Please any advice?

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01-28-2007, 12:33 AM
yllwb572002

Please any advice?

Hello everyone I am new to this site,I just happened to stumble across it when I was looking for some info on kennel cough. Well here is how my story goes....my family just lost our old english bulldog of 12 years back in september. My husband myself and our three children were devastated. It took us awhile but we accepted it and finally decided we were ready for a new family member...we went to several stores,kennels,breeders and we :( finally found a 12 week old boxer that caught our eye and had to come home with us we paid 900.00 for him. He was great for the first day then all of a sudden he started with this alwful cough needless to say we were extremely worried. We took him to the vet and he said that he had kennel cough he gave us some robotussin and some zithromax and said it's not that bad and that everything else looked good. Now I am getting worried our puppy is sleeping all the time,not eating or drinking much..I did change him from dry food to soft food and he seems to be eating that better but he is still not drinking much. Do you think this is from the medication? The vet said to wait about 3-4 days at the initial appt. and we should see a improvement.I am just worried and I don;t know if these symptoms are normal for this kennel cough?Sorry this is so long just wanted to get some input from some other sources. Thank you,
Judy in Pa
01-28-2007, 12:57 AM
applesmom

If the puppy is actually worse than he was when you took him to the vet, he should be seen again. In the meantime, try to at least keep him drinking normally. Gatorade or any of the drinks meant to restore electrolytes will help. Even a little sugar water would be beneficial if you can coax him to drink it.
01-28-2007, 01:07 AM
Catlady711

Quote:

Originally Posted by yllwb572002

Hello everyone I am new to this site,I just happened to stumble across it when I was looking for some info on kennel cough. Well here is how my story goes....my family just lost our old english bulldog of 12 years back in september. My husband myself and our three children were devastated. It took us awhile but we accepted it and finally decided we were ready for a new family member...we went to several stores,kennels,breeders and we :( finally found a 12 week old boxer that caught our eye and had to come home with us we paid 900.00 for him. He was great for the first day then all of a sudden he started with this alwful cough needless to say we were extremely worried. We took him to the vet and he said that he had kennel cough he gave us some robotussin and some zithromax and said it's not that bad and that everything else looked good. Now I am getting worried our puppy is sleeping all the time,not eating or drinking much..I did change him from dry food to soft food and he seems to be eating that better but he is still not drinking much. Do you think this is from the medication? The vet said to wait about 3-4 days at the initial appt. and we should see a improvement.I am just worried and I don;t know if these symptoms are normal for this kennel cough?Sorry this is so long just wanted to get some input from some other sources. Thank you,
Judy in Pa

How long since the dog was seen by the vet for the kennel cough?

Do you know what food the breeder was feeding? Sometimes pets don't take well to sudden changes in food.

Has the dog had one or more of it's 'puppy vaccinations? Did the breeder give you papers to prove it? Your dog may have been incubating more than just kennel cough.

Here is an excerpt from Veterinary Partner.com about kennel cough...

Because it is common for Bordetella to be accompanied by at least one other infections agent (such as reovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza virus, and even the distemper virus), kennel cough is actually a complex of infections rather than infection by one agent.

Did the breeder give you any kind of health guarantee within x number of days? You may at least be able to recoup some/all of the vet bills if it was stated in your guarantee.

In looking up Zithromax and Robitussin, vomiting, nausea and loss of appetite are listed as side effects for both, however the info I saw said it was usually mild. I did not see any information on the two drugs interacting with each other though.

I'd definately get an appointmet at the vet again as soon as possible! Not eating is a sure sign that something isn't right.
01-28-2007, 08:20 AM
yllwb572002

Catlady711,
Thank you for your help we had the puppy at the vet on the 25th so if I do not see any improvement by tommorrow I am definately going to call back the vet. As far as the food goes he came home with the same food that they were feeding him so that cannot be that. We notified the breeder and i believe that they do offer to reimburse you some but i'm not to worried about that we just want a healthy dog :) They also said we could bring him back and pick another, boy are some people so insensitive :mad: like after losing one dog was not enough they want me to take another away from my kids!! Thank you for your help i'll keep you posted.
Judy
01-28-2007, 12:12 PM
dragondawg

Quote:

Originally Posted by yllwb572002

Catlady711,
Thank you for your help we had the puppy at the vet on the 25th so if I do not see any improvement by tommorrow I am definately going to call back the vet. As far as the food goes he came home with the same food that they were feeding him so that cannot be that. We notified the breeder and i believe that they do offer to reimburse you some but i'm not to worried about that we just want a healthy dog :) They also said we could bring him back and pick another, boy are some people so insensitive :mad: like after losing one dog was not enough they want me to take another away from my kids!! Thank you for your help i'll keep you posted.
Judy

I was glad to read your last sentence. I've lost track of the number of times people buy puppies from breeders, and then are all so willing to take them back for trade-ins even after months. One can only imagine what happens to retread puppies in these pet shops.

Zithromax is an extremely effective drug for upper respiratory infections. Sometimes it takes 2-3 days before its full benefits are felt. It can cause diarrhea upon prolonged use, but in general has a very low incidence of side effects.

As Catlady points out Kennel Cough is a combination infection. Kennel Cough is a very good illustration of how virus and bacterial infections can interact. Viruses prefer healthy hosts, as they need healthy host cells to replicate in. Bacteria usually gain a foot hold in hosts whose immune system has been slightly suppressed due to a recent illness. Thus for Kennel cough you start with a Virus, which creates a situation for a secondary infection to occur via the resident Bordetella in the nasal passages. If left untreated the dog will usually recover from the virus infection, but then can develop pneumonia from the follow up bacterial infection. The idea of the Zithromax is to suppress any secondary infection from the bacteria, allowing for a quicker recovery.

It just could be that your puppy is still fighting off the virus side of the infection. It may still have a fever which would cause it to be anorexic. If the puppy is not drinking, then definitely get it back to the Vet for subcutaneous fluids. As long as the puppy is not in respiratory distress, then the Zithromax is doing its job. If your Vet detects possible pneumonia problems then s/he has the option of trying another antibiotic such as Clavamox. My little cyote received Baytril which was also very effective, but not recommended for puppies - something I found out after the fact.

Your plan should be to get the puppy back to the Vet ASAP if it has not consumed water in the last 24 hrs. Dehydration can be a serious problem in puppies. If the saliva in the mouth appears like mucus strings then the puppy is already dehydrated, and needs medical attention. The Vet can then judge whether to continue on the Zithromax, or try another antibiotic.

P.S. Mine didn't take to the robotussin too well. I had to mix it in with some milk plus honey, and then he sort of drank it.
01-28-2007, 04:28 PM
yllwb572002

thanks

Dragondawg,
thanks to all for the help.Koda seems to be doing a little better it;s just frustrating to see him so down and out. I want him to be better now!!! :) So we can begin playing with our newest family member!!So for now I guess all we can do is hold him and keep him comfortable.By the way giving him the meds is very difficult. :confused: One more question I have is will he be more vunerable to get this infection again since he already had it? I hope not I feel so bad for him.take care and have a good night. :)
Judy
01-28-2007, 06:04 PM
dragondawg

Quote:

Originally Posted by yllwb572002

Dragondawg,
thanks to all for the help.Koda seems to be doing a little better it;s just frustrating to see him so down and out. I want him to be better now!!! :) So we can begin playing with our newest family member!!So for now I guess all we can do is hold him and keep him comfortable.By the way giving him the meds is very difficult. :confused: One more question I have is will he be more vunerable to get this infection again since he already had it? I hope not I feel so bad for him.take care and have a good night. :)
Judy

The robatussin I believe has a little alcohol in its base. As such dogs don't like it. As a side note if your puppy ever shows interest when it sees you drinking wine, place a droplet on your finger and offer it. Fumes go up the nose, and the dog will run around the room sneezing. It also will never be curious about wine ever again. ;) I had to dilute out the robatussin with milk and honey, and sometimes then he didn't drink it. Antibiotic pills wrapped in melted cheese or peanut butter should be appetizing.

Puppy won't be more vunerable, but rather just as vunerable in the future. The most effective immunization against Kennel Cough is the live attenuated Bordetella nasal vaccine, and it lasts only 1 yr. There is a dead bacterin IM shot that is effective for 6 months. It has been stated that a dog previously ill with Kennel Cough will maintain immunity for 1 yr there after. Either way in order to maintain immunity you have to revaccinate once a year.

After my little male at 6 weeks came down with it (blowing clear bubbles 48 hrs after coming home from the shelter), and promptly gave it to his 3 month older sister, treatment started within 12 hrs, and the average duration was 2-3 days for the illness. It pays to get on it as fast as possible. I chose to vaccinate later at 1 yr of age. Since then they have not been vaccinated and are 3 yrs of age. My previously dog got it for the only time at 3 yrs of age, and received several revaccinations. If I hear of any kennel cough in the neighborhood, then I'll revaccinate and hope the titer comes up quick enough. Otherwise, not going to worry about it. There's certainly no harm in revaccinating if you choose to do so.

The disease due to the viral nature is highly contagious. Commonly if you are going to board your dog, a Kennel Cough vaccination will be required.
01-29-2007, 10:15 PM
yllwb572002

think of us please

Hey everyone just thought i would give you an update. Koda is not doing well still has not eaten and has had very little to drink,so i got him into the vet today the vet had to admit him they are going to give him some antibiotics by intro and misting and then test for canine influenza we are so upset I don't know how a breeder can sell a dog for 900.00 and be so shallow when things are not going right offered another dog (which were all penned together so they all probally have it)or will pay up to 900.00 for vet bills but if the dog passes we are out our 900.00 we initially paid for the pup no dog.We only got to have Koda for 4 days before he got sick :confused: :mad: please keep Koda in your thoughts and prayers we cannot lose another member of our family!! :( Our beloved Nakoma (old english bulldog just past away a few months ago,he was 12)
take care,
Judy
01-29-2007, 10:41 PM
Catlady711

Quote:

Originally Posted by yllwb572002

Hey everyone just thought i would give you an update. Koda is not doing well still has not eaten and has had very little to drink,so i got him into the vet today the vet had to admit him they are going to give him some antibiotics by intro and misting and then test for canine influenza we are so upset I don't know how a breeder can sell a dog for 900.00 and be so shallow when things are not going right offered another dog (which were all penned together so they all probally have it)or will pay up to 900.00 for vet bills but if the dog passes we are out our 900.00 we initially paid for the pup no dog.We only got to have Koda for 4 days before he got sick :confused: :mad: please keep Koda in your thoughts and prayers we cannot lose another member of our family!! :( Our beloved Nakoma (old english bulldog just past away a few months ago,he was 12)
take care,
Judy

Sorry to hear Koda is not doing well still. I'm glad you got him to the vet. I hope they are able to get him feeling perky again and that your family won't have to lose another member.

There are many 'breeders' out there that are only interested in making $$, not the heath/well being of the pets. The best you can do is research the breeder thouroghly and read over the contracts carefully, and ask alot of questions.

I do hope things turn out well for Koda.