Bella had a very naughty day after the kids came home yesterday.
She is still trying to figure out where she belongs in the pack and unfortunately, is testing her boundaries by nipping at our children, albeit playfully.
Both Greg and Jas have never dealt with a 9 week old puppy before so I think they are bit afraid. We are teaching them how to exert gentle dominance over Bella to establish proper pack order and get rid of her nipping.
Otherwise, she has been really good with her elimination, peeing and pooping outside. Fortunately, we both work from home so that allows Bella to be on an hourly bathroom breaks.
The only thing that concerns me is that she seems to be developing a kennel cough. It caught me off guard when I took her out around 3am and she made a pig snorting or honking sound (check out some YouTube videos to see what it sounds like).
What is Kennel Cough?
Kennel cough or canine cough is a highly infectious disease, usually affecting puppies and adults dogs exposed to crowded conditions like puppy mills, kennels and shelters.
The disease itself has multiple pathogen vectors with common culprits being Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria, Mycoplasma, canine distemper virus, parainfluenza virus and the canine adenovirus type 2 (similar to hepatitus virus).
Though not fatal in most adult dogs, untreated puppies may end having under-developed lungs and/or develop pneumonia.
Bordetella Bronchiseptica incubation period is roughly 3-10 days so my Bella probably contracted the disease while at the shelter.
We will schedule a vet visit to take care of Bella.
PS. By the way, adopting a shelter dog that has kennel cough is not that unusual since most shelters take in all kinds of pets, including strays. Kennel cough is not a reflection of shelter’s cleanliness practices.