Frustrated.....sorry, very long...
Anyway, when he developed his cough 3 weeks ago we took him to the vet. THe vet said he basically had a "doggy cold", in other words she felt it was viral. She did treat the cough for bronchospasm with a steroid but said that unless he gets any infectious looking drainage, he would not need an antibiotic. Also, that he would need to be isolated from other dogs for two weeks. 10 days ago he finished his course of steroids and seemed fine. He returned to daycare last week for two days, went this week for one day so far and has again developed a cough. 3 weeks ago we were informed that 20-25 dogs got sick. At that time I questioned what their strategy was going to be with the amount of dogs that were sick. They assured me that they were going to sterilize and taking measures to correct the problem. My understanding is that there were both viral and bacterial strains (I know other dogs had high fevers and green drainage). Anyway, now that BArkley is sick again I called the daycare and spoke with the manager. I expressed that I was a bit frustrated that Barkley was sick again. She assured me that they were doing all that they could to sterilize etc. the place. I asked her if any dogs were getting recurrent illnesses. She said that some other dogs were sick but that she wouldn't elaborate. She then said that all vets treat this differently and that they were recommending what their vet told them to do. (again she didn't elaborate). I asked her if they were going to take any other measures and she was incredibly defensive and stated that she couldn't help it if dogs were continuing to come there sick. She then stated that every kennel cough needed treatment with antibiotics. I tried to explain to her that the vet explained that kennel cough is more of a broad name used for upper respiratory illnesses and that they are not all bacterial and therefore Barkley was not on antibiotics. She argued that all dogs would need antibiotics or to not return to daycare for four to six weeks. THe conversation didn't go very well and I'm questioning whether to bring Barkley back to the daycare at all. When a mass amount of dogs get sick I would've expected they write a letter to their clients informing us of the problem and what they would expect the treatment and incubation period to be. Just looking for comments and advice. I'm not even sure if I should take Barkley back to the vet or not..thanks, Doreen |
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| First of all, your vet is right. Secondly, I'd find a new daycare. You will always run the risk of your dog contracting something in a day care setting - it's like sending your kids off to school (that wouldn't stop me from sending a dog with a robust immune system - I prefer they be exposed to common non deadly "bugs") But you hope those in charge take your concerns seriously.
Secondly, a recurrence...? Now, that's bizarre to me. I don't vaccinate for bordatella and neither does my dogs' breeder. Mad's brother brought it home from a show once. I was baby sitting my breeder's dog: ten dogs including my then own two, and watched it spread through the dogs. I positively panicked because I also had a geriatric dog of hers in my care, but my vet correctly predicted that thanks to his age (retired show dog; been there, done that) and in Belle's case her constantly being out there (classes, shows, trials) those two would have had enough exposure to have built of significant immunity and wouldn't come down with it. And they didn't. Everyone else did and it sounded bad, but no ill effects and no reoccurences for any of those dogs. Fast forward and I take Che back at a year old and ask my vet to neuter him sooner rather than later. Both of his sisters and his mom were due to come into season, he was (still is!!!) a little horn dog, so snip-snip. Within days of surgery he came down with kennel cough and it spread to his sisters. Neither Belle, nor Mad, who had it as a puppyl, were affected and I consider them all fairly immune now - having significant exposure or a bout of it does indeed seem to give more extensive immunity to the most common strains at least. Maybe it's not so much a reoccurence as he wasn't 100% over it and the extra exertion/excitement gets him coughing a bit again? If it seems more serious than that, take him to your vet by all means and if not, at least give it a few more weeks before you find a more accommodating day care..? Kristine |
| I would definitely be shopping around for a different doggy day care. I hope Barkley gets better quickly. Definitely watch it though as London's kennel cough when we first got her developed into a very nasty respiratory infection that took several courses of antibiotics and cough medicine. |
| I think Kristine made a good point about it not reoccurring once a dog was affected. When I read your post I thought allergies. If your dog showed symptoms immediately on returning to the daycare its unlikely its kennel cough as there is an incubation period to all the spectrum of viruses and infections |
| I would find another day care. If a client brings an ill dog, or the dog becomes ill during the day, their needs to be a plan for its care. And it is frustrating to everyone, including the day care, whn one vet says do this and another says do that for the same conditoin.
With many of the URI, it can take weeks for the twitchy lungs to heal. So it the lungs get irritated, say by activity, they will cough. And it is possible that the viral infection muted from dog to do, which allows it to attack the same dog more than once. |
| One thing that I don't like in a day care is defensiveness. You have a right to ask questions and get fair answers. I've switched day care a few times myself and I really like the one we've been with for the past 4 months or so. Every day I get a report of how they did-- good things and bad if there are any and I really feel like they pay attention to all the dogs and know what goes on with them. They work with my vet so they're meticulous about health and health records and the place is very clean.
The last day care we went to turned a question that I asked about putting Gentle Leaders on my dogs for the day (for reasons no one knew) to telling me that my dogs ganged up on other dogs so could I bring them in separately? I never got the answer to my question and, until I asked a question about their practices, I never heard anything about any kind of misbehavior before. Then, when I tried to understand the kind of behavior that they meant, no one wanted to talk about that either. It was all very curt and defensive on their end despite the fact that I was very patient and just wanted to understand how things worked. It made very uncomfortable that they wouldn't tell me. I do not like when someone is supposed to be providing a service to me but somehow they turn it around and act like I'm being unreasonable. It seems a lot of businesses these days have a "customer is usually wrong" attitude. |
| Two of my dogs attend doggy daycare . It is their policy that all dogs show proof of vaccination for bordatella and be assessed for temperament before they can attend. The temperament test is mostly an interview with the dog present and a meet and greet with the owners dogs, a tour and an explanation of their policies including their safety policy in the event a fight should break out. ( they have a fire hose and well trained staff ) We signed a contract and were given a copy with their policies clearly stated.
They did have an outbreak of Kennel cough this spring when one of the regular daycare dogs attended another daycare on several weekends and brought kc back to our daycare. It is in their policies that dog's not attend other daycares. We were notified by the daycare immediately by phone and e-mail of the kennel cough outbreak . The daycare was closed for 7 days and everything was sterilized and all other uses of the facility prohibited. They cancelled all their evening obedience classes and rally o . Obviously, this was at great inconvenience and financial loss . The diagnosed dog and any other dogs showing symptons were asked not to return to daycare for one month . If you choose to send your dog to daycare this is one of the risks. I think you shouldn't send your dog back because they sound very irresponsible and defensive. Please be assertive on behalf of your dog. You are the advocate. Ask all the questions you want. A good daycare is appreciative of owners who care and take responsibility for their dogs. You are clearly a great owner . I agree that Barkley is probably fine and it's just a cold . But if it makes you feel better than take him back to the vet. Good luck finding a new daycare. There are good ones but I know it can be daunting trying to find one that meets your standards . |
| I would be careful with any daycare right now with the canine flu going around. I am not even going to training in the park because of it. |
First, I hope Barkley is feeling better. 
Chewie had bordatella a while ago - it was the early spring. I don't know where he picked it up - he goe so many places w/ different groups of dogs. We went the ABX route, just in case it was something besides viral and I wanted to nip it in thebud. I had a selfish reason too - we had JUST signed up for our first obedience class where we both were students and I didn't want to miss too many weeks of class. And then Riley got a real light case and got over it real quick. I agree with some of the previous posters - the cough later on that Barkley had was probably a straggler from the initial illness. Strong exertion (exercise) or a pressure on the trach can trigger a hacking spell when they aren't fully recovered. |
| I wanted to thank everyone for their support and advice re: Barkley and the daycare situation. I've found out some interesting things regarding his present daycare. I'm not sure who mentioned policy on dogs not going to more than one daycare? Well, it sounds like there are some dogs that attend two area daycares. It sounds as if there is a bacterial strain that has been affecting dogs as well as a viral strain. I'm confident that Barkley continues to struggle with the viral strain.
I wasn't aware that some daycares do not allow dogs to attend different daycares but it certainly makes sense that you wouldn't want cross breeding of bogs between the two places. The owner/manager has told me that people are bringing their dogs back before they are well. Our vet feels that BArkley may have returned after the two weeks without the cough and may have become reinfected by one of the dogs that caught the virus "later". Either way I do feel for the girls that run the place but am so upset about how they reacted to my concerns that I'm not sure it's going to be the place that Barkley returns to. The location is incredibly convenient but isn't everything. I've been there, done that with child daycare already. It's funny because somehow Barkley has grown into an adult dog that doesn't seem to mind being home that much. Perhaps we will give doggy daycare a rest for awhile and save our money to donate to rescue. The dogpark across the street will help and maybe can be worked into a daily event. We know 5 people that take their dogs to the same daycare 5/5 got sick with this and one dog really sick. I would've thought that we would've received some type of memo or letter in the mail explaining the policy for when your dog should be able to return/treatment and exactly what they have done to remedy the situation. It's just good business in my opinion. Thanks everyone for your concern. Barkley turned 3 today and his toddler brother blew out his candle, gave him a new bone and a new kong. THen he had frosty paws ice cream for dogs. Pretty good birthday if you ask me. Doreen |
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