Infectious tracheobronchitis (kennel cough) spreads rapidly in social dog settings. Understanding prevention and management protects dogs in boarding, daycare, and dog park settings.
Kennel cough causes a distressing cough that significantly affects the welfare of infected dogs over the 2-3 week recovery period. The persistent, convulsive coughing disrupts sleep, causes throat irritation, and reduces the dog's ability to exercise and play normally. For puppies and immunocompromised dogs, progression to pneumonia represents a serious welfare risk. Prevention through vaccination is straightforward, effective, and required by responsible boarding and social dog facilities. Dogs that develop kennel cough require rest, separation from other dogs, and veterinary attention if symptoms are severe or prolonged. The social nature of kennel cough — requiring clusters of dogs to spread — means that vaccination coverage in dog social settings directly protects individual animals.