more info at: www.doghealthpr... - Sam Meisler, a small animal veterinarian, discusses possible causes of coughing in dogs. Dog coughing can be challenging to work up and in this video, several causes are discussed.
Thanks for your nice comment! The frequency of the cough tends not to correlate with what type of coughing condition a pet has. It seems that with any of the conditions described, the coughing will increase in frequency depending how bad the condition is or how further along it is rather than what it is. Thanks, Sam
Thank you for the video. It was great. Already had a vet visit scheduled but it's good to have some idea of what they are looking for before going to the vet.
@iluvtack it probably is still some residual kennel cough but I would go to a local veterinarian just to make sure. Many veterinarians offer a free physical examination to newly adopted shelter pets within a few days after adoption. Thanks, Dr Sam
@Darkshadowsfan2009 Interesting comment...with dog coughing, one can not treat without knowing the cause of the disease. But just to help you out a bit, if the xray reveals congestive heart failure, then we treat with diuretics and vasodilators for the most part; if the cause is heartworm disease then we treat the heartworms with immiticide; if it is caused by cancer, then we treat according to what cancer it is depending on a biopsy; if it is caused by kennel cough then antibiotics.
The most common thing that it could be is kennel cough but other causes such as distemper are possible. The best thing to do would be do have a veterinarian do a full exam. Thanks, Sam
@honeymclean I totally agree on having an x-ray done for a coughing dog. Interesting perspective though - many vets that end up sending only pills home do so out of a fear that if they suggest an xray, they will be seen as only wanting money. You are suggesting the opposite. That not doing the xray would earn more revenue for the vet because the pills wouldn't work. With myself and my team, we stay focused on what's best for the patient and recommend diagnostics accordingly.
For example when the dog is showing symptoms that 90% of the time is nothing but but 10% of the time very serious. It might seem as a very bad business decision. Especially if you are a vet but if you truly love animals, in this case dogs, it will be the best decision of your career. You would save the lives of countless dogs that otherwise would be diagnosed and treated way too late or not at all simply/solely due to the absence of financial means.
I have a Chihuahua/Cavalier mix, 3 years old, who started coughing about a year or so ago, and recently it's gotten worse. We haven't had her checked because we thought it was a part of her allergies to cats, and then to just the harsh summer we had after we moved once it got worse, but it's not gotten any better even though summer is about over here. It's a hacking cough that mostly shows up when she's sleeping.
I was treating my new Rott for Kennel cough for a month as diagnosed by my vet. I ran out of pig ears that he was chewing, and the cough went away. When I got more, the cough was back. My dogs don't get those leather things anymore and surprisingle never have had kennel cough since.
Just think of this: Two of my dogs showing only Innocent symptoms died because I was temporarily broke. I literally only had enough money to pay for all the food my dog needed and barely enough food for myself to eat every other day. If I knew that it was serious, back then I would have taken the money for my food to take my dog to the vet, and starved myself for a month.
What im saying is that vets forget dog owners know their own dog and thats what vets seem to forget,and im speaking through personal experience,when i took my dog to the vets i tried to explain that the cough was a chesty cough rather than a throat problem and as it turned out he had heart problems and after spending a few hundred pounds on useless pills he should have listened to me (my dog had to be put to sleep a few weeks later) if they had done x ray he might have been saved.
why not make a follow-up video that acts as a home diagnosis tool through a compilation of video examples of dogs with different disease related coughs of each size category per disease. example: kennel cough: small dog, medium dog, large dog. bronchitis: small dog, medium dog, large dog. collapsed trachea: small dog, medium dog, large dog. and so on... that would be immensely more usefull, especially for those pet owners that simply can not afford a vet visit every time something is going on.
Could be collapsed trachea or something to do with the heart or lungs. My dog also has a funny cough/choking on food - but she is eating and drinking less - I have spent $500 already and they still can't tell me definately what it is. I go back tomorrow!
I agree about the X-Ray. But I also wanted to say that just because Vets can be expensive doesn't mean they only want money. Our vet is very caring to our dog and cats and is not just in it for the money. Veterinarians go to schooling equal to MD's. and are worth the money. If people can't afford the expenses of caring for their animals they shouldn't own them. Animal emergency facilities are a rip off in my opinion. They can be 5 to 10 times what vets charge and they can be heartless.
It's not KC, as she hasn't been anywhere near places or dogs that could have it, plus it's been going on way too long to KC. She is showing absolutely no other symptoms of anything, she eats fine, she has energy, she's not bloated, not losing weight, she's on heartworm meds everything is normal but that cough. I am looking up vets to take her to now becasue we are just too worried to let it go on any longer but would you have any idea as to what it could be?
I recently adopted my dog, Darla. I was told from the adoption center that she had already had kennel cough while she was there so I shouldn't worry about it. Well Darla began mildly coughing last night, Today she has been coughing a lot more, sounds like she wants to hack something up. She has also been sneezing a lot. What could this be?
Hi Dr. Meisler..my 5yr old cocker spaniel had kennel cough, vet gave him meds & cough is gone now. The problem is he is still lethargic, he would sit up and have his head down, his eyesballs turned in & all you see is the white. He looks a little pale.Went to the Vet 4X. Did blood and stool..it's all good. They put him on Barium. Still no good. He is getting worse. He doesn't respond, he doesn't play. He eats but he is weak & best describe him like a "zombie", can this be pneumonia? HELP PLEASE
my dog dose this alot but he had a tumor on his right eye but im afraid if he could get hurt. also what is a medicine i could give him if its not really bad?
Hi Dr Meisler, thank you for the video, my pet jack probably has the type of cough older dogs get...he was recently (Feb 2012) diagnosed with hart palpitations and listening to your video, it sounds like the valve is causing even higher blood pressure pumping blood from the heart...does this sound right? Is there a cure that I can apply before I go to the vet? Cheers Vickram Australia
my dog has been coughing for over 5 months now, and we've done everything. Bronchoscopy, Tracheal wash, xrays, blood tests, etc. Looks like there is nothing anatomically wrong, and the vet says it looked like a really stubborn bacterial infection. 6 weeks of Baytril and Clavaseptin.. and he's still coughing. Before that, he's had Doxycyclin and another antibiotic. Any other suggestions?!
Can the cough be caused by a simple cold? I know my dog doesn't have heart worms or other problems with his heart. He just had annual examine about a month ago. He was in boarding 2 weeks ago but coughing started 2 days ago. Will kennel cough wait that long before symptoms appear? He's not lethargic and eats like normalb. He just coughs and sometimes sneezes.
Hi my dog has had cough that has not went away in 6 months that she gets when she gets up from napping she does cough cough gag there has been white foam in the gag sometimes but not really now she also started coughing when drinking water we got her from someone that did not tell us she had seizures she is on medications but her breathing don't seem right but that may be a different problem or medication or maybe it is related with the cough any suggestions
Im very curious about lung worm. My dogs have had x rays and the vet says its bronchitis but none of the remedies are working. I've done some research and the xrays for a dog with bronchitis looks the same as lung worm. I've read that it can also present with back pain and one of my poms back is bothering her. There are slugs around where I live and my older pom licked a slug and I heard they can transmit it. Does heartgard protect against lungworms? Im calling the vet on monday this. Thanks
No Heartguard does not protect against Lungworms. Dogs usually get the parasite when they spend alot of times roaming in the woods or in fields. Typically the infection doesn't last very long since the dog will cough them up or they will end up in the dogs feces. Then, as long as the prescribed medication is given and the dog does not develop a secondary lung disease such as pneumonia, the prognosis is good.
My dog has kennel cough for a month already. Went yesterday to the, 2nd time, n they gave me more antibiotic n said if don't cure by Friday would need to put my dog to sleep, I did not agree but would like your opinion. Than you.
To be very frank, some vets couldn't care less about animals and will readily give putting him/her/ down 'advice'. My 12 year old black lab has just recovered from a cough with sputum that lasted one month. His medication was a combination of anti-inflammatory and steroids. Without seeing the dog I was initially told that he could have cancer, so be wary.
