Kennel cough

Kennel cough, also known as canine infectious respiratory disease complex or canine infectious tracheobronchitis, is an upper respiratory infection of dogs. It has several causative agents, the most common being the bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica, followed by canine parainfluenza virus and, less often, canine coronavirus. The infection is highly contagious and takes its name from the way it spreads quickly among dogs housed close together in kennels and animal shelters. It passes through airborne droplets from sneezing and coughing and through contact with contaminated surfaces. Symptoms begin after an incubation period of several days and usually clear without treatment, though in young puppies or immunocompromised animals mixed or secondary infections can progress to pneumonia.