Bordetella pertussis and B. bronchiseptica are Gram-negative bacterial respiratory pathogens. Bordetella pertussis is the causative agent of whooping cough and is considered a human-adapted variant of B. bronchiseptica. Bordetella pertussis and B. bronchiseptica share mechanisms of pathogenesis and are genetically closely related. However, despite the close genetic relatedness, these Bordetella species differ in several classic fundamental aspects of bacterial pathogens such as host range, pathologies and persistence. The development of the baboon model for the study of B. pertussis transmission, along with the development of the swine and mouse model for the study of B. bronchiseptica, has enabled the investigation of different aspects of transmission including the route, attack rate, role of bacterial and host factors, and the impact of vaccination on transmission. This review will focus on B. pertussis transmission and how animal models of B. pertussis transmission and transmission models using the closely related B. bronchiseptica have increased our understanding of B. pertussis transmission.