Sat 9th July: Kennel cough

 It's inevitable that kennel cough will surface from time to time, not only in kennels or Homing Centres but in the general dog population too, just like the common cold in humans.  It's also highly infectious but usually a short-lived and fairly harmless virus, although it can sometimes develop into something more serious, even pneumonia, so we are always concerned when puppies start coughing.  

Unfortunately one litter of puppies that came to us arrived already incubating a nasty strain of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), which I've already written about in an earlier post.  These puppies were hospitalised, not only to make sure they recovered but also to prevent the spread of the infection, but even the short time they were with us meant that other puppies, as well as adult dogs, started showing symptoms such as a runny nose and lack of appetite.   

"Kennel cough (canine infections tracheobronchitis) is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Kennel cough is most commonly contracted at dog parks, shelter environments, doggie daycare and boarding facilities.  Much like the common cold in humans, kennel cough can be spread from one dog to another through airborne transmission, nose to nose contact, or sharing water/food bowls. Good news is that kennel cough is super treatable although it is harsher for young and immunocompromised dogs."

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR PUP HAS IT?

Here are some symptoms to watch out for:

• * cough (it will sound like a your pup has something stuck in their throat or like a honking sound)

• * sneezing

• * runny nose

• * loss of appetite

• * lethargy

• * low fever

There's not much we can do about this other than sitting it out, but in the meantime I suggest that if you're looking for a puppy to adopt you consider those that have been in foster homes so have never been in contact with any of the sick ones.   These healthy foster puppies are also the hopefuls that will be at Whiskers N Paws on Sunday, so you can meet a selection of them there any Sunday afternoon from 2pm to 4pm.   Here's the full list of foster puppies again in case you can't make it on Sunday but would like to meet any of them in their temporary homes, which is in any case the best way to see them in an environment they feel totally relaxed and comfortable in. 

Hong Kong Island

Charlie and Cressie (F) Chung Hom Kok

Roland (M) Pokfulam

Odie (F) and Ozzie (F) Siu Sai Wan (Instagram  @fosterdiaries101 )

Tatum (F) and Taylor (F) Sheung Wan 

Tilly (F) Wanchai 

Azaria (F) Happy Valley (Instagram @zeldainthevalley )

Drummond (M) and Drake (M) Stanley 

Kowloon and New Territories

Olive (F) and Ottilie (F) @Tsim Sha Tsui

Dulcie (F) and Demi (F) Sai Kung (Instagram  @why_i_foster )

Trudy (F) Ma On Shan

Our Kennedy Town Homing Centre will still be open as usual from 10am to 6pm, but I do want to be honest about the fact that there's sniffling and coughs going round.