Hi Shelby,

Thanks for your question.

This concerns me. Kennel cough (infectious Tracheobronchitis) is a common problem and it can be pretty stubborn so sometimes a treatment with antibiotics for 7 or 10 days may not resolve the problem but it often does. The fact that it is persisting is a concern. Aside from trying another round of antibiotics, I have to agree that performing an X-ray is ideal. And just think if this is now an infection that is down in the lungs, as in pneumonia, this is a very serious condition. I do agree with your veterinarian.

The fact that you say that it sounds like something is stuck in the throat is a common way a client will explain the cough when it is kennel cough. So maybe you try another round of antibiotics first but I don’t want to needlessly delay the diagnosis. I also want to mention that with kennel cough, the infection can resolve and the cough will still stick around for a few days or a week because there is residual inflammation and irritation in the trachea that has yet to be resolved but will on its own once the infection is gone due to the antibiotic treatment. But there is too much time between the presentation of events. It’s also possible that your dog was simply exposed to kennel cough again and has another independent infection. Regardless, it’s much safer to assess this situation further with imaging because if it is worsening or due to other causes (heart disease, lung disease, pneumonia, other infections, etc) then we’re really losing valuable time to treat it properly.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Dr. Clayton Greenway