My dog is coughing. What are the causes and treatments?

(May 25, 2010)

A cough is a sudden loud explosion of air that comes out of your mouth. This is usually followed by a huge effort to take a breath. There are many reasons why dog coughing begins and some of them are pretty serious. Most of the time a dog starts coughing due to some irritation in the throat or air ways. This irritation could happen if it drinks water too fast, or due to a lung or heart condition. Some other common causes are parasites, allergies, and distemper. When treating a cough the vet will need to know the duration of the cough, the vaccination schedule and history of any other illness.  

A chronic cough is a result of many conditions that the dog develops. This cough causes a swelling in the throat, which is very painful and uncomfortable. A chronic cough tries to clear any obstruction in the throat or windpipe in order to protect the respiratory system. This is a dry cough that lasts for two to three weeks and makes the dog very lethargic and interferes with its breathing and sleep. A chronic cough could lead to more serious conditions such as bronchitis, kennel cough, heartworm and allergies. In order to diagnose dog chronic cough the vet will have to conduct a blood test, X-ray and lung examination. The treatment provided is antibiotics and anti inflammatory medicines.

Dog kennel cough is highly contagious. If the dog has a healthy immune system then it will recover from the cough in a week or two. However the smaller breeds and puppies develop a thick substance in their chest that can lead to pneumonia. Kennel cough affects the upper respiratory tract of a dog. Since this cough is so contagious other animals you may have such as rabbits, cats and birds might develop this disease. This cough could also be just a symptom of a more serious underlying disease such as a heart problem heartworm, parasites, throat growths, pneumonia, irritations, and allergies. When a dog suffers from kennel cough, it coughs persistently and at times it looks like the dog is going to throw up. If you feel your dog is suffering from this cough, it is important for you to seek medical assistance immediately. In order to treat this cough the Vet will give the dog Penicillin to take care of the bacteria and another medicine to handle the virus.