20. The puppy would die, the pet shop operator said.
SURVIVAL SECRETS FOR PET OWNERS. The Maltese coughs like an old man.
"The puppy would die, the pet shop operator told me," Ms Lee's eye suddenly reddened and many tear drops cascaded down her porcelain clear face.
She had visited the naughty Maltese on this Sunday morning with her tall and muscular boy friend. The newly Maltese puppy was warded for observation for a persistent cough overnight. She said that my medicine was not working to stop the cough when she consulted me two days ago.
Kennel cough. Barks a lot aggravating sore throat. Coughs a lot.
http://www.toapayohvets.com
I did not prescribe anti-cough medicine as a complete cage rest, multi-vitamins and antibiotics would have cured this puppy. The key to the management of kennel cough was a "complete cage rest" rather than doping the puppy with anti-cough medicine. It would take time for the puppy to recover. Definitely not within two days. This was the usual advice to all puppy owners with coughing puppies.
However, Ms Lee was worried. The puppy just would not stop coughing all night. As if it had something stuck in the throat. Gagging to cough out. But nothing. It was distressful to the owner.
"Was the puppy confined to the cage the whole day and night?" I asked Ms Lee.
"No," she said. "It kept barking to get out. Once it is out, it stopped barking and followed me around."
"It is hard for the puppy to recover fast if it was active," I said. "Barking would also irritate the throat, the vocal cords and aggravate the coughing."
The puppy made sounds "cough, cough, cough." As if it had a very sore throat and just could not get rid of the water inside the throat. The heart and lung sounds were normal. No pneumonia. No fever. It was still eating.
Obviously, it was not practical to confine the puppy in the home as barking loudly disturbed the neighbours of the condo. In addition, Ms Lee just would not want the puppy to be barking a lot. So, reluctantly, she let it be kept in the Surgery.
The next day, she visited the puppy and told me that the pet shop operator had forecast that coughing puppies would die. Just the thought of the forecast caused her tears to flow another time.
"You saw your Maltese and it is still barking loudly,"I did not know what to say to Ms Lee who was now at the waiting. It has recovered a lot as yesterday, it could not even bark when you left her here. I gave it a 50:50 chance of survival as I don't know whether it would progress to pneumonia and pneumonia is bad for 2-month-old puppies. They may not survive if their cough continued without treatment. That is probably what the pet shop operator had shared with you her experiences."
Just 12 hours of complete cage rest. The Maltese had so much vigour and such a loud bark for the owner.
"It would take around 7-14 days for it to recover," I replied to Ms Lee's query on how long the puppy should be warded. "It could not recover in your condo as it just would not waste time recuperating and its immune system had no chance to repair the kennel cough damage caused by bacteria and virus. Could you take back your 7 days' leave and continue flying?"
It was not possible. "Just enjoy your weekend," I advised. "Your puppy would not die from kennel cough." Well, the probablility of it survival was now over 99%. And just because it was forced to rest in a crate. The recovery was short of a miracle. Without anti-coughing medicine. Without having her to seek a second or third opinion.
"The puppy would die, the pet shop operator told me," Ms Lee's eye suddenly reddened and many tear drops cascaded down her porcelain clear face.
She had visited the naughty Maltese on this Sunday morning with her tall and muscular boy friend. The newly Maltese puppy was warded for observation for a persistent cough overnight. She said that my medicine was not working to stop the cough when she consulted me two days ago.
Kennel cough. Barks a lot aggravating sore throat. Coughs a lot.
http://www.toapayohvets.com
I did not prescribe anti-cough medicine as a complete cage rest, multi-vitamins and antibiotics would have cured this puppy. The key to the management of kennel cough was a "complete cage rest" rather than doping the puppy with anti-cough medicine. It would take time for the puppy to recover. Definitely not within two days. This was the usual advice to all puppy owners with coughing puppies.
However, Ms Lee was worried. The puppy just would not stop coughing all night. As if it had something stuck in the throat. Gagging to cough out. But nothing. It was distressful to the owner.
"Was the puppy confined to the cage the whole day and night?" I asked Ms Lee.
"No," she said. "It kept barking to get out. Once it is out, it stopped barking and followed me around."
"It is hard for the puppy to recover fast if it was active," I said. "Barking would also irritate the throat, the vocal cords and aggravate the coughing."
The puppy made sounds "cough, cough, cough." As if it had a very sore throat and just could not get rid of the water inside the throat. The heart and lung sounds were normal. No pneumonia. No fever. It was still eating.
Obviously, it was not practical to confine the puppy in the home as barking loudly disturbed the neighbours of the condo. In addition, Ms Lee just would not want the puppy to be barking a lot. So, reluctantly, she let it be kept in the Surgery.
The next day, she visited the puppy and told me that the pet shop operator had forecast that coughing puppies would die. Just the thought of the forecast caused her tears to flow another time.
"You saw your Maltese and it is still barking loudly,"I did not know what to say to Ms Lee who was now at the waiting. It has recovered a lot as yesterday, it could not even bark when you left her here. I gave it a 50:50 chance of survival as I don't know whether it would progress to pneumonia and pneumonia is bad for 2-month-old puppies. They may not survive if their cough continued without treatment. That is probably what the pet shop operator had shared with you her experiences."
Just 12 hours of complete cage rest. The Maltese had so much vigour and such a loud bark for the owner.
"It would take around 7-14 days for it to recover," I replied to Ms Lee's query on how long the puppy should be warded. "It could not recover in your condo as it just would not waste time recuperating and its immune system had no chance to repair the kennel cough damage caused by bacteria and virus. Could you take back your 7 days' leave and continue flying?"
It was not possible. "Just enjoy your weekend," I advised. "Your puppy would not die from kennel cough." Well, the probablility of it survival was now over 99%. And just because it was forced to rest in a crate. The recovery was short of a miracle. Without anti-coughing medicine. Without having her to seek a second or third opinion.
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