George woke me up one night recently sounding like he had something stuck in his throat.
Luckily we were working from home the next day so I could monitor him. He seemed fine during the day.
The following night the same thing happened but worse. I realised at 1am that there was no way he was going to daycare the next day.
We were awake from 1am to 6am. I finally dozed off on the sofa after contacting work and daycare.
I rang the vet as I was getting concerned. They asked the usual questions, including whether he is making a sound like a goose honking (he was) - an indicator of what I had already suspected - canine (kennel) cough.
I was advised to bring him in. Once we arrived at the vet, I turned around and saw his very runny nose and my heart sank. I knew it was going to be canine cough.
As it is so contagious, the vet examined him in the car wearing PPE. He was a brave boy. As he wasn't feeling well, he didn't react much - only when she approached the car, and when she walked away. I managed to block his view of other triggers. Being examined in the car actually worked well for us!
He obligingly demonstrated his honk cough for the vet. His chest sounded clear and his enlarged lymph nodes demonstrated he was fighting it.
We already had two of the treatments at home (anti-inflammatory and probiotics) so we were sent away with codeine (as a cough suppressant), advice to keep him at home for a week after the last symptom, and to bring him back if no improvements.
I had to let daycare, work, and my friend know (whose dog we had walked with recently). I felt bad even though I know it is nobody's fault. George is up to date on his vaccines. We've just been unlucky. We don't go to crowded places outside of daycare. The vet did say there was a lot around at the moment and the vaccine is only about 70% effective. Luckily my friend's dog is fine.
Daycare have a 10 day standdown period after the last symptom. This was going to be tricky. Given George's separation anxiety, I can't leave him even for short periods after he has recovered.
I am incredibly grateful for my supportive manager and team. When life happens, and things get tough, it's invaluable to have that support.
The codeine helped him (and me!) to get some rest. During the following days he was doing well, although we had another night of coughing a few days later. As he is vaccinated, his symptoms are milder than they could have been.
We're on day 7 of our lockdown now. It's just like the Covid lockdowns here - but stricter as we can't get out for a walk.
He's been more clingy than normal. Understandable if he's not feeling well but I'm a little worried what this means for his separation anxiety.
Now that he's starting to feel a bit better, he's getting a bit bored. We're doing lots and lots of enrichment, puzzle games, movement puzzles and training but he's likely getting a bit of cabin fever. He has crazy zoomies around the house in the evenings. He's been reacting to every little noise.
It's a shame as we were having some great wins just before he got ill.
We'd gone on our first proper walk by ourselves for a while (not a Sniffspot). We sat in the middle of a large field watching the triggers go by. On the walk he was pretty indifferent to people we passed.
We had an excellent walk with my friend's dog where he was able to pass triggers at a closer distance. He did very well with people triggers, and much better with dog triggers although that was still difficult for him.
I'm hoping we can get out for a walk in 4-5 days although it'll be another week until he can return to daycare. Unluckily for us, when he could have gone back they are closed for a few days for renovations!
I'm trying not to panic about 2 weeks stuck in the house, and a further week with no daycare. Connecting with people in the office is pretty much my only time out in the real world.
I'm trying to look at it positively.
We can use the time to solidify helpful skills like 'middle', and help build his confidence.
A break could really help bring his cortisol levels down.
Although I'm not sure that is the case given how reactive he is currently to noises. But he does have a break from having to cope with running the neighbour gauntlet outside our house which he really struggles with.
Day 7 is nearly done. Just two more weeks to go. Wish us luck.