Cure Kennel Cough with Natural Remedies

I took my St Bernard to the Humane Society to be fixed, when she came, she brought Kennel Cough home with her. Knowing that the rest of my dogs could catch it, I immediately started them all on garlic. I used fresh garlic (about 4 big cloves), some broth, bolied carrot and put it all in a blender. Poured it over their food and they ate it right up. After 2 days of doing this my St's cough was pretty much completly gone. I did this for a week and by the end of the week, she was as good as new. I also put a capful of hydrogen peroxide in their water bowl each time I had to fill it. Hope this helps someone.

I cannot believe how many people are suggesting to feed and feeding their pets garlic! Garlic is considered to be toxic to dogs in anything more than trace amounts (such as the little bit added into dog food) anything more, such as whole garlic cloves as some people on here are suggesting can cause red blood cell damage in dogs just like onions. PLEASE do not feed your dogs whole cloves of garlic. If your dog is sick, take them to the vet! Alternative remedies can be great, but dogs are not people, their systems are different and they cannot handle all of the foods that we can.

Garlic, just like many other foods said to be toxic to dogs is really only toxic if your dog has an actual allergy to it. I have had dogs eat chocolate and not even so much as fart afterwards let alone die from it. I've had a dog eat onion and survive with nothing more then me calling her vet to ask what I should do. I think it's more risky if for example you have a smaller dog who's body can't process things like a larger dog can. The dogs that I'm speaking of all weighed over 65lbs. I'm not saying go ahead and give huge doses of whatever you want to your animal, but if you're going to try a natural remedy be prepared for what COULD happen and let your vet know what you are going to be trying.

A 2003 study on Grape and Raisin Toxicity in Dogs, published in the Australian Veterinary Journal clearly states that certain grapes, onions, garlic, cloves and other derivatives can be harmful for pets. Most people do not understand the difference between human food and dog food.

Garlic can have severe long term effects such as hormonal changes, diarrhea, anemia, tachycardia [irregular heart beat], liver damage and allergic reactions. Would you risk that ?????

I have tried using this medicine on my dogs ( a lab and a pug ) both of them recovered well without any problems.

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.

This has been found to be untrue. This statement came from a single study done in japan on four dogs. Think again.

Don't Treat Kennel Cough With Human Remedies Unless Cleared By Your VetRe; G

I realize this is an old thread but, I wanted to add my 2 cent's worth, if there is such a thing. ;) Dogs are NOT HUMAN and therefore, what works well in a human's system, doesn't go well in a dog's body. Garlic may be one of them. Just because 100 people got away with giving their dogs (usually large dogs) garlic, doesn't mean it's good for them or should be given to them. We love our dogs and treat them like our children for the most part BUT when are we going too far and doing more harm than good? Our veterinarians Naturopathic or Holistic are our best guides. What we'd do for ourselves is not what we should do for our pets necessarily...though we may want to. A human cold can take up to a week, doing nothing or 7 days when we take an antibiotic or use other remedies. The same holds true for a dog (or cat) who can also get viruses. We all want to help our much loved fur babies but, stay safe. Moisture in the air (humidifier or boiling a large pot of water on the stove or taking puff ball into the bathroom with the hot water steam for 20 mins 2x's per day, chicken soup with homemade broth no onions or spices or canned with low sodium may help, rest, antibiotics if prescribed by the vet may all help your beloved Rover). But, please, please, please...do ask your vet about things like garlic and tea tree oil etc. FIRST. Don't just self-dose no matter what others have done and been lucky with doing.

My dad gave our dogs a garlic pill per day to keep fleas and mosquitos away. He did this for 13 and 16 yrs...that's how long our dogs lived.

Never had any illnesses.

Our VET suggested garlic in low doses, as other vets we have seen through the years. High doses are toxic, just like high doses of other meds. But our vet suggested garlic for the dogs and he is not a holistic vet.

I have garlic in cloves and minced (I think) and in powder. The Echinacea I have in cap form how would u give this to a 10-15 pd dog 4 kennel cough?

This is in response to using tea trea oil for dogs. After applying tea trea oil to my Miniature Pinchers ears to treat an infection she became paralyzed for about 10-12 hours. Tea tree oil is know to paralyze dogs. Please be aware! (I have used tea tree oil for about 15-20 years successfully, but only on humans.)

Please do NOT use any remedies at home unless you have checked with a vet or clinic especially human tablets , for cold, cough, rashes or allergies. TEA TREE oil can kill dogs, a vet from in Citrus Heights on confirmed this by giving my friend documents of this warning NOT to use. Hydrocortisone for dogs are available at Walmart. Be very very careful trying anything on your dog---doublecheck with a Vet Clinic or google "Is garlic safe for dogs"? you will see many responses from different sources, so if you see one single NO--garlic, onions, tomato sauce, strawberry ( cause allergic reactions to many dogs), among others-- pls don't use any of it. Your dogs will suffer. So don't. Their lives and safety are far more precious than your experimenting on them.Pls do not use tea tree oil AT ALL. In short, risks aren't worth crossing for your pets' life. Also google "Foods not good for dogs, "Plants not good for dogs..."

Hey MTM!

The remedy makes so much sense, and the video is AWESOME!

Thanks for sharing!!!

Dear Theresa,

Thank you for being so encouraging!

It is always a pleasure to see your positive, caring, and helpful posts for people needing help with their animals. I know that so many have been blessed in many ways by your posts! Thanks for all you do!

~Mama to Many~

I'd use a 6x or 6c for pets or children. Don't be afraid of using the 12x or 12c if that's all you can find. Be sure to read up on how to use the remedies. You don't dose if they are responding. Seems counterintuitive compared to modern medicine.

My Drocera label says Boiron Drocera 30ch on the dispenser & 4 g so how much would I give for a 10 lb dog please anyone? I also believe her cough is a result of the meds (Florinef) she must take for her Addison's disease, which I believe is a result of the rabies shot. No more vaccines for me, a very hard lesson learned. :(

Hey Monica!

You can follow the directions on the Boiron bottle for dosage.

I do have a concern when I read your post: dogs can cough for many reasons and coughing is not a reported side effect for Flourinef. Coughing is a sign of a collapsed trachea, common for some breeds of small dogs, and it is also a sign of congestive heart failure. You might consider taking your dog to the vet for further diagnosis if the homeopathic remedy provides no relief.

How do you get the right dosage for the use of Robitusson DM? Please get back to me at your earliest convenience....thank you :)

I adopted a 9 mo. old pug/beagle mix from the Animal Shelter and he had Kennel Cough, $200 in vet bills later and 2 different types of antibiotics the cough was still there (gagging and hacking). I then did further research and found this site and I want to THANK YOU for the Honey and Lemon suggestion.

Shortly after I gave him the water/honey/lemon/hydrogen peroxide mixture the cough was gone and he was able to be the playful puppy that he always wanted to be since we brought him home :-) I also have a 3 year old pug/chihuhua and she is drinking the water too, I am thankful that since the week has passed when we brought him home she never showed signs of being sick or catching Kennel Cough but the water is preventing her from getting sick. I am going to continue this treatment for a few days to be sure it is gone. Please note that I am still giving him the remainder of the antibiotics too. Again from my family to yours THANK YOU!

Hi, I have 3 yorkie puppies that are 10 wks old that have kennel cough. They show symptoms just like what is being described on here. Last week I googled and found this site as I have given up on the vet's antibiotic which do nothing for them. After browsing through this site, I found this forum and started to do the water/ honey/ hydrogen peroxide/ lemon thing..... End result, it didn't work... :(:( my pups are still hacking away. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or wrong mixture? I put 1 teaspoon of honey, 3 drops of hydrogen peroxide 3%, 1 cup of water/ lemon. I just leave it for them to drink. OR should I have force feed it to them?? Need help really bad... Thank you

Hi there, usually I don't reply much but your post is of interest to me bc 2 of my dogs had kennel cough. I went to my health store and got vitamin c made from rose hips, it's more bioavailable that way and gave like half the therapeutic human dose. I think it was 600 mg for a 50lb dog. Anyways, it worked very quickly in a couple of days he was much better try it, I hope it helps!!

To Bruce Lee-

The 3% Hydrogen Peroxide in the brown bottles cannot be consumed. The brown bottle peroxides contain a stabilizer, you have to use a food grade hydrogen peroxide. These can be found at whole food markets or natural food stores and they have to be diluted with purified water based on certain calculations. Read the bottle directions carefully, this is very strong and can cause severe harm if not used properly.

I am fostering a 4 weeks old puppy. She started coughing. Cam I give her lemon juice and honey ? How much?

My dog has the same problem- a hacking cough. I will be taking him to the vet on monday but for the time being I would like to reduce this cough. I was wondering what dosage to give him- he's 18lbs.

Please get back to me ASAP Thx

I recently adoped a 12 yr old, German Shepherd Dog/Lab mix because I knew he was going to be euthanized. He has class 3 or 4 kennel cough. Vet put him on Cipro and Doxy for 3 wks. Worked for about 5 days. Now it's back, as a wet hacking cough and sneezing. Cipro and doxy should not be used together and they are for bacterial infections, not virus infect. My vet did not tell me that it IS transmitable to humans and manifests as upper resp infections. I am at my wits end with this poor dog. Already spent quite a bit at my vet. I need an alternative solution. Weight 85lbs.

I am so glad I found this site. My service dog, Fluff has been sick since November, 2012. First, he had an infection in his ears and skin. We no sooner got rid of that, when last week, he came down with a horrible cough and cold. Fluff is going to be 12 this year. I feel horrible for him. He sounds like a foghorn on a ship. The vet gave him antibiotics, but they are not helping the cough. Today is the sixth day and the cough is still a hacking cough. I called back and they do not have any cough medicine in stock, so they said I could buy some children's cough medicine for him. I was looking up cinnamon & honey cures, when I came upon your site. I just made the honey mixture for Fluff. Hopefully, it will work on him. At this point, I am willing to try anything for him to get rid of that cough he has. The only thing he can eat right now, are small crumbs of hamburg. Nothing else. Thank you so much for your information. God Bless.

Barbaraanne

My new adopted German Shorthair came down with what looked like kennel cough a day after coming with me. It went from initial sneezing to cough, to coughing up flem every 15 mins... He never threw up his food, just the junk sitting in his throat. I started treating him with 1 teaspoon of honey and when he coughed I gently patted his chest to try and loosen some of the junk... It also gave the young dog some comfort to be held while coughing. Results were seen in 4-8 hrs. Now, he just has sniffles and occasional dry cough, which I will retreat with honey/lemon mix. Seems like it works.

My dog has what seems to be a kennel cough. I am making him some fruit snacks and juices high in vitamin c. I decided to try the lemon and honey mixture but he won't drink it when I tell him. Am I supposed to just leave it in his bowl for him to drink?

Hey Dropsofpluto!

Ideally you would dose your pet via a syringe or dropper by tipping his head back and inserting the syringe in the pocket of his cheek at the back of his mouth and then depressing the plunger slowly to allow him to swallow.

My dog who is 14 years old started to cough and sneeze and had a runny nose. It started after I had taken him to the local park. I looked on an internet site and the symptoms he had sounded like hayfever. He did have the same problem the same time last year. I have been giving him some honey and lemon cough mixture without any additives and this week he is much improved glad to say the cough has gotten less and the other symptoms have nearly gone. I never knew dogs could get hayfever but it seems they can.

The coughing and sneezing may be the canine flu! Or kennel cough. Either way, you need to take him to the vet immediately, and keep him away from other animals since the flu is contagious.

What is the right amount of robertussin dm to give your dog?

My dog Is coughing more after honey and lemon mixture whereas I was using concentrated orange juice before. what should I do I'm worried sick pls help

To Faething in Appleton, WI: I have 80 lb. Yellow lab, Buck, w/cough & gagging for last 3 days. Petsmart vet said just it's allergies/kennel cough; give him Benadryl 2 caplets in am and pm; can also give him this med 3/day if cough is really bad. Wanted to know if you tried the Robitussin DM on your retriever; what dosage did you give him and how many times/day? Did it work?

My 4 puppies weight 2pounds have discharge from there noses and cough my girlfriend said this was kennel cough or worst bronchitis so I tried the honey, hp and lime juice I didn't have a lemon and one of the puppy's threw up but is better now.

They have stopped coughing all but one puppy still sounds bad and coughing how long should I give this mix to them?

YAY! I adopted a 2ish year old chihuahua mix from the local shelter. She had been given Bortadella. However, by the 5th day at her new home, she started coughing. This rapidly turned into a really bad cough. It was awful to hear and watch. My husband found this site. We started immediately with the 4 drops of Hydrogen Peroxide (we keep oral in the house) and 8 ozs of water (instead of the 14) 1/2 tsp of honey, and a squeeze of lemon. I used a dropper to administer. After two administrations, 4 hours apart, she had a coughing attack, and her head was on fire. I gave her 1/2 of a 81mg childs aspirin, and a 1/2 dropper of rescue remedy. She fell asleep. I kept checking her vitals. After sleeping about 4 hours, she woke up and never coughed again! I kept administering the dropper of the HP mix, less the lemon, for another day, every 4 hours. This worked so well, my husband passed the recipe to our vet. He has always had an open mind, and after being our vet for 11 years, he knows we come up with alternative cures. That's just the way we are. My mother was one for giving baby aspirin, so I knew that would be fine. Especially in the mini dose. I am so thankful for this site.

What a great remedy! Our dog woke up with a terrible cough we presumed was kennel cough - a real gaggy terrible sounding noise which left him almost choking. It was no better two days later, so before heading to the vet we decided to give this remedy a go. 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp honey, 5 drops Hydrogen Peroxide (its a big dog! ). Spread this onto a thick dry piece of ciabatta and fed it to him before his other food morning and night. He loved it and within 2 days the coughing had stopped completely.

2 days ago a friend found an older small dog near the woods next to her house he jumped in her car so she just went ahead and let him go with her. She ended up having to go to Texas for 3 days and I fear he has kennel cough. I want to try the Hydrogen peroxide ( walmart bought) treatment but we don't have honey only maple syrup and we don't have lemon juice is it OK with just the water hydrogen peroxide and some syrup?

Hey Katie!

If all you have access to is the maple syrup I see no harm in giving it a go!

Good luck and please report back!

2 or 3 drops.

Can you let me know how to make this remedy as my dog has a bad cough and it won't stop it's quite upsetting to see him coughing can you help?

Hey Beverly,

Kennel cough *looks like* your dog is trying to cough up a lung, or as if a bone is stuck in their throat. You might consider a homeopathic children's cough remedy, and you might try hydrogen peroxide - food grade is ideal but if you have the brown bottle from the drug store in your medicine cabinet you can use 3 drops on a bit of bread with a few drops of honey. Give a spiked bread ball once an hour and wait and see if it is working. Other reasons for a dog to cough are congestive heart failure and collapsed trachea. If the coughing persists despite home treatment you should see your vet to rule out a more serious condition.

Hi, I'm very interested in trying this home remedy for my 11 lb doggie. he's 14yo has an enlarged heart and taking "vetmedin" for this. this has caused another problem (gagging cough )for which he has been on "tussigon". IT works! However it is too expensive so Id like the exact portions or proportions of water, honey and food grade hydrogen peroxide so that I can try it out. Thanks so much!

Hey Blanca!

Just an FYI - the gagging cough that the tussigon treats is very different than the cough caused by the kennel cough [viral/bacterial infection].

'Kennel cough' is a complex of infections—both viral and bacterial—that causes inflammation of the dog's voice box and windpipe. It's a form of bronchitis and is similar to a chest cold in humans.

The Tussigon that you are using to treat the side effect coughing from the vetmedin, is an anticholinergic and narcotic cough suppressant combination. The anticholinergic works by drying up secretions and the narcotic depresses the cough reflex in the brain.

These are two very different treatments for two very different kinds of coughing; using the honey/hp to treat your dog's cough may at best have no effect - and at worst cause him suffering and worsen his condition and quality of life for lack of an effective remedy.

I noticed that this post was originally started by an individual in British Columbia. The original post made reference to Food Grade Peroxide. From this I make the assumption there is a difference between H2O2 I would find in on the drug store isle and grocery store isle. Is this true in USA as well? If not, what isle at my local grocery should I look for Food Grade Peroxide or should I be planning a trip to health food store?

Hey Southernstar!

There are two main differences between the drug store hydrogenperoxide and the food grade that I have found - strength/dilution and pureness. The drugstore kind is typically a 3% dilution and has stabilizers to give it a longer shelf life - so impure. The food grade is pure and usually highly concentrated 15% or higher.

It is ideal to use the food grade because it is pure, and to dilute it to 3% or even 1% for oral use or taking in small doses as you would for kennel cough. That said plenty of folks have used the drug store kind orally with good result and no apparent ill effects **in small doses**. Again, ideal to use the food grade though it may require some searching to locate it, but in a pinch folks have used the easier to locate 3% impure-due-to-stabilizers drug store stuff.

Dear Southern Star,

I don't think most health food stores stock food grade hydrogen peroxide. Many, many people use the stuff from the drug store in the brown bottle for medicinal purposes. We do. I had some food grade, but it is actually quite dangerous if you don't know how to dilute properly so I gave it away. It made me nervous.

~Mama to Many~

I thought hydrogen peroxide will induce vomiting?

My dog has an enlarged heart as well. Cough tablets for dogs and cats by creative science...it works! You can order it from Amazon without a prescription. I also use young at heart and lung gold by Pet wellbeing along with CoQ10.

It's fine. You store it away from children when its undiluted form. You mix it to 3% or 6% (for teeth-mouthwash etc) and keep this in a spray bottle- that's what I do, I inhale a fine mist of it 4 times a day because I'm a smoker, I use it as a mouthwash daily, I spray it on cat bites (I'm an animal rescuer) spry it on any and every wound- and any wounds my animals get because it stops infections and takes away a lot of the pain. I drink 4 drops a day in a glass of water because it kills parasites and put 3 drops in my dogs cats and birds water whenever they're sick- to kill germs and infections and parasites. It's always the first thing I go to. There is so much information online about all it can do you should research. MUST be FOOD GRADE and must be diluted for use- that's all ;)

I used about 2-3 TBSP of an Asian honey aloe tea about 2 cups of water and 2-3 drops of regular peroxide. My boxer had an awful cough and was really suffering. This mix worked wonders. Within a day he was about 75% better and now just three days out he's about 95% well. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

I dont know what h202 is please I need help. I've been to vets and only giving me bs.

EC: H202 = Hydrogen Peroxide

Hey Sean!

What is the reason your dog is coughing? What sort of BS are the vets giving you?

There are myriad reasons for a dog to have a cough; older dogs can cough from tracheal collapse; dogs infected with heart worm will cough; puppies seem to pick up 'kennel cough' just by visiting the dog park. A sure fire way for a vet to test for KC is to press on the throat in a certain area - the dog will cough it if has KC [sorry I can't explain in fuller detail]. I did have one of mine catch KC and it sounded as if she had a bone stuck in her throat and was trying a deep cough to bring it up.

Kennel cough is a virus with a billion gazillion strains: like the human flu, you can give your pet the KC vaccine but if the strain of virus your dog is exposed to is not covered in the vaccine, then your dog is at risk of catching that strain of KC.

Vet's often prescribe antibiotics for KC *just in case* your dog develops bacterial complications. I try to avoid unnecessary antibiotics but would consider dosing 3-5-7 days if it did appear that my dog developed a secondary bacterial infection due to the stress of fighting off the virus.

If you are certain you are dealing with KC, I have used homeopathic children's cough remedy available from the natural health store do the trick. That and nutritional support with vitamin C or Echinacea boosted with vitamin C was all that was needed.

I know this post is old but I had to comment on how you "shot" the solution into your dog's mouth. The proper way to give an animal any liquid from a syringe is to fill the syringe and put it inside the cheek (between the teeth and cheek) and slowly squirt the solution in. Otherwise the animal may aspirate the solution into the lungs. I lost an animal that way.

Thank you for posting the recipe! It worked wonders for my 12 year old pomeranian who contracted kennel cough from the vet's office. Did two doses 6 hours apart and no more cough.

Was just wondering what amount of each did she use for her Pomeranian I have a 12 year old miniature poodle who just got kennel cough so I wanted to try it.

Saveza, have you thought of colloidal silver for mini poodle? Dosage is 10 mls 3x a day for 3 days then 2 xd ay until cough is gone.

Saveza, if you still want to use the hydrogen peroxide, the dosage is 3 drops to 8 oz water in drinking water but the water must be changed about every 4 hours as the peroxide looses its effectiveness, only use 3% peroxide.