In most breeds kennel cough is an irritating fortnight. In a dog who is already working hard to breathe, it is a respiratory infection landing on an airway with no reserve, and that is a different proposition.
Kennel cough is not one disease and not one organism. It is a group of bacteria and viruses that produce much the same picture, which is why the vaccine reduces the odds rather than removing them: it covers some of the agents in that group and not all of them. A vaccinated dog catching kennel cough is disappointing, not surprising, and not a sign the vaccine failed.
It spreads through the air wherever dogs gather, so boarding kennels, daycare, grooming, training classes, shows and busy parks are the usual sources. What owners notice is a harsh honking cough, often finishing with a retch that looks so much like vomiting that plenty of people arrive convinced their dog has something stuck in his throat.
For a healthy dog with a normal airway it is usually self limiting and unremarkable. The reason this page is more cautious than most is the breed. A Bulldog is already managing on a narrower airway than he was designed for, so he starts with far less margin when an infection inflames it further.
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogsthe medical term for bulldog kennel cough is Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) and/or Acute Infectious Tracheobronchitis (ITB).
Bulldog Kennel Cough is a highly contiguous inflammatory condition of the upper airways.
Two questions in there, and they have different answers.
Is he going to be alright: most likely yes. The ordinary version of this is a miserable week of honking in a dog who is otherwise eating, drinking and pestering you as usual, and it settles on its own. What I would rather you watched is not the cough but how he is doing overall. If he is not picking up, or anything about him changes, that is your veterinarian’s call to make rather than mine from here.
Is it on the kennel: almost certainly not, and I would not change kennels over it. This travels through the air from a dog who may have looked completely well, because a dog spreads it before he looks sick. He could have picked it up on a sidewalk outside the groomer, in a parking lot, or in my own waiting room. The vaccine narrows the field, it does not close the door, which is a point worth making before you take it out on a business that probably did nothing wrong.
On what to do in the meantime: walk him on a harness rather than a collar so nothing is pressing on his windpipe, keep the house quiet and the excitement down, and let him rest more than he wants to. Immune support and fish oil may help a dog through a patch like this. If your veterinarian decides he needs more than rest, that decision is theirs and the supplements sit alongside it rather than instead of it.
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Syndrome
Bulldog Kennel Cough is defined as a syndrome because of the wide variety of clinical signs, and its association with both bacteria and viruses.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Bacteria
- Bordetella bronchiseptica
- Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus
- Mycoplasma spp
Bulldog Kennel Cough Virus
- Canine respiratory coronavirus (NOT the human corona like SARS and COVID-19)
- Canine adenovirus 2
- Canine distemper virus
- Canine influenza viruses
- Canine herpesvirus
- Canine parainfluenza virus
- Pneumovirus
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Transmission
Most bulldog kennel infections is transmitted from one infected dog to another by air and contact, as well as through articles like doggy beds, grooming ancillaries, and human touch. The exception is the distemper virus which can be passed via fecal-oral.
Regardless, crowded areas are the most common source of exposure and transmission of bulldog kennel cough.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Crowded Area Transmission
- Kennels
- Shelters
- Hospitals
- Doggy Day Care
- Puppy classes
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Presentation
Bulldog Kennel Cough Most Common/Mild Presentation
- COUGH: Your bulldog will likely present with a high-pitched hacking, described by some bulldog owners as “hairball” like a cough or ‘goose honk’ honking cough.
- NASAL D/C & SIZING
- GAGGING, RETCHING, & VOMITING
- WATERY RED EYE
- MILD FEVER
Bulldog Kennel Cough Complicated/Severe / Chronic Bronchitis & Pneumonia
- HIGH FEVER
- DEPRESS & LISTLESS
- LABORED
- COUGHING
- ANOREXIC
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Diagnosis
In this breed it is not just a cough
I treated kennel cough the same way most veterinarians do in most breeds: reassure the owner, explain that it is usually self limiting, advise rest and isolation, and see them again only if things change. In Bulldogs I was noticeably more careful, and it is worth explaining why rather than just sounding cautious.
A Bulldog is already breathing through a compromised airway on his best day. Narrowed nostrils, a soft palate that is too long for the space, a windpipe that is often smaller than it should be. He copes, and the coping is so normal to him that owners stop noticing it. Now inflame that airway with a respiratory infection and add a cough that irritates it further. A dog with a normal airway has plenty of margin to absorb that. A Bulldog has very little. The infection is no more severe, the reserve is simply thinner, and that is the whole difference.
So my practical advice to a Bulldog owner is a lower threshold rather than a longer list. If your dog has kennel cough and anything about his breathing or his general state changes, or you simply find yourself uneasy, ring your veterinarian rather than waiting it out on the usual timetable. The reason this is not me being alarmist is that the complication worth avoiding is pneumonia, and the dogs who get there are usually the ones who were watched a little too long.
A word on the vaccine, because this is where owners feel let down. Kennel cough is a group of organisms, not a single one. The vaccine covers the main bacterial player and some of the viral ones, and leaves others uncovered. So a vaccinated dog can still catch it, usually with a milder course. That is the vaccine working as designed rather than failing. It is still worth having, particularly for a dog who boards or goes to daycare, and it is worth planning ahead of time rather than the week before, since it needs to be in place before exposure.
On antibiotics, I will give you the same answer I gave in practice even though it is not what owners want to hear. Many of these cases are viral, and an antibiotic does nothing to a virus. Reaching for one by reflex adds nothing for that dog and contributes to the resistance problem that this whole site argues against. There are cases where it is clearly the right call, and your veterinarian makes that judgment after examining the dog. What I would not do is ask for one on principle because the cough is loud.
Two small things that make a real difference at home. Swap the collar for a harness for the duration, because pressure on the throat of a coughing brachycephalic dog is the last thing that airway needs. And keep him away from other dogs properly, not approximately: this spreads through the air and the most common way it reaches the next household is a short walk that somebody judged harmless. If you have more than one dog at home, assume the others have already been exposed and watch them too. The brachycephalic airway page covers the underlying structure that makes all of this matter more here.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Mild / Common
The diagnosis of the common mild bulldog kennel cough is based on clinical presentation and history, as well as response to simple symptomatic treatment.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Severe / Complicated
The diagnosis of the less common, complicated, and severe bulldog kennel cough is based on radiographs, airway culture, cytology, and blood work.
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Risk to People
Most of the bulldog kennel cough microorganisms are unlikely to affect humans
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Treatment
Bulldog Kennel Cough Mild / Common Treatment
- Home Rest
- Calm Stress-Free Environment
- RX: Cough suppressants, Antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory
- Proper Hydration and Nutrition
- Humidifier
Bulldog and French Bulldog kennel cough therapeutic supplements
BULLY IMMUNE & HEALING ECONOMIC BUNDLES:
a. Immune Boosters: like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Immune Support chews and V4B Bully Immune & Healing Economic Bundles
b. Anti-inflammatory: like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Fish Oil Immune-Skin-Joint
c. Stress Relief: like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Calm & StressLess chews and V4B Bully StressLess & Calm Economic Bundles
Bulldog Kennel Cough Severe / Complicated: Pneumonia
- Critical Care: Hospitalization w IV Fluid
- Oxygen Support: Oxygen Cag, Nasal Oxygen
- Nebulization
- RX Antibiotics: IV broad-spectrum antibiotics
- RX Antiemetics: Vomit and Nausea medical control
Bulldog and French Bulldog kennel cough therapeutic supplements
BULLY IMMUNE & HEALING ECONOMIC BUNDLES:
a. Immune Boosters: like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Immune Support chews and V4B Bully Immune & Healing Economic Bundles
b. Anti-inflammatory: like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Fish Oil Immune-Skin-Joint
c. Stress Relief: like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Calm & StressLess chews and V4B Bully StressLess & Calm Economic Bundles
Blaming the kennel is the easy answer
Every owner who brings me a coughing dog after boarding arrives angry at the kennel. I understand it completely. The kennel is the one thing in the story you can point at.
It is almost never that simple. This spreads through the air, and a dog passes it on before he looks ill, so the dog who gave it to yours may have been bouncing around looking perfectly healthy. He could have picked it up outside a groomer, in a parking lot, at a park, or sitting in my own waiting room on a routine visit.
It is a bit like blaming the restaurant for the cold you caught the same week you rode a crowded train twice a day. The restaurant is the place you remember, which is not the same as the place it happened.
Here is the part I would rather you spent your energy on. What decides how rough this gets in a Bulldog is not where he caught it. It is the airway he was born with. A narrow windpipe and a long soft palate turn a cough another breed shrugs off into days of genuinely hard work, and that was true before he ever set foot in the kennel. It will be true next time too.
So the useful question is not which kennel. It is what shape his airway is in, and what you do in the weeks either side of boarding. That is the part you can actually change, and it is where the effort pays.
Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Prognosis
The Most common mild bulldog kennel cough patients get better within days just with basic nursing care with symptomatic medicine and home care that includes:
- Rest
- Stress-free environment
- Good Nutrition
- Qulity Supplements.
Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Kennel Cough in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs Tips & Warnings
Bulldog & French Bulldog Kennel Cough Tips:
Bulldog Kennel Cough Tip #1 Duration: Duration: The duration from infection to clinical signs is relatively short (days)
Bulldog Kennel Cough Tip #2 TIME & LOCATION: Different pathogens vary in importance based on geographic location and the time of the year.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Tip #3 Antibiotics: Antibiotics will only help the bacteria part of the infection, the virus part does not respond to antibiotics.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Tip #4 Corona: Canine respiratory coronavirus is not the same as the human COVID-19 coronavirus. It does NOT infect people.
Bulldog & French Bulldog Kennel Cough Warnings:
Bulldog Kennel Cough Warning #1 Shading: Many bulldog kennel cough carriers might be asymptomatic and silently shade and infect other dogs. Luckily, most bulldog kennel cough bacteria and viruses live a short life. Nevertheless, proper disinfection of those “kennel” facilities is critical
Bulldog Kennel Cough Warning #2 Immune: puppies, stressed and anxious bulldogs, immune incompetent bulldogs, and bulldogs on immune suppressant medicine are the most susceptible to the bulldog kennel cough, which is a complicated and severe type.
Bulldog Kennel Cough Warning: DR EXAM # 3: Bulldogs with bulldog kennel coughs of complicated or severe type should see a veterinarian as soon as possible.
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Plainly: nothing here treats kennel cough. The infection runs its course or is treated by your veterinarian, and if your dog is unwell that is a phone call rather than a purchase. On this page more than most I would rather you acted on the paragraph above than on this one.
Where this range has a reasonable place is the background rather than the episode. A Bulldog’s difficulty with respiratory infection comes from the airway he already has, and supporting general respiratory and immune health is a sensible long term habit in a breed built this way. It may help on that broader front over a good few weeks, alongside anything your veterinarian has prescribed rather than instead of it.
If his everyday breathing is the real concern rather than this episode, that is a bigger conversation than a supplement and it belongs on the brachycephalic airway page. Some of what Bulldogs live with is treatable, and a surprising number of owners have never been told so.
To be clear: supplements or topicals are not substitutes for prescribed treatment. If your dog is unwell, is being treated for a condition, or is already on medication, review any supplement or topical with your veterinarian so it fits the plan you are already following. This page is educational and is not a diagnosis or a treatment plan for your own dog.
He is vaccinated. How did he catch kennel cough?
He sounds like something is stuck in his throat. Is that kennel cough?
Does he need antibiotics?
How long is he contagious, and what do I do about other dogs?
Does this need a vet visit or will it pass on its own?
Can I give him a cough medicine?
Why is this more serious in a Bulldog than in other dogs?
More Help from Dr. Kraemer
A cough in this breed is rarely only about the cough, so these are the pages I would read next.
- Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS)
- Hypoplastic Trachea in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
- Elongated Soft Palate in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
- Aspiration Pneumonia in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
- Boarding and Separation Anxiety in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
- Reverse Sneezing in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
About the Author
Roy Kraemer, DVM, is a veterinarian with extensive clinical experience caring for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs. His educational work emphasizes prevention, early recognition, appropriate at-home care, responsible medication use, and veterinary evaluation when disease is persistent or severe.
References
- Kennel Cough, Merck Veterinary Manual
- Tracheobronchitis (Bronchitis) in Dogs, Merck Veterinary Manual
- Canine Influenza, Merck Veterinary Manual
- Antitussive Drugs in Animals, Merck Veterinary Manual
Trusted by Vets ~ Recommended by Owners ~ Approved by Bulldogs
