Natural Remedies to Treat Kennel Cough in Dogs

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

Honey, Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice

6 User Reviews
5 star (5) 
  83%
4 star (1) 
  17%

Posted by Aims (Kelowna, British Columbia) on 11/07/2014
★★★★★

I have used honey lemon and Peroxide mixture and it worked so good for my 13 1/2 year old Retriever. I was just wondering how long I can continue using Peroxide on her for since I have seen a huge improvement since using it.


Honey, Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice
Posted by Dogwood (Thousand Oaks, Ca) on 05/13/2014
★★★★★

Recently rescued a mastiff mix from a shelter - a week later she started a bad cough with discharge from her eyes and nose. Used this HP/honey/lemon recipe (3 drops Food Grade 3% HP, tsp organic honey, small squeeze fresh lemon) administered every 4 hours - she stopped coughing within 20 min, discharge cleared up in a day. However, the rest of the dogs started coughing - administered it to them with a turkey baster two times and they stopped coughing within minutes - all but one stopped coughing/sneezing entirely after the 2nd dose. (I'll post separately my continued problems with remaining dog.) The properties of this particular recipe appears to be quite effective.

Replied by dan
(ct)
08/05/2021

I had read that it's a good idea to give a dog H2O2 daily in their drinking water as a preventative. Do you have any information on this?


Honey, Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice
Posted by Rosemarie (Waikato, Nz) on 03/25/2014
★★★★★

What a great remedy! Our dog woke up with a terrible cough we presumed was kennel cough - a real gaggy terrible sounding noise which left him almost choking. It was no better two days later, so before heading to the vet we decided to give this remedy a go. 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp honey, 5 drops Hydrogen Peroxide (its a big dog! ). Spread this onto a thick dry piece of ciabatta and fed it to him before his other food morning and night. He loved it and within 2 days the coughing had stopped completely.


Honey, Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice
Posted by Bellasmom (Medford, Oregon, United States) on 03/04/2012
★★★★★

YAY! I adopted a 2ish year old chihuahua mix from the local shelter. She had been given Bortadella. However, by the 5th day at her new home, she started coughing. This rapidly turned into a really bad cough. It was awful to hear and watch. My husband found this site. We started immediately with the 4 drops of Hydrogen Peroxide (we keep oral in the house) and 8 ozs of water (instead of the 14) 1/2 tsp of honey, and a squeeze of lemon. I used a dropper to administer. After two administrations, 4 hours apart, she had a coughing attack, and her head was on fire. I gave her 1/2 of a 81mg childs aspirin, and a 1/2 dropper of rescue remedy. She fell asleep. I kept checking her vitals. After sleeping about 4 hours, she woke up and never coughed again! I kept administering the dropper of the HP mix, less the lemon, for another day, every 4 hours. This worked so well, my husband passed the recipe to our vet. He has always had an open mind, and after being our vet for 11 years, he knows we come up with alternative cures. That's just the way we are. My mother was one for giving baby aspirin, so I knew that would be fine. Especially in the mini dose. I am so thankful for this site.


Honey, Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice
Posted by Monique (Virginia Beach, Va) on 01/22/2012
★★★★☆

My 4 puppies weight 2pounds have discharge from there noses and cough my girlfriend said this was kennel cough or worst bronchitis so I tried the honey, hp and lime juice I didn't have a lemon and one of the puppy's threw up but is better now.

They have stopped coughing all but one puppy still sounds bad and coughing how long should I give this mix to them?


Honey, Hydrogen Peroxide, Lemon Juice
Posted by Samson (Spring Valley, California) on 10/31/2011
★★★★★

OMG!! My 4 month old Boxer puppy Zeus was coughing so bad for 3days. My husband and I assumed he had gotten into something and was trying to bring it up, by the hacking and gagging noise he was making. He nor I could not sleep well at all because his coughing kept him awake. (needless to say my husband slept like a baby). I was determined to find an immediate remedy for my puppy and honestly stumbled upon this site. I went to the store got the Honey, peroxide and lemon juice, gave it to Zeus (and Samson as a precaution) and he stopped the loud honking noise and gagging immediately. I'm going to give them the water mixture for the next 5 days until he is completely healed. I might give to them for 2days every 3months. THANK YOU ALL FOR HELPING MY ZEUS!! I am smiling ear2ear!


Hydrogen Peroxide

42 User Reviews
5 star (40) 
  95%
4 star (1) 
  2%
1 star (1) 
  2%

Posted by DL (Cali) on 09/26/2019
★★★★☆

My elderly dog (60 pounds) got kennel cough for the first time from the vet exactly 5 days after going there to get vaccination boosters, including one for kennel cough! I added a few drops of 3% peroxide to his food, mixed with water, and he stopped coughing within about 48 hours. However, I didn't keep up the peroxide and the cough came back.. After a week of this, I took him back to the vet who told me, "Yes, it's possible he caught it here" and that it can take up to 2 weeks for it to run its course, maybe longer for older dogs. He ended up giving me antibiotics since my dog also had a runny nose and I was about to go out of town and leave a coughing dog with my dog sitter. The antibiotics kicked his healing into high gear and he stopped coughing the next day. So I like the peroxide remedy for kennel cough but recommend to definitely keep it up for a few days after symptoms disappear.

I think if one of my dogs gets kennel cough in the future, I'll try the peroxide, honey and fresh lemon juice remedy that I just read about in posts here on EC.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Theresa (Mpls., Mn) on 09/12/2017
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

For those asking about Kennel cough:

Kennel cough *looks like* your dog is trying to cough up a lung, or as if a bone is stuck in their throat. You might consider a homeopathic children's cough remedy, and you might try hydrogen peroxide - food grade is ideal but if you have the brown bottle from the drug store in your medicine cabinet you can use 3 drops on a bit of bread with a few drops of honey. Give a spiked bread ball once an hour and wait and see if it is working. Other reasons for a dog to cough are congestive heart failure and collapsed trachea. If the coughing persists despite home treatment you should see your vet to rule out a more serious condition.

Replied by Tansy
(Missouri City, TX)
08/16/2021

How many drops of the hydrogen peroxide can I safely give my 10 lb. chihuahua mix who is 12 yrs. old?


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Louise (Fl) on 04/24/2017
★★★★★

Tried the hydrogen peroxide method on my golden Retriever,, 3 drops of 3% on a piece of bread. It stopped her cough within minutes. Amazing.. thank you


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Suseeq (Sydney Australia) on 08/21/2016
★★★★★

Hydrogen Peroxide for Kennel Cough:

If you still want to use the hydrogen peroxide, the dosage is 3 drops to 8 oz water in drinking water but the water must be changed about every 4 hours as the peroxide looses its effectiveness, only use 3% peroxide.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Sam (San Diego, Ca ) on 04/08/2016
★★★★★

This 2 drops of 3% peroxide remedy is amazing.

My pug has had a dry hacking cough for years. He has been on many meds and has seen many vets. Still never got down to the root of the problem. Cough is at its worse point. Today I tried this remedy and it has worked. The first hour he had very minimal cough. He seems so much more comfortable. Wish I would have found this site sooner. Thank you for sharing. It's making a huge difference.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Aims (Kelowna, British Columbia) on 11/05/2014
★★★★★

I have an old retriever who picked up a case of Kennel Cough. I started using Honey, Food Grade Peroxide, Lemon and Distilled Water and her cough seems to have almost gone. I was just wondering how long I can keep this process up, and if anybody knows how many drops are allowed for a dog per day. Right now she gets 3 drops in her water with about 2 cups of water. It has definitely helped but I wasn't sure how long it is safe to carry this on. Thank you, Amy

Replied by Blanca
(Long Beach, Ca)
06/28/2015

Hi, I'm very interested in trying this home remedy for my 11 lb doggie. he's 14yo has an enlarged heart and taking "vetmedin" for this. this has caused another problem (gagging cough )for which he has been on "tussigon". IT works! However it is too expensive so Id like the exact portions or proportions of water, honey and food grade hydrogen peroxide so that I can try it out. Thanks so much!

Debbie
(Duncan, Sc)
03/20/2016

Hello, I have 2 dogs on Tussegon and you are right. It is very expensive.

I did find that if you get the GoodRx app and sign up it will cut the cost in half. All pharmacies honor the GoodRx card and the app will tell you where you can get the medicine the cheapest.

It does work great with our maltese who has a cough due to heart disease.

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
06/29/2015

Hey Blanca!

Just an FYI - the gagging cough that the tussigon treats is very different than the cough caused by the kennel cough [viral/bacterial infection].

'Kennel cough' is a complex of infections—both viral and bacterial—that causes inflammation of the dog's voice box and windpipe. It's a form of bronchitis and is similar to a chest cold in humans.

The Tussigon that you are using to treat the side effect coughing from the vetmedin, is an anticholinergic and narcotic cough suppressant combination. The anticholinergic works by drying up secretions and the narcotic depresses the cough reflex in the brain.

These are two very different treatments for two very different kinds of coughing; using the honey/hp to treat your dog's cough may at best have no effect - and at worst cause him suffering and worsen his condition and quality of life for lack of an effective remedy.

Replied by Southernstar
(Smoky Mountains Of Tennessee)
08/25/2015

I noticed that this post was originally started by an individual in British Columbia. The original post made reference to Food Grade Peroxide. From this I make the assumption there is a difference between H2O2 I would find in on the drug store isle and grocery store isle. Is this true in USA as well? If not, what isle at my local grocery should I look for Food Grade Peroxide or should I be planning a trip to health food store?

Replied by Theresa
(Mpls., Mn)
08/26/2015

Hey Southernstar!

There are two main differences between the drug store hydrogenperoxide and the food grade that I have found - strength/dilution and pureness. The drugstore kind is typically a 3% dilution and has stabilizers to give it a longer shelf life - so impure. The food grade is pure and usually highly concentrated 15% or higher.

It is ideal to use the food grade because it is pure, and to dilute it to 3% or even 1% for oral use or taking in small doses as you would for kennel cough. That said plenty of folks have used the drug store kind orally with good result and no apparent ill effects **in small doses**. Again, ideal to use the food grade though it may require some searching to locate it, but in a pinch folks have used the easier to locate 3% impure-due-to-stabilizers drug store stuff.

Replied by Mama To Many
(Tennessee)
08/25/2015

Dear Southern Star,

I don't think most health food stores stock food grade hydrogen peroxide. Many, many people use the stuff from the drug store in the brown bottle for medicinal purposes. We do. I had some food grade, but it is actually quite dangerous if you don't know how to dilute properly so I gave it away. It made me nervous.

~Mama to Many~

Replied by Dee
(Wa)
11/27/2015

I thought hydrogen peroxide will induce vomiting?

Replied by Michelle K.
(Michigan)
05/21/2016

My dog has an enlarged heart as well. Cough tablets for dogs and cats by creative science...it works! You can order it from Amazon without a prescription. I also use young at heart and lung gold by Pet wellbeing along with CoQ10.

Replied by Vicky
(Australia)
04/02/2017

It's fine. You store it away from children when its undiluted form. You mix it to 3% or 6% (for teeth-mouthwash etc) and keep this in a spray bottle- that's what I do, I inhale a fine mist of it 4 times a day because I'm a smoker, I use it as a mouthwash daily, I spray it on cat bites (I'm an animal rescuer) spry it on any and every wound- and any wounds my animals get because it stops infections and takes away a lot of the pain. I drink 4 drops a day in a glass of water because it kills parasites and put 3 drops in my dogs cats and birds water whenever they're sick- to kill germs and infections and parasites. It's always the first thing I go to. There is so much information online about all it can do you should research. MUST be FOOD GRADE and must be diluted for use- that's all ;)


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Caleb (Tennessee) on 11/22/2013
★★★★★

I used about 2-3 TBSP of an Asian honey aloe tea about 2 cups of water and 2-3 drops of regular peroxide. My boxer had an awful cough and was really suffering.

This mix worked wonders. Within a day he was about 75% better and now just three days out he's about 95% well. Thanks for sharing this recipe.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Noelle1000 (Elkhorn, Ne, Usa) on 07/24/2013
★★★★★

Dachshund was up half the night coughing and hacking. Of course, my dogs always get sick on weekends and holidays. I checked EC and found this treatment to try. I used my 35% FOOD GRADE H2O2 and diluted it to a 3% solution. I put 1 teaspoon of honey in a little cup and put some of the H2O2 solution in. I filled a small syringe with the mixture and shot it into her mouth. That darn dog has not coughed even one time since then! I did repeat the dosage every six hours for the next day, but not sure if it was needed. A miracle cure, really.

Replied by Evelyn
(Rhode Island)
09/14/2016

I know Noelle's post is old but I had to comment on how she "shot" the solution into her dog's mouth. The proper way to give an animal any liquid from a syringe is to fill the syringe and put it inside the cheek (between the teeth and cheek) and slowly squirt the solution in. Otherwise the animal may aspirate the solution into the lungs. I lost an animal that way.


Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Jackie (Clifton, Nj) on 05/21/2013
★★★★★

My dog contracted kennel cough from neighborhood dog. Cough gradually was getting worse after a weeks time. Found this remedy and it worked after one dose. I dissolved 1 tsp. of raw honey in warm water, added a few more ounced of water to total about 6 oz. Then added 3 drops of store bought hydrogen peroxide. He wouldn't drink it so a broke up pieces of bread in the bowl with it and he lapped it up. Coughing stopped immediately and didn't return. I did give him a second dose about 6 hours later to make sure. That was 1 month ago.

Replied by Lisa
(Austin, Tx)
06/26/2013
★★★★★

Thank you for posting the recipe! It worked wonders for my 12 year old pomeranian who contracted kennel cough from the vet's office. Did two doses 6 hours apart and no more cough.



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