07/31/2025
Kennel Cough in Sedalia: What Every Dog Owner Needs to Know 👇
We understand the growing concern in our community regarding kennel cough 🐕💉. There's no need to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but as certified professional boarders and active members of respected organizations in the pet care industry, it’s our responsibility to educate and help our neighbors make informed decisions about their pets’ health, especially when misinformation and fear begin to circulate. 👈 The following information is a refresher to those familiar with the kennel environment, but may be new to those who are brand new pet parents or unfamiliar with boarding and daycare.
Let’s break it down.
🦠 What Is Kennel Cough, Really? 🤔
Kennel cough, medically known as Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC), is not a single illness, it’s a group of viruses and bacteria that affect a dog’s upper respiratory system. The most common culprits include:
• Bordetella bronchiseptica (a bacteria)
• Canine parainfluenza virus
• Canine adenovirus type-2
• Mycoplasma, and others
It’s very similar to how colds and flus affect humans 🤧. A dog can be exposed multiple times a year, and each episode may look a little different depending on the strain, the dog’s immunity, and general health.
Symptoms may include:
• Dry, hacking cough 😷
• Sneezing or nasal discharge 👃
• Mild lethargy or reduced appetite
• In most cases, no fever and no emergency
Just like people, most dogs recover on their own with a little time, rest, and care. But it is extremely contagious and that’s where the challenge lies.
🧬 How It Spreads (and Why It’s Not About Cleanliness)
One of the biggest misunderstandings is that kennel cough is caused by “dirty” or “poorly maintained” facilities. That is not true. 🙅♀️🙅♂️
Kennel cough is transmitted the same way the human cold or flu is:
• Airborne droplets from coughing or sneezing
• Shared items, like food/water bowls, toys, bedding
• Direct contact with infected dogs
• Indirect contact from people, shoes, or clothing carrying particles from another environment
If one dog comes into a facility with kennel cough, even in the incubation stage, where there are no visible symptoms yet, the illness can spread rapidly, even in the cleanest, most well-run kennels. 😁
That means:
• We can’t “clean” it away 🧽🧹
• We can’t stop it once it’s introduced 🚫
• We can only manage risk through vaccines, cleaning, and responsible protocols
💉 Vaccines: What They Do (and Don’t Do)
Many dog owners are surprised 😯 when their vaccinated dog still contracts kennel cough. We want to be completely transparent:
• The Bordetella vaccine (intranasal, injectable, or oral) is not 100% effective
• It’s designed to reduce severity, shorten duration, and prevent complications
• It does not guarantee prevention, just like the flu shot in humans
This is why we require Bordetella vaccinations every 6 months 📝. In Sedalia, we experience a higher-than-average rate of upper respiratory illnesses, due to the nature of our town being a popular travel destination 🎡. With pets and people coming and going constantly, exposure is unavoidable, and every boarding facility, groomer, vet, pet store, pet sitter, dog park, trainer, etc in town faces the same risk. ⚠️
🌍 Where Kennel Cough Comes From
Contrary to popular belief, kennel cough doesn’t originate in kennels. It’s brought in, often by completely healthy-looking dogs.
It can also be carried in from:
• A walk at the park 🌳
• A trip to the groomer ✂️
• Your vet’s office 🩺
• A playdate 🐶
• A pet supply store 🥎
• Your own clothing or shoes after visiting a friend with a sick pet 👕👟
Dogs don’t need to be around other dogs to be exposed. They just need to be near someone or something that has been in contact with the virus or bacteria.
This is why we limit foot traffic inside our kennel. ☝️ It’s not because we don’t want you inside, it’s because every additional person or object that enters increases the risk of bringing something harmful with them, even unintentionally.
🧼 What We’re Doing (and What You Can Expect)
We maintain strict cleaning, sanitizing, and vaccination protocols that align with national pet care standards and exceed state requirements.
This includes:
• Disinfecting shared surfaces multiple times daily
• Isolating symptomatic dogs immediately and requesting pickup if able
• Using veterinary-grade cleaners such as Rescue and Chlorhexidine
• Monitoring air flow and ventilation
• Requiring vaccines for all guests
• Training staff in disease control
We also recognize symptoms when able and notify you immediately, something someone unfamiliar with symptoms and infectious disease may not recognize to inform you. **Reputable kennels tend to serve as another route of health monitoring!
Still, once kennel cough enters a building, as it inevitably will, our ability to completely stop the spread is limited 🤷♂️🤷♀️. We work quickly to minimize risk and communicate with pet parents, but it is not possible to fully eliminate it. It is going to happen multiple times per year. If you do not want your pets getting kennel cough often, daycare and boarding is not for you. 😬
🐾 What You Can Do as a Pet Parent
We know this can be frustrating 🥴, especially when you’ve trusted your dog’s care to professionals. Here’s how you can help reduce risk and stay informed:
• Stay up-to-date on all vaccines, especially Bordetella, parainfluenza, and canine influenza.
• Avoid high-traffic pet environments before and after boarding if there’s an outbreak.
• Don’t bring your dog to daycare or boarding if they’re coughing or showing symptoms.
• Understand that mild cases are common, and not usually cause for panic.
• Talk to us if you have questions, we’re here to help.
🧠 Final Thoughts
Our goal is not to scare you, it’s to inform you, so you can make confident, educated choices for your dog 😃. Kennel cough is part of dog ownership, just like the common cold is part of human life. It's not something to fear, but it is something to be realistic about. 🩷
We’re proud to be a part of the Sedalia pet community, and we’ll continue doing everything we can to protect your pets while giving you honest, science-based information, not false guarantees.
If you have questions, concerns, or want to discuss your dog’s individual health needs, please reach out or contact your veterinarian. We're here for you.
(Pictured below are a load of corgis 🤣)
Bark House Bed & Biscuit
[email protected]
Barkhousebb.com
660.596.3903
