kennel cough

help! My new puppy is sick. She has a respiratory infection and high fever. She was lethargic and snotty with blood tinged mucus. coughing too.

Ok so the vet put her on an antibiotic (14 days) and gave me something to reduce her fever. she is drinking and eating again and even played a little. I would hesitate to give these things to my children but not my dog. also she is so young I didn't want to risk it. (8 weeks about) She was nursed though so i know her mamas milk is still working in her.

I called the shelter and they are calling all the other homes and treating the pups still there. she started showing symptoms in less than 12 hours after we picked her up. They split the litter 3 days ago into two groups and each group shared one large kennel. So they have likely all been exposed. as well as the little pups next to them. poor puppies.

She does seem to be feeling a little better.

Is there anything else I can do for her? I thought about giving her silverbiotics and found some dog treats with vitamin C. . should I run a humidifier? it is still really cold and snowy and dry here. (poor baby. its just torture to go outside to potty. . . but even so she still didn't mess in the house . . woohoo three cheers for my super house broken puppy). Ok stupid question . . . should I disinfect her toys? her kennel?

She is still eating puppy chow but I am switching to a better food. Would it be easier on her for now if i just stuck with the chow? Should I more quickly move to the better food (I am convinced there is no redeeming qualities in puppy chow). Should I just keep going and give her vitamins?

oh my gosh . . . I didn't even know dogs could get sick like this. I feel so woefully unprepared for this.

TIA for any help.

Wow, that sounds serious-- kennel cough isn't usually that bad. though there are different strains, and your puppy is very young. Antibiotics, keep her inside, out of drafts, and make sure she doesn't develop diarrhea-- not only is it bad for her condition and age, it could mean something worse.

Good luck with her, you did good by calling the pound and letting them know! And Kennel cough is a disease transmitted through the air, so it wouldn't do much good to disinfect the toys and crate-- but it's always a good idea anyway, just in case

If she's that ill right now I wouldn't just change food suddenly. You could put a little bit of a new food in.

You can use a warm steam vaporizer in the room where she is. If she starts to have a deep, loud cough, I'd take her into the bathroom that has steam from a hot shower running so it can ease the breathing.

Let her rest and don't do much of anything. Rest is the best thing for her.

There are many strains of kennel cough. You have to be very careful. One of my dogs lost lots of weight and almost went into pneumonia from it.

Keep us updated as to how she's doing.

I would clean everything with a little bleach water or if you can find Novolson it is a great cleaner. I would wash her bedding and keep everything really clean.

Hugs to the little one and I hope she is feeling better soon.

From the dog symptoms mentioned above I think she is having allergy problems.

Yeah that could be it. If the cough persists, take your dog to the vet.