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Kennel Cough Awareness – What Is It and How Do I Protect My Pup?

There’s been a recent increase in reported cases of kennel cough in the local community, so we’d like to do our part by sharing more information about what it is, how you can protect your best furriend, and how our team helps prevent it! Let’s get started with some basic information:

What Is Kennel Cough?

Kennel cough is a respiratory illness in dogs that spreads similarly to the common cold in humans — through airborne droplets, direct contact, or contaminated surfaces. It’s highly contagious, and while its symptoms are usually mild, it can sometimes lead to a more serious illnesses like pneumonia, especially in puppies and senior dogs. That’s why knowing the signs and symptoms are important! The more quickly you can intervene, the sooner your dog can recover and start feeling better.

Kennel Cough Signs and Symptoms

The most common symptom is a dry cough, that can sound like a “honking” noise. However, other common symptoms include: runny nose or eyes, sneezing, lethargy, mild fever, vomiting, hoarseness, a decrease in energy or appetite, and sore throat. More rarely, you might notice difficulty breathing– in which case, contact a vet immediately.

If your dog starts showing any of these symptoms, keep them safely at home and get in touch with your veterinarian. Don’t forget to tell other pet parents your dog may have exposed to kennel cough know, if you get a positive diagnosis!

How to Protect Your Pup

You can help reduce your dog’s chances of catching kennel cough with some simple preventative health measures. We recommend starting by ensuring your dog is up-to-date on vaccinations, especially Bordetella, canine influenza, and parainfluenza. These vaccines don’t guarantee immunity, but they can help reduce the risk and severity.

What can also help is maintaining good hygiene with your pup, keeping them and their belongings clean. We especially recommend disinfecting any items that are shared with other dogs they don’t live with, including: bowls, toys, leashes, bedding, and more.

If there’s a known outbreak of kennel cough, then we recommend avoiding crowded dog environments, especially if your dog is a puppy, a senior, or immunocompromised somehow.

What Steps We Take for Kennel Cough Prevention

At Dogs of Tucson, we’re committed to providing a safe and healthy space for every pup. Cleaning and good dog hygiene our two of our top priorities, so we’re always taking measures to prevent any sort of spread infections.

With the recent local outbreak of kennel cough, our team is currently:

🐾 Disinfecting all surfaces, bowls, and gear between uses

🐾 Monitoring dogs closely for any signs or symptoms of illness

🐾 Maintaining strong ventilation and airflow throughout the facility

🐾 Isolating dogs and notifying pet parents if any concerning symptoms arise

🐾 Asking infected dogs to stay at home until cleared by a vet to return, healthy

 

How You Can Help Keep Our Facility Safe

Pet parents, to help keep our pack healthy, we ask that you:

🐾 Monitor your pup for any symptoms.

🐾 Keep your dog home if they are coughing or unwell.

🐾 Inform us if your dog has had recent exposure to a known case.

 

We truly appreciate your continued support and understanding. Thank you for helping us stay proactive and transparent as we work together to keep tails wagging — safely! If you have any questions or concerns about how Dogs of Tucson handles cleaning, infections, or more, then please feel free to get in touch.

Our dogs are more than just pets!

They are our children and family. We know you hate the thought of your pet being lonely. The look on your pet’s face when you head out for work or on vacation can leave us feeling guilt-ridden. We get it!

We are licensed, bonded, and insured.

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What our clients are saying.

  • We had a great first experience with Working for Wags! They came to our house to feed our two pups for several days while we were on vacation. Following their visits, they sent us updates by text and pictures by email, both which were greatly appreciated. They also helped us try to troubleshoot some odd behavior from our dogs, which turned out to be related to a smoke alarm that required battery replacement and was scaring the pups. Overall, we had a very positive experience and will definitely use Working for Wags again when we are out of town. :-)

    Erica Chard Avatar Erica Chard
    December 22, 2022
  • We have used Working for Wags twice now, one for an overnight stay and this last time for a week long vacation. I am nervous leaving our pups; it helps a lot knowing they are in our home and not in a kennel. The communication was fabulous both times. I loved receiving pictures of our pups while we were away! Isabel was amazing! I have one pup who can be particular with people; she warmed right up to Isabel! We will definitely use Working for Wags in the future! Thank you for helping to make our vacation great!

    Jackie Lemer Avatar Jackie Lemer
    March 23, 2023
  • Angela not only took care of all 4 of our cats each day but went above and beyond with pictures and updates everyday. She even watered our plants. I highly recommend!

    Joan Lee Avatar Joan Lee
    May 21, 2023
  • I can't recommend Working For Wags enough! They worked hard to win over my two timid/uncertain dogs during the initial meet and greet and the subsequent trial runs we had prior to leaving on vacation. The dogs loved Payton and she sent lots of updates and pictures. This is absolutely the way to go if you have dogs like mine that don't do well in a boarding facility environment. Working For Wags took away the stress (and guilt) of leaving my boys and made sure they had an enjoyable time while we were away.

    Erika Fund Avatar Erika Fund
    June 21, 2023
  • janet bell Avatar janet bell
    February 13, 2023
  • Everyone from Wags from supper friendly, they are very detailed and communicate super well. Ocean took amazing care of our babies, she also sent frequent updates and pictures that we loved. We will definitely call wags everytime we are away.

    Lorene Stanley Avatar Lorene Stanley
    June 7, 2023
  • Kristy with Working for Wags was fabulous! She showed up at the agreed times and sent us updates during our trip! This will be our new go to when we need a dog sitter!!

    Christina Duffy Avatar Christina Duffy
    October 16, 2022
  • Working For Wags is a great service! We've used them twice this year and our dogs love their WFW caregiver! The entire staff is friendly, caring and professional. We highly recommend them for anyone looking for a reliable and affordable pet sitting service.

    Pearl Ford-Fyffe Avatar Pearl Ford-Fyffe
    October 28, 2023
  • I recommend 100% the service provided by Working For Wags. I found my 16-year-old cat well and relaxed when I returned from vacation. Frankie made it easy to arrange for someone responsible to attend to all his needs with lots of TLC. I received texts and pictures daily. I would hear back quickly if I had questions or needed to change some of the instructions already given. All my gratitude for their outstanding care.

    Anastasia Avatar Anastasia
    August 28, 2023
  • Angela did such an awesome job with our dogs! This was the first time we have left our dogs in a very long time due to 2 of the 3 being elderly and needing extra care. Angela was very attentive to their needs. We never had to worry about how they were doing because she would send updates via texts with pictures several times a day. Angela also brought up the mail and took care of garbage. I think the house was cleaner when we came home than when we left. I would not hesitate to have Angela back to watch out furry babies.

    Amy Rebmann Avatar Amy Rebmann
    February 19, 2023

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