Dog Cough: Causes and Treatment

Coughing is a natural process. With its help, any living creature reflexively cleans the airways, for example, when choked on food. But if it does not stop, then this is an occasion to take the pet to the veterinary clinic. If the problem is not very serious, then it can be solved at home, but for this it is necessary to understand the causes of cough and correctly determine its type.

Kennel, or aviary, cough in dogs

This type is more common than others, it is caused by bacteria or viruses that are easily transmitted to other animals by airborne droplets. Therefore, dogs often pick up this ailment at exhibitions, competitions, walks in dog companies. The incubation period is from 2 days to 2 weeks, and the disease itself lasts 7-21 days.

Aviary cough dry and deep, often accompanied by sneezing, snorting. In severe cases, vomiting may occur. Symptoms increase when the pet experiences stress, physical or emotional arousal.

In young and healthy dogs, a nursery cough does not require treatment. If the animal’s body is weakened, the disease does not pass on its own after 2-3 weeks, the signs appear even brighter, then antibiotics can not be dispensed with. And it’s better not to buy the first medicine that came to the shelves of the veterinary pharmacy. Contact your veterinarian to find out what to give your dog for coughing. After all, improper treatment can lead to pneumonia.

Dog heart cough

The animal coughs with irritation of organs that border the respiratory system. For example, this can occur with diseases of the cardiovascular system: cardiosclerosis, myocardial infarction, high blood pressure, dirofilariasis (infection with helminths - nematodes).

With violations of the heart, fluid stagnates in the lungs, and it irritates the receptors of nearby organs. And the heart muscle, increasing, presses on the lungs and trachea and impedes the passage of oxygen. Due to the large body mass, large animals are more likely to suffer from it. The danger of this ailment is that it can be asymptomatic for up to 7 months.

Heart cough is dry, deaf, accompanied by heavy and intermittent breathing, in advanced cases, sputum with an admixture of blood occurs. The pet feels general weakness, refuses food.

In such a situation, it is better not to self-medicate. Experts advise you to immediately visit a veterinarian cardiologist, do an ultrasound of the heart and, based on the results of research, get a treatment regimen that will be aimed at eliminating the cause of the disease, and not at relieving symptoms. Already at the first signs of heart cough, you need to reduce physical activity, do not walk long in bad weather (especially in the heat), exclude fatty foods from the diet.

Bronchitis in dogs

During long walks in the rain and strong winds or when swimming in cold water, the animal may catch a cold. Then there is bronchitis, which is accompanied by frequent and dry cough, wheezing, wheezing. A few days later, sputum and nasal discharge appear. If you do not start treatment, bronchitis can develop into pneumonia - pneumonia.

Contact your veterinarian for help. If it’s cold outside, call him at home. Indoor drafts.

Symptoms of bronchitis are similar to the manifestations of other ailments (carnivore plague, adenovirus), therefore, additional microbiological studies may be necessary to make a correct diagnosis.

Dog tracheal collapse

This disease (congenital or acquired) usually occurs in ornamental breeds. At the slightest irritation of the throat (for example, when tightening the collar), an attack of dry cough, shortness of breath, suffocation, wheezing begins.

This disease cannot be cured on its own, it is only possible to reduce its manifestation. If tracheal collapse is suspected, consult a veterinarian. In difficult cases, it will not be possible to medically solve the problem, then the doctors resort to surgery and perform stenting of the trachea.

Dog Reverse Sneezing

Pet owners often confuse coughing or asthma with the phenomenon of reverse sneezing. They also suffer predominantly miniature pets.

Such a strange cough in a dog (from the point of view of physiology, this is a few quick and very strong breaths, accompanied by noise) arises from a throat spasm. It causes stress, overwork, emotional arousal, jumps in body temperature, pollen of flowering plants. You do not need to treat this disease, but to improve the life of your four-legged friend, try to save him from the moments that provoke such a sneeze.

Dog coughs as if choking

If the dog does not just cough, but swallows, licks his lips, tries to spit out something, stretching his neck forward and raising his head up, then most likely a foreign body is stuck in the throat. In this case, contact your veterinarian immediately.

As you can see, it is either not necessary to treat the cough at all, or only a qualified veterinarian can do this, since it is almost impossible to defeat serious diseases on your own at home.