A dog with kennel cough will be lethargic, not eating well and makes a loud, hacking sound alot. They often bring up some white or yellow colored foam with the hacking. It runs its course in about two weeks. It's highly contagious and airborne. If one dogs gets it, other dogs will too. It regularly passes through places were dogs congregrate--kennels, shelters and mushing dog yards. The vaccine is not particularly effective. Kennel cough is like the human cold. It has many different strains and the vaccine only works on certain ones.

The good news is that it's not usually dangerous. Annoying and not fun, but rarely fatal. It's more serious in a puppy or a senior dog.

There was a thread on this forum not long ago about kennel cough. There is some debate about treatment. Some vets will prescribe medication. Mine does not and advocates just letting the disease run it's course unless complications develop. That's what I did last year when it went through my pack. It took three weeks to go through 16 of my 18 dogs. Suprisingly, my two weakest dogs, in terms of their health at the time, were the two who did not get sick. Everyone else recovered just fine.

Let us know what the vet says.