• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

dog coughs, vet said he is fine

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
my papillon mix pumpkin coughs mostly when he gets excited, vet said he was fine. i want to take him to agility but i feel like they will be very worried about him around the other dogs. i am worried myself, he does this pretty frequently. any ideas?
 

Birdlove

Jogging around the block
Avenue Veteran
Joined
10/25/13
Messages
774
I'm assuming he's been heartworm tested, but my beagle/basset coughed when she had heartworms. On the other hand, my sister's dog coughs all the time but she gets into everything and she's had to fish things out of her throat. And the last thing I can think of is maybe food allergies. If they eat their allergens it can make environmental allergies less tolerable.
 

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
he is a papillon mix. no hw. he just came from the shelter last month so he left with a clean bill of health .
 

EkkieLuv

Jogging around the block
Avenue Veteran
Joined
5/31/13
Messages
638
Location
Houston
Real Name
Leslie
If they've ruled out anything infectious, you might ask about a collapsing trachea. We have a foster Yorkie right now that has this and he coughs when he gets excited/runs a lot, etc. This was only diagnosed after a course of antibiotics, thinking he had something else, that didn't work. A round of temeril-p has helped, though meds with steroids have their difficult side-effects such as excessive thirst and urinating. BUT the cough has improved. Just a thought - something to run by your vet. Good luck and let us know!
 

Bokkapooh

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/18/09
Messages
25,464
Location
Pacific Northwest
Real Name
Mercedez
If he is coughing is he getting enough oxygen? Would agility be good for a dog that coughs?
 

Ribbit21

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Joined
6/20/11
Messages
2,879
Location
Minooka, IL
Real Name
Keri
When a dog coughs when excited I would rule out heart issues first. Was he seen by your vet or did the shelter say he was checked out and is healthy? Murmurs, mitral valve disease (increased risk in papillions), and some other heart issues can all cause coughing when excited. I would get a second opinion before you start him on any agility.
 

melissasparrots

Rollerblading along the road
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/9/11
Messages
4,081
Location
Iowa
My sheltie died fairly suddenly a couple of weeks after developing a cough. A few days before she died I had her at the vet and they listened to her and did a heart worm test. They did not hear any problems and diagnosed her with pneumonia. A few days later she was worse and I took her back for X-rays and saw a different vet. That vet detected a really bad heart murmur but he had to listen for a while until he found just the right spot to hear it. X-ray showed a massively enlarged heart and she died the next day. In short, I'd get a second opinion on the coughing and short term stay away from agility for now. Also, as someone else mentioned, small dogs can have collapsing trachea issues which can be anything from mildly annoying to a major problem. My yorkie had it and he just had an episode every once in a while with it. It should not just be accepted that a dog has a cough.
 

Karen

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/22/09
Messages
5,041
I also would be concerned about collapsing trachea and would also suggest that you never use a collar, only a harness so there's no pressure on the throat.
 

JLcribber

@cockatoojohn
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Shutterbugs' Best
Avenue Concierge
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
22,620
Location
Alberta, Canada
Real Name
John
There's been a lot of kennel cough going around these days (at least here anyway).
 

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
he has no kennel cough, the vet found nothing wrong and he is vaccinated for it. he does not cough constantly and in fact has mostly stopped doing it altogether. he was seen by a vet, not just the shelter. the vet had said it was allergies due to the weather/season changing and since it has stopped i am inclined to believe that. it was very rare to begin with and now it's nearly nonexistent.
 

JLcribber

@cockatoojohn
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Shutterbugs' Best
Avenue Concierge
Joined
10/16/09
Messages
22,620
Location
Alberta, Canada
Real Name
John
Then I don't understand what the concern is? He's a healthy dog who happens to have a chronic cough. You explain the situation should anyone ask and that's it.
 

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
he doesn't have a chronic cough if it doesn't even happen any more lol
 

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
i didnt post this on the same day lol from the time that i started the thread it tapered off and i haven't seen him do it in a while. things change over time. the first statement was made four days ago and he has gotten better since then. god forbid my dog be well when i posted a thread about him?

do you honestly think i am lying? or what? i don't get your point.

in any case if anything changes in the other direction we will of course take him to the vet again. i am the last person to neglect vet care.
 
Last edited:

Karen

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
10/22/09
Messages
5,041
he has no kennel cough, the vet found nothing wrong and he is vaccinated for it. he does not cough constantly and in fact has mostly stopped doing it altogether. he was seen by a vet, not just the shelter. the vet had said it was allergies due to the weather/season changing and since it has stopped i am inclined to believe that. it was very rare to begin with and now it's nearly nonexistent.
Excellent news!

:2cents: I just wanted to mention again about the harness; I have had little dogs for years and in the past I had a dog that had a problem with collapsing trachea, so now I always use a harness instead of a collar. :walkdog1:
 

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
  • thank you, me too. he is a great dog
one of my dogs actually chokes way more on a harness than collar. something about the way they sit on her causes them to press hard on her neck
 

Greycloud

Joyriding the Neighborhood
Avenue Veteran
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
11/17/09
Messages
19,270
I'm glad he is doing better! My mom has had three paps and a pap/chi mix, every one of them has had collapsing tracheas. Usually it starts slowly then progresses. As @Karen mentioned halters work best or even a small head or halti collar.
 

Chihuahua

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
6/17/15
Messages
1,818
like i said one of my other dogs has MORE trouble with a harness but i can try one for pumpkin
 
Top