Kennel Cough or Canine Influenza

Well, Roo has finally gotten past the majority of her noise anxiety (she still tries to rush past or avoid busy intersections and is not a fan of loud firecracker- type noises). We had been going back to the dog park for about two weeks, doing amazingly well, even surviving a couple of firecracker blasts one night last week. But sadly, we are once again avoiding the dog park. Saturday evening after returning home from her hour long retrieving session, I noticed she had started to cough. She occasionally coughs after drinking water, she drinks too fast and then chokes on it. But this was different. By Sunday morning the cough was getting worse, so we decided not to go to the Race For the Rescues at the Pasadena Rose Bowl- one of my favorite annual events. The cough was getting worse and worse, she was bringing up foamy liquid all day, in greater and greater quantities. Her energy was still good, she was just very confused by the cough. Sunday night, she kept trying to roll onto her back, a position she loves to sleep in, but every time it would ignite a 5 minute session of hacking. She didn't sleep very well Sunday night....neither did I.
I've been through kennel cough before with several foster dogs, and I know in many cases they can just let it run its course, especially if they have been vaccinated (which functions like the human flu vaccine- it can't stop all strains of the virus, but often lessens the intensity). But the cough was so painful to hear, and I discovered on Monday morning that every time she had hacked overnight she had brought up small amounts of her Sunday evening dinner, that I thought it was best to pay a visit to the vet in case she had something more serious going on.
My vet, the wonderful Dr. Sunada at North Hollywood Animal Care Center, explained to me that in some cases dogs cough so hard they actually engage the gag reflex and bring up a little bit of food water. Roo's symptoms were suggesting Kennel Cough, HOWEVER, Canine Influenza often starts off like kennel cough, but then can progress after several days. Dogs with influenza will become lethargic and lose their appetite, on top of the coughing fits, which can then lead to pneumonia. These symptoms can take several days to show up, so we're keeping a watch on Roo, and in the meantime she is on meds. The cough suppressant and antibiotics seems to be doing the trick. Her cough is not as severe, and is only exacerbated by excitement/pulling on her leash. Roo still has all the energy of your average two year old whippet pit mix and doesn't understand why we aren't going to the park or the Zoom Room. In short, she is driving me nuts! :)
Her big brother has not developed any symptoms, but to be safe, I spent the day on Monday washing and disinfecting all toys, bedding, bowls....anything the dogs touch. Going forward we will be more careful about bringing in our own bowls and water to the dog park and finding a way to keep Miss Roo out of the mud pits it would be nice if we could just get rid of the mud pits, but I realize I am asking for a lot there.)

Roo's Noise anxiety

Hi everyone! Well, it has been a while since we posted. We completed our cross country adventure....all the way from Los Angeles, CA to Belfast Maine and back! It was a wonderful trip and Roo exceeded my expectations all the way. She was amazing in the car (though she did start to look a little depressed towards the tail end), she was well behaved off leash in the countryside, and she adjusted well to new surroundings. Her only downfall was that she did become a bit protective of her new home turf and was not so nice to a doggie friend. But it was a learning experience.

On the way we did get to try out the Thundershirt during a few short storms. I found that it worked by calming her down and putting her to sleep. And that was all I could ask- I'd rather she sleep through a storm than tremble.

Our first week back in LA was great. She went to the dog park and was happy, playing fetch, going after long balls, none of the former fear issues that had cropped up in the month prior to our trip. But then, it changed. All it seemed to take was a couple of poorly timed low level crackling sounds which could have been firecrackers or bubble wrap, and she became scared at the park again. She was hiding in her little bunkers under the picnic tables (dogs have dug deep holes under these tables and they are the perfect size for Roo to hide in. However, she would come out for people she knew, and a few throws and we'd be back in the game. Then her noise fear started to pop up in walks in our neighborhood, which hasn't happened before. When this happens there is nothing I can do to make her turn and focus on me. She just wants to get to the end of her leash and run as fast as she can back to home or the car- or anywhere she can go indoors. If we are nowhere near home this gets tricky, as it is not fun to try to make a scared 40 lb dog heel. On one or two occasions, I picked her up and carried her for about a block until we could turn onto a quieter street. But that is not ideal. And then it got worse. There actually came a time when I asked if she wanted to go for a walk and she ran into her crate and stayed there shaking as if a walk was the most horrible thing in the world. This broke my heart. It seems to happen more towards the latter part of the day- in the morning she is still feeling good and will go for a long walk.
So, today was our first day out on our little networking route since my return two weeks ago. It's taken on a whole new meaning with this new problem- there is quite a bit more at stake here. The great news is, she is happiest going into stores. But walking in between the stores, the tail is often down and any small thing will set her into fear mode. Our first stop today was Chipotle on Sunset- where we met up with a sitter to exchange keys. Anytime there is a person who wants to say hi to her she is happy- friends are very helpful! Next stop was Tailwaggers. She got lots of treats from the friendly staff who were very concerned about her problem. Unfortunately I realized when I parked my car that I had spent so much time packing my bag full of business cards and doggie treats that I forgot my wallet! So we couldn't do any real shopping.

We drove away from Tailwaggers and parked at West Hollywood Park. My intention was to walk through the park and then over to Petco. All was going well, she stopped to say hi to a young boy and was happy as a clam. But then I needed to get her attention, and she wasn't listening, so I did something I have always done- a very light tap on the side of her back leg. Apparently I must have timed it to coincide with a sound she didn't like, and this sent her into fear mode. We slowly worked our way back to the car and drove to Petco.

At Petco, once again she was in her element. She was absolutely adorable with a chihuahua puppy- so sweet and gentle ( I haven't seen her interact with small dogs much so this was great). Her tail was up and we did several laps around the store so she could feel confident again.

Then I knew we still needed more exercise. The dog park was out. Franklin Canyon was a maybe, but there had recenely been a lot of echoing hammer sounds due to home construction in the area, so I decided to park across the way at Tree People and take the short upper trail (which I learned has been dedicated to Michael Jackson) just to get a little extra exercise. For the most part she did well here. There was one small sounds which seemed to briefly upset her, but she walked calmly on the leash and I was pleased with that.