Is Kennel Cough Vaccine Really Necessary for Dogs?

Many animals receive “kennel cough” vaccines that include bordetella and cpi and cav-2 every 6 to 9 months without evidence that this frequency of vaccination is necessary or beneficial. In contrast, other dogs are never vaccinated for kennel cough and diseases are not seen. Cpi immunity lasts at least 3 years when given intranasally and cav -2 immunity lasts a minimum of 7 years parenterally for cav-i. These two virus in combination with bordetella bronchiseptica are the agents, which are often associated with kennel cough, however, other factors play an important role in diseases (eg. Stress, dust, humidity, molds, mycoplasma, etc.).

Thus, kennel cough is not a vaccine preventable disease because of the complex factors associated with this disease. Furthermore, this is often a mild to moderate self limiting disease. It's just like common cold in humans. A course of antibiotics usually is enough to treat the condition. I generally do not recommend kennel cough vaccines unless dogs are staying in a boarding facility that requires them.