilities, training classes and dog parks.
It can be especially serious in “puppies younger than six months of age and immunocompromised dogs,” the group adds.
Kennel cough symptoms
The “most obvious symptom” of kennel cough, the AKC says, is indeed a cough, especially if it has “a ‘honking’ sound.”
Other symptoms, per the AKC, include:
Runny nose and/or sneezing
Lethargy
Loss of appetite
Low fever
Coughing can also be a symptom of more serious health issues in dogs — such as canine distemper, canine influenza and heart disease — so it’s important to always report it to your veterinarian.
How do you treat kennel cough?
Kennel cough is often “easily treatable in healthy dogs,” the AKC advises.
“Typically, mild cases of kennel cough are treated with a week or two of rest,” the group says, “but a veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics to prevent a secondary infection and cough medication to ease the symptoms.”
Is kennel cough prevalent in Charlotte?
Local groups, such as Halfway There Rescue, have also encouraged their followers to be vigilant about a cough spreading in the Charlotte area with “symptoms similar to kennel cough.”
WSOC reported local veterinarians are also seeing an uptick in kennel cough cases.
Still, not all organizations have seen something concerning.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Police’s Animal Care and Control team told the Charlotte Observer that as “a large municipal shelter with many dogs in close proximity to each other,” they typically have “a steady stream of dogs in isolation” but haven’t seen an uptick recently.
“The respiratory illness in our dog population at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control has remained the same with maybe even a decrease in severe cases,” the group said.
This story was originally published October 26, 2022 at 2:16 PM.
