Kennel Cough
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Natural Remedies to Treat Kennel Cough in Dogs

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
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Monolaurin

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Posted by Gabriella (Los Angeles) on 09/13/2019
 ★★★★★

Our Great Dane had developed a bad cough which sounded as if he had something stuck in his throat. The vet said he had kennel cough and prescribed Tramadol, whose side effects include seizures. We gave him Monolaurin pellets pressed into hard butter, twice a day. Two days later he is totally healed.

No-Dye Benadryl

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Posted by Kelly (Memphis, Tennessee) on 03/01/2008
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My Pomeranian, Holly, had kennel cough. WE used the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, but the cough would just get weaker. We then tried no-dye Benadryl in the the morning and at night. It works great she has a lot of energy during the day and at night she can sleep. We are going to do this remedy for another week so she can get better.

Oregano Oil

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Posted by Hilary (San Tan, Arizona) on 12/27/2007
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100% Natural Oregano oil in capsules ; 2 capsules twice a day for a week or so, about 2 to 5 drops of oregano oil per capsule with a carrier agent like grape seed oil (about 12 drops). You can get the essential oil at most nature type food stores and the empty capsules. Within a few days you will notice a huge difference in your dog and within a week no more coughing and back to normal. You can also sterilize your home of germs and viruses by putting about 15 to 20 drops in a humidifier and running it. Your house will smell like a wonderful italian kitchen and the house will be sanitized!

Pedialyte

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Posted by Dusty (Modesto, Ca) on 11/27/2009
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My dog developed a cough and was coughing up a clear mucus. She lost her energy and had a hard time eating dry food and wasn't drinking as much water as she normally does. I fed her canned food which she ate very quickly...I gave her pedialyte (about a half ounce to an ounce) every two hours for about 8 hours. I left for work and got home about 12 hours later. When I got home, she was running around and playing. She coughed a couple times, but it wasn't that honking, dry cough and she didn't cough up any mucus. My family has used pedialyte when our dogs get sick to prevent them from dehydrating, but it seems to work for parvo as well. I was told u can inject it just under the skin as well, but I fed mine to my dog using a turkey baster. Worked well.

Robitussin Dm

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Posted by Cbrillem (Miami, FL) on 04/27/2009
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i have a 12lb 3 month old puppy. I didnt want to give him peroxide so i gave him half a tbsp of robbitusin DM. every 9 hrs or so. After only 2 dys he stopped coughing . I also applied honey mixed with a little lemon juice directly in his mouth everytime he started coughing too much.

EC: More info about Robitussin DM here: http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/dextromethorphan-robitussin-dm/page1.aspx

or here: http://www.vetpets.net/animaltimes/humandrugs.html

Rosehips, Lemon, Honey, Garlic

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Posted by Wishapup (Southeastern Area, Ontario, Canada) on 05/13/2013
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My 64-or-so pound dog once had a cough/respiratory infection in the middle of winter, and the vet told us to wait it out. She was coughing a lot and not doing well, so I started some home treatments for her. I made sure she was warm, and added some powdered garlic and water to her dry kibble each meal. I also gave her, several times a day, a mixture of about 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp honey, and added some to her kibble. It really seemed to soothe her throat and keep her from coughing. To encourage her to eat it, I had to add crushed biscuit.

I also added wild rosehips to her diet. They have a huge amount of Vitamin C, and I would add handfuls to her food and give them to her as treats. She consumed a full quart of them within 1 week! Her recovery was quick and she was soon back to her normal self again.

Ted's Remedies

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Posted by Josh King (USA) on 04/17/2021 29 posts
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Hi. I had been treating a pup with kennel cough for about 8 days. Took to the vet. Got doxycycline. Dosed twice and my dog got worse.

The vet confirmed kennel cough. infection was moving to the lungs after dosing doxycycline. One side effect potentially of the antibiotic is restricted airways (maybe not a good idea on vet's part to use this for kennel cough??) Took her back and got a second antibiotic. Freaked out; I decided to stop antibiotics altogether. Never opened the new bottle of Amoxycillin.

I used Ted's remedy for kennel cough as I've had it memorized by heart for some time now, I have used it for myself and my mother for COVID19 and for flu the winter before.

  • 1 crystal sodium thiosulfate. (crystal about 2 mm long and 1 mm thick) dissolved in half glass water, with 1/64 tsp zinc orotate powder, or about 15mg in total zinc for a 60 lb dog. Zinc can be toxic to dogs in high amount, but not this amount, have charcoal on hand in case I overdose the dog.
  • I gave this solution only once as an opener.
  • Immediately followed by 1/8 teaspoon each of pure N Acetyl Cystine (NAC) and L-Lysine amino acids. Get capsules at a pharmacy or big box stores if you can't wait for online orders.
  • Repeat 1/8t each of amino acids 3 more times, an hour apart for a total of 4 dosages.
  • Repeat 4 more times the next day, an hour apart; do not repeat zinc / thiosulfate again.

"The dog should come out fine" in Ted's words.

He is right. Her week long pneumonia , cough, and lung fluid was entirely gone.

I dosed the amino acids in bone broth nice and warm but not boiling.

I also used 1/8 tsp pure echinacea powder, and 1/16 tsp 5:1 goldenseal extract powder in the bone broth with each dose, as well as a sprinkle of garlic powder. I was using these herbs before too, with not much improvement, though they did seem to relieve her discomfort somewhat.

Ted's remedy saved my girl, and without having to destroy her gut bacteria with harsh antibiotics. I am dosing her with probiotics for a little while maybe a week or two just to counter what the doxycycline may have done.

PS: Doxycycline causes either suicidal thoughts , depression, or hallucinations in humans, in more than 50% of cases with side effects. Tread carefully.

UPDATE: It may help the dog's GI tract to buffer the amino acids' acidity, by administering a little baking soda in milk between meals once a day, perhaps 1/8 tsp in a dash of milk. Halt after remedy is complete - unless dosing baking soda for other issues.

Vitamin C

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Posted by Kathryn4 (Owings, Md.) on 04/03/2013
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Kennel cough: I use buffered Vit c powder- just sprinkle a bit over his food every day. If I forget, after a few days it comes back. My dog was vaccinated supposedly for it from the Aspca when I adopted him but he still gets bouts with it. He gets regular vet appts for updates on the kennel cough - but this works and I just don't worry about it.

Vitamin C
Posted by Bubblebuzzle (Hughson, California, America) on 01/02/2012
 ★★★★★

I have a dog with kennel cough, a cavelier king Charles spaniel , and I gave her a teaspoon of honey mixed with a crushed fourth of a 2000 vitamin c tablet and the coughing stopped almost instantly!

Replied by Leticia
(Houston, Texas)
01/17/2013
★★★★★

YES! When I adopted my 2nd Bichon from the pound, she had kennel cough. The vet was wanting to charge me 200 bucks for a medicine and told me that it usually doesn't work the first time around. I told him I would try myself and then bring her back if my rememdy didn't work. I found a chewable supplement for kids and gave her 1 wafer. She ate it without problem. A few hours later, she stopped coughing altogether. I even gave it to my first dog so that she wouldn't get sick. It works and it is cheap! Anytime I use any kind of human supplement on my dogs, I use a child formula as it helps with taking the guessing out for dosage because children's medicine/vitamins usually give dosages according to weight.

P.S. Even though kennel cough presents itself to dogs who are under stress and have compromised their immune system because of the stress, it is contagious- be sure that you lysol your pet's kennels and wash their linens while you are treating them. Good luck!

shadrach
(southeast Az)
03/01/2025

Could the dog pass kennel cough to a cat?

Replied by T Hunter
(Newark Nj)
08/07/2020

Please tell me you don't use Lysol. Do you understand what each ingredient does to your lungs as well as your fur baby health? clean with unscented lavender sugar soap, unscented castile soap etc...

Replied by Tawanna
(New Jersey)
03/23/2021

Do you know what is in Lysol which is actually a pesticide, that stuff made my aunt asthma worse?

Vitamin C
Posted by Lcmrockets (Austin, Tx, Usa) on 08/31/2011
 ★★★★★

Hi there, awhile back ago when I adopted my dog from the shelter he was in the early stages of Kennel Cough. A previous dog I have owned got Kennel cough once and we took him to the vet. It cost us over $100 and I think about a week later he was almost done with all his meds and he was still just as bad. I called the vet and he said it takes about 2 weeks to get over it. So I was thinking what's the point in the meds they aren't even helping.

This time I went to my local health food store and kinda browsed at the books and I found one I really liked. I think it's called the natural health bible for cats and dogs something like that. It said to take vit. C, so I bought a bottle of buffered vit. C made from rose hips bc they are a natural source of vit. C and gave him about half the recommended dose.

He's about 50lbs so I think I was giving him about 600 to 800mg a day. It took about a week and it was gone! It worked so great and only cost me like $10! It's so exciting when natural remedies work just as well if not better than drugs!

Hope this helps someone, I know all the comments people have left help me so much!!

Vitamin C, Antibiotics

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Posted by Nat (Las Vegas, Nv, Usa) on 07/23/2012
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My puppy started hacking the middle of the night... Kennel cough. Took her to vet. Started antibiotics with 500 mg of Vitamin C and honey in morning and before bed. She stopped coughing the next night. Sorry, but folks at least take your dog to vet. Make sure there is not collapsed trachea, obstruction, etc. One person on this page asked what to give a pup with pneumonia.... TAKE THEM TO THE VET! I appreciate holistic and home remedies and use them alot. In fact my vet helps plan them, but to completely disregard vets and take the word of people you have never met on a web forum for the welfare of your animal is lacking in wisdom. I do the vet, apply appropriate veterinary items and do the holistic things they prescribe after our discussion.

Wild Cherry Bark, Slippery Elm or Honey

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Posted by Maggie (Idaho) on 09/18/2018 36 posts
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I use wild cherry bark, slippery elm bark, or honey (one at a time, not all three) when my mini poodle starts coughing. The honey I just put on my finger and she licks it off and the coughing stops right away. The other 2 supplements come in capsules so I open 1 up and put half of it in her wet food (they don't taste bad) twice a day. The honey stops the cough right away and is a quick fix. I use the other 2 supplements when I think she may be having a problem and after about 3 days, she's okay. Don't know if these supplements would work for allergies but we had some very bad air quality this year and she starting coughing so I gave her 1 of the supplements and after a few days, she was fine.


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