Cough/hack - Paw Talk

Angelnstuff · #1 08-26-2006, 07:13 PM

What do you do when your dog starts coughing/hacking?
Allie has been doing it alot more recently, its almost like shes trying to hack something up, but just cant manage to do it.
Sometimes i had feed her a few pieces of kibble and it will help, i also try and offer her a drink but she never takes it.

any suggestions?

**Scarlette** · #2 08-27-2006, 02:00 AM

Sydnee was doing that last week for a few days! I thought I saw a very tiny white spot at the back of her throat but she stopped doing it after 2-3 days. It might have been the threat of going to the vet's office that made the coughing stop.

Vanilla_Rat · #3 08-27-2006, 09:12 PM

Alot of the beagles I work with do this and we rub their throats and it helps it and stops it.Try that next time your dog does it.

***Jade*** · #4 08-27-2006, 10:24 PM

How old is Allie?

Angelnstuff · #5 08-28-2006, 01:12 PM

Allie is a bit over a year, she was born on tax day 05 (april 15 2005)

corgimom · #6 08-28-2006, 01:55 PM

Ein does it every now and then, too, but always stops on his own.

The boy is a total vacuum cleaner and tries to eat everything he sees, so I have a feeling he hacks when he tries to scarf up something he shouldn't eat.

Angelnstuff · #7 08-28-2006, 01:58 PM

Yeah, my aunts dog does that too, but Allie doesnt really eat things shes not supposed to, and she will be asleep and wake up and start hacking like that

corgimom · #8 08-28-2006, 02:28 PM

Does she have any allergies that you know of, that may be bothering her?

Just a thought. I know allergies can lead to red, watery eyes and itchy skin (Ein has some minor allergies), but I'm not sure if it can cause a cough/hack or not...

Angelnstuff · #9 08-28-2006, 02:33 PM

no, not that we know of, she doesnt have any other allergy type symptoms either

corgimom · #10 08-28-2006, 02:53 PM

I tend to be a bit of a worry wart, so personally I'd call the vet.

If you use the same vet, and they know who you are, alot of times you don't need an appointment, unless they think the dog is sick and needs some tests run. In the past, I have called and left a message for the vet to call me because both dogs had diahrea, and he told me that he'd get a prescription ready and I could just come and pick it up in the afternoon. I've also called to ask the vet assistants questions for minor things, and they will give me answers over the phone. You should be able to call and ask if they know what causes it, for no charge. If they think it may be serious, they will recommend you bring her in for an appointment. But answering questions over the phone is free.

If nothing else, it may give you peace of mind.

pitbullforever · #11 08-28-2006, 08:04 PM

^ good post.
i rub troys throat when he does it he does it alot i think its cause he's getting over kennel cough

Angelnstuff · #12 08-28-2006, 08:26 PM

kennel cough, i never thought of that.. do you think she has it?
i looked for some information on the web about it, some sites say it goes away on there own and some say they need treatment.
Can the rabbit get that? or is it just a dog thing?

I tried calling the vet but aparently hes out of town or something, i left a message on the machine.. have i mentioned how much i dont like our vet lately?

corgimom · #13 08-30-2006, 10:08 AM

Our parish (aka county) animal control has a horribly high rate of kennel cough, because they don't vaccinate against stuff like that and there are so many dogs in such a small space. Sure enough, when we adopted Tucker, he had it. I'm pretty sure vaccination against kennel cough is included with standard puppy shots and yearly booster shots (animal control doesn't do it in order to save money, they'd rather you pay for it yourself when you take your new pet to the vet for his/her rabies shot. But then we are talking about a place that doesn't even bother to try and treat animals with mild illnesses. With a city as huge as ours, and as few adoption kennels as they have, if they are sick, they get put down. The place has an 80% euthanization rate.)

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. If your baby is up to date on standard vacinations, she should be fine, but obviously there is no guarantee. When Tucker had it, we went through 2 rounds of antibiotics before it was gone.

Has she been around other dogs lately? (such as at the groomers? Many of our local groomers require porof of vaccination against kennel cough before allowing your dog in, because kennel cough is easily passed around in places where there are many dogs in small spaces. Not sure if groomers in your area require proof of vacs or not?) Is she eating okay or have you noticed a change in appetite?

If she's up to date on her shots, and has not been around other dogs lately, she should be okay. Doggy antibiotics are relatively inexpensive, though, so if she does have kennel cough, it should be easy and inexpensive to treat, as long as she gets meds before it gets too bad.

I can't believe I didn't even think of it, considering Tucker had it. I guess it didn't occur to me since most dogs are vaccinated.

corgimom · #14 08-30-2006, 10:17 AM

adding: Ein was already vaccinated, so he did not get kennel cough from Tucker. Sebastian didn't catch it from him either. Either cats are automatically vaccinated for it, too, or it's not contagious to them. I've never heard of any other species having kennel cough, so my guess is that the bunny will be okay.

I have to do some work right now, but when I get a break later, I'll try and see if I can find any information.

pitbullforever · #15 08-31-2006, 09:47 PM

not all places automaticy vacanated against it most places only do it if your going to be bording the pet (at least around where i live) the only thing that can catch kennel cough is dogs and its fine if left unmedicated since meds dont always work it will go away on its own just takes a little longer.