Kennel Cough Home Remedies: What Actually Helps
Last reviewed · 5 October 2026 · Sources linked throughout
The home remedies that help kennel cough are the plain ones: rest, water, a harness instead of a collar, and time. Most uncomplicated kennel cough clears up at home in one to three weeks. Humid air and a little honey are reasonable to try in an adult dog, but neither has been tested in dogs; herbs and supplements have no evidence for kennel cough; and some popular “natural” remedies — garlic, essential oils, human cough medicines — can harm your dog. Here’s what’s worth doing, and what to skip.
Key Takeaways
- Rest, water and a harness are the treatment — everything else is optional extras on top.
- Honey and humid air are reasonable to try in an adult dog, but neither has been studied in dogs with a cough. Honey isn’t for puppies under a year, diabetic dogs or dogs on a diet.
- Herbs, supplements and CBD have no evidence for kennel cough, and some interact with medicines.
- Never give garlic, essential oils, or human medicines — paracetamol (acetaminophen), ibuprofen, decongestant cold remedies or anything containing xylitol — or antibiotics your vet didn’t prescribe.
- Home care is the wrong starting point for a dog with a fever, fast or laboured breathing, blue gums, or who is off food — or for puppies, seniors, flat-faced breeds and dogs with a weakened immune system. That’s a vet visit.
When Home Care Isn’t Enough — Go to the Vet Today
Home remedies belong in the toolkit for uncomplicated kennel cough in otherwise-healthy adult dogs. If your fur baby is showing any of the signs below, this page isn’t the right starting point — phone your vet now, or the out-of-hours emergency clinic if it’s after-hours, unless the sign below gives its own timing:
- A temperature of 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) or above on a rectal thermometer means contact your vet the same day, in surgery hours. At 40 °C (104 °F) or above, your dog should see a vet today (VCA Animal Hospitals). A fever together with laboured breathing, collapse, or pale or blue gums means an emergency vet now, out of hours if need be (Cornell Riney Canine Health Center). Normal is 38.3–39.2 °C; between 39.2 and 39.5 °C is above normal but not yet a fever. Our guide to your dog’s temperature shows how to take it.
- Fast or laboured breathing. Count breaths for a full minute while your dog is asleep or fully at rest: up to 30 is normal (Cornell Riney Canine Health Center). Sustained above 30, or more than 20% above your dog’s own usual rate, means contact your vet (CVCA). Visible effort, open-mouth breathing at rest, blue, grey or pale gums, or collapse — at any rate — means an emergency vet now. Our breathing-rate guide shows how to count.
- Blue, purple or grey gums or tongue — an emergency.
- Coughing up blood or pink froth — or thick, discoloured discharge together with fever, flatness or loss of appetite.
- Refusing food for more than a day, or refusing water — sooner for a puppy.
- A cough that is getting worse rather than better, worsening quickly over a day or two, or still going after three weeks.
- Your dog is a puppy, a senior, a flat-faced breed (bulldog, pug, French bulldog, Boston terrier, shih tzu), or has a weakened immune system — lower the threshold for everything above. These dogs can go downhill quickly.
If none of those apply and your dog is still eating, drinking, alert, and only really bothered by the cough itself, you’re probably looking at uncomplicated kennel cough — which clears up at home in most cases.
The Basics That Do the Work
Before honey, steam or anything from a health-food shop: the plain measures are the ones that matter. Kennel cough inflames the windpipe, and an inflamed windpipe is easily set off — by excitement, exercise, pulling on a lead or dry air. Most of home care is simply taking those triggers away while the infection runs its course.
How much rest does a dog with kennel cough need?
As much as you can arrange for the first few days. Keep your dog somewhere quiet, with short toilet trips on a lead rather than walks, and no play sessions, dog parks, daycare or boarding. Once the cough is clearly easing and your dog is eating normally, short, gentle walks on a harness can come back gradually. If walking sets off a coughing fit, it’s too soon.
Why a harness instead of a collar?
A collar presses on the windpipe every time the lead goes tight, and that pressure sets off coughing. A harness that takes the pull across the chest removes that trigger. Indoors, take the collar off altogether while your dog is coughing.
Water and food
Keep fresh water within reach all the time. Many coughing dogs go off their food a little; plain, easy food in smaller portions is fine for a day or so. A dog who refuses food for more than a day, or refuses water, needs a vet — sooner if it’s a puppy. If you use broth to tempt a dog to eat or drink, make it plain: no salt, stock cubes, onion or garlic.
And keep your coughing dog away from other dogs — for at least two to three weeks after the cough has fully stopped, longer if Bordetella was confirmed. Our guide to how long kennel cough is contagious has the detail.
Honey — Worth Trying, Not Proven
Honey is the remedy owners ask about most, so it’s worth being straight about it. There are no trials of honey for cough in dogs. The evidence people point to is from children: a 2023 systematic review found honey modestly reduced cough, on low-quality evidence (Kuitunen & Renko, European Journal of Pediatrics, 2023). A review of the evidence for honey as medicine in animals found most of the veterinary research was case reports and that wound healing, not cough, was the main use studied — and called for proper trials (Vogt et al., Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2021).
So honey is a reasonable, low-risk thing to try in a healthy adult dog, not a treatment. We don’t publish an amount — ask your vet what suits your dog’s size. Use plain honey, never a honey-flavoured cough product, which may contain xylitol. Expensive manuka honey has no evidence of being better for a cough.
Who should not have honey?
- Puppies under 12 months — a precaution borrowed from the advice for babies, because honey can carry botulism spores. Ask your vet instead.
- Diabetic dogs — honey is mostly sugar.
- Dogs on a weight-loss diet, or with an upset stomach.
Humidifiers and Steam
Humid air is widely suggested for coughing dogs, and it is cheap and low-risk, but there are no trials of it in dogs with kennel cough — the idea comes from the fact that dry air irritates an inflamed airway. Two ways to try it:
- A cool-mist humidifier in the room where your dog sleeps. Keep it clean, and don’t let the room get damp.
- A steamy bathroom: run a hot shower with the door shut and sit with your dog on the bathroom floor — not in the shower — for a few minutes. Skip it if your dog finds the small space stressful; a stressed dog coughs more.
Never add essential oils to a humidifier, diffuser or bowl of steam — see below.
Herbs, Supplements and CBD
None of them has evidence for kennel cough in dogs. That includes slippery elm, marshmallow root, echinacea, liquorice, vitamin C, zinc, probiotics, apple cider vinegar, coconut oil and CBD. “Natural” is not the same as safe, and products sold for pets vary in what they actually contain. If you want to try any of them — and especially if your dog takes any other medication — ask your vet first. None of them replaces the basics above, or a vet visit when the red flags appear.
What Never to Give
This is the section that matters most. Most folk remedies for kennel cough are merely useless; these can hurt your dog.
- Paracetamol (acetaminophen) — can damage a dog’s liver and red blood cells. Vets sometimes prescribe it for dogs, worked out from an examination; the packet in your cupboard is not that (MSD Veterinary Manual).
- Ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin — most often damage the stomach, gut and kidneys (MSD Veterinary Manual).
- Human cough, cold and decongestant medicines — they often combine several drugs, and some cough syrups and over-the-counter medicines contain xylitol, which can cause a rapid, life-threatening drop in a dog’s blood sugar (FDA).
- Garlic (and onion) — toxic to dogs; it breaks down red blood cells (ASPCA Animal Poison Control). Despite what some wellness blogs say, it is not an immune booster for dogs.
- Essential oils — eucalyptus, tea tree, peppermint and the rest, including vapour rubs and diffusers. They are toxic to dogs, tea tree oil is the one most often reported in poisonings, and breathing them in is a particular hazard for an animal with an airway problem (MSD Veterinary Manual).
- Leftover antibiotics, yours or another pet’s — wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong length, and it drives resistance. Most dogs with kennel cough don’t need antibiotics at all; when they do, it’s because a vet has found signs of a complication such as pneumonia. Our treatment guide explains when that is.
If your dog has swallowed any of these, phone your vet or an animal poison line straight away rather than waiting for signs.
Day by Day: What to Expect
Most healthy adult dogs follow a similar pattern. The cough is often at its worst in the first few days, but the dog is still bright, eating and interested between coughing fits. After that it should ease steadily — fewer fits, less violent, better energy — and most dogs are back to normal within one to three weeks, with the cough often the last thing to go. The ISCAID guidelines note that most dogs with kennel cough “might resolve spontaneously within 10 days without antimicrobial treatment” (ISCAID, 2017).
What isn’t normal: a cough that gets worse rather than better, a new fever, faster breathing, a dog who goes off food or becomes flat, thick coloured discharge, or a cough still going after three weeks. Any of those means a vet visit, whatever day it is. A cough that drags on can also turn out not to be kennel cough at all — our recovery-time guide goes through the stages.
Some dogs shouldn’t start with home care. Puppies, older dogs, flat-faced breeds and dogs with a weakened immune system are the ones in whom kennel cough is most likely to turn into pneumonia, so they should see a vet early rather than after a week of waiting. Our treatment guide explains why, and puppy owners should read our guide to kennel cough in puppies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I give my dog honey for kennel cough?
A little plain honey is a reasonable thing to try in a healthy adult dog, but it hasn’t been tested in dogs with a cough, so think of it as a comfort rather than a treatment. Ask your vet how much suits your dog, and skip it for puppies under 12 months, diabetic dogs and dogs on a diet.
Is steam safe for dogs?
Yes, if your dog sits on the bathroom floor while the room steams up — never in the shower — and isn’t stressed by the small space. A cool-mist humidifier in the bedroom is an easy alternative. Never add essential oils.
Should I use a vapour rub like Vicks on my dog?
No. Vapour rubs contain essential oils such as eucalyptus, which are toxic to dogs whether licked, absorbed or breathed in. Plain humid air gives any benefit without the risk.
Can I give my dog Benadryl or another antihistamine for the cough?
Not without your vet. Kennel cough isn’t an allergy, so an antihistamine doesn’t treat it, and some combination products also contain decongestants that are dangerous for dogs. Your vet has cough medicines that are safe for dogs if your dog needs one.
What helps a dog with kennel cough at night?
Take the collar off, keep the bedroom air from getting too dry (a humidifier helps), and keep the evening calm. If the cough sounds wetter at night, or your dog is restless because breathing is uncomfortable, count the sleeping breathing rate — sustained above 30 means a call to your vet.
How long should I try home care before seeing a vet?
There’s no fixed number of days. See a vet as soon as any red flag appears, or if the cough is getting worse rather than better at any point. If your dog is steadily improving, home care can continue — but a cough still going after three weeks needs a vet.
What To Do Next
If your dog is otherwise well and only bothered by the cough itself:
- Check the red-flag list at the top of this page. If any apply, phone your vet.
- Switch to a harness, and take the collar off indoors.
- Rest: toilet trips only for the first few days, and no other dogs.
- Water always in reach; plain food if appetite is down.
- If you like, add a humidifier or a little honey (adult dogs only) — nothing with essential oils, and no human medicines.
- Watch the trend. Getting better is the goal; getting worse is a vet visit.
- Keep away from other dogs for at least two to three weeks after the cough has stopped.
Not sure it’s kennel cough? Our symptoms guide walks through the early signs and the other causes of a cough.
Where to read next
- The Complete Treatment Guide — when antibiotics are actually needed, what the guidelines say, and why most dogs don’t need them.
- Symptoms Guide — the early signs of kennel cough, what’s normal versus what isn’t, and how to tell whether the cough you’re hearing is actually kennel cough.
- How Long Does Kennel Cough Last? — phase-by-phase recovery, pathogen-specific durations, and escalation triggers by week.
- The Bordetella Vaccine — what it does and doesn’t protect against, and the conversation worth having with your vet.
One last thing. Home remedies belong in the toolkit for mild, uncomplicated kennel cough in otherwise-healthy adult dogs — and even then, please ring your vet if you’re uncertain. Puppies, seniors, brachycephalics, and any dog with the red-flag signs deserve hands-on professional care, not a humidifier and a wait-and-see week. The goal is to get your best bud back to normal as quickly and safely as possible, and the right support at the right moment is what makes that happen.