Senior GSD dog coughs up phlegm in the morning

[Danita]

Dirk coughs every morning when he wakes up. Some mornings he coughs up white phlegm.
When he is in bed before he gets up, I can hear his breathing kind of phlegmy.
He is a 13 1/2 yrs old GSD.

Any experienced owners out there know about this?

I am thinking it is congestive heart failure. He will be going to the vets to check it out.

 

[birdlady]

Coco has been doing something similar to this quite a bit....hers isn't always clear though....kind of yellowish. So hard when they get older...

I'm sure others will know more about what it might be Danita...

 

[Danita]

Does Coco cough every morning Leslie?

 

[birdlady]

it's more of a daily thing...not just in the AM....

 

[itzmered]

Our cocker spaniel started doing this when she was older. I took her in to the vet and they diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection more commonly called kennel cough. I had to give her antibiotics for a week.

 

[Danita]

Dirk had kennel cough when he was young. When he had that, he was coughing constantly and it was a dry cough. I wonder if there are different strains of it, or not as severe cases?

 

[Annie]

Sorry I don't know but perhaps a trip to the vet would solve the problem.
Hope he feels better soon!

 

[Greycloud]

Danita, I had a dog with CHF and she presented with the same symptoms as your dog. I would take her to vet for a chest xray and a cardiac listen. They put my dog on a form of lasix which helped.

 

[southernbirds]

First of all have you taken him to the Vet? Secondly he could have congestive heart disease and if that is so he will probably go on Enalapril 5mg which is an ACE inhibitor. That really is not normal and should be addressed by a Vet.It must be very uncomfortable for him.

 

[Danita]

I have an appointment to book this week.
I just sort of realized that it was something else. He usually gets treats first thing when he wakes up, and I thought he was coughing those up. Then this morning it dawned on me after the phlegm came up that it wasn't the cookies.

 

[southernbirds]

Your a great dog mom Danita...I'm sure your sweet guy appreciated all your love. Do ask the Vet about his heart while your there.

 

[Danita]

Hopefully that it is his heart, and the meds would fix it.
Maybe that is why he is so slow, his heart is weak.

 

[southernbirds]

One thing that our Vet gave us for our dog is a neutraceutical called Duralactin. We give 1/2 to our doxies every day. Our male, is on the Enalapril for his enlarged heart. His slight wheezing sound is better. They do make a choking sound and that not as frequent now that he is on the ACE inhibitor 5 mg. Make sure that he is started on the lowest dose first. Have water always available to him. Try not to worry. Geriatric medicine for dogs should be thought of as people and their pets are living longer. I'm sure your Vet will know what to do and if he doesn't get a second opinion at another Vet.

 

[Danita]

Thank you so much for the info.
I wonder if they will need to sedate him for an xray
I hate that and want to avoid it, but I suppose there is no other way to diagnose a heart condition.

 

[GG.]

I agree to taking him in and getting him checked

let us know how he does and what the vet says

 

[southernbirds]

I don't recall if they sedated our guy as we had it done because the doctor heard the defective heart sound and then also did an ekg. This was done prior to his teeth being cleaned and the doctor wanted to "medically" clear him.

 

[Riley's mom]

Hope everything turns out well. As a rule, we do not sedate for xrays. We only sedate if the dog is hard to handle or if we are doing hip xrays. We didn't sedate a 180 pound Dane last week. Sure wish we had because a few of us have been paying for that experience with some very sore muscles. If your big boy has some fluid build up, there are some very good meds to help him out. Good luck.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Dirk coughs every morning when he wakes up. Some mornings he coughs up white phlegm.
When he is in bed before he gets up, I can hear his breathing kind of phlegmy.
He is a 13 1/2 yrs old GSD.

Any experienced owners out there know about this?

I am thinking it is congestive heart failure. He will be going to the vets to check it out.

My dog had this problem and the coughing and flem was from her heart not pumping properly anymore and the the blood draining into her lungs. She got put on some medicines to stop her lungs from getting filled with fluid. The vet gave her a year to live while taking these meds and she lived over 2 years. We unfortunately had to put her down Dec 31st of 2009.

 

[Sharpie]

I hope you're able to get some answers when you take him in.

 

[WingedVictory]

Danita,

Hope all turns out well with Dirks vet visit!

gary