Often a domestic pet becomes a full member of the family and is treated like a child. What does mom do when the baby coughs? Runs to a pharmacy or a doctor. The same happens when the dog starts coughing. In order not to hurt even more, you should first go to a specialist for a diagnosis.
Cough in a dog: how to treat?
Each qualified veterinarian will ask you a series of questions for the recognition of a disease. To understand why a dog has started coughing, you need to know the following:
- age and breed of animal;
- duration of cough, its severity (dry, wet, expectorant or hard);
- when there are desires: during rest or with loads;
- presence of discharge from the nose;
- changes in the behavior and general condition of the pet.
All this you must clearly tell the specialist, only then he can correctly determine the disease. Cough can cause a variety of causes: tonsillitis, viral diseases, features of some breeds, oral infections or dental disease. As you can see, choosing a cough medicine for dogs is not so easy. And self-medication can cost the animal health.
Diseases of dogs that can cause coughing
Now we will examine in more detail the symptoms of cough and the probable causes of its occurrence.
- Viruses. As a rule, we are talking about infecting a pet with infectious tracheobranchitis, which is also called a "nursery" cough. The very first symptoms are a strong dry cough in the dog. It seems that the dog choked with bone. To make sure of the diagnosis, pay attention to other symptoms: refusal to eat, enlarged tonsils, tracheal irritation. Sometimes the dog has a cough with foam.
- Mechanical damage or foreign body entry. This is not common. Recognize the foreign body in the upper respiratory tract in dogs can be coughing with blood. He is paroxysmal and convulsive. Choking, wheezing, total refusal of food are observed. Like the first case, the appearance of foamy secretions from the sinuses.
- In addition to foreign body, similar symptoms can occur when squeezing the respiratory tract: too tight a collar , the presence of fluid in the airways or swelling. Often a cough and vomiting occur sometimes in the dog, sometimes with impurities of blood.
- If, together with a cough, the dog had a runny nose, as well as watery eyes, cyanotic gums and red eyes, most likely an animal has an allergic attack. It is not uncommon for seasonal allergies , food or chemical reactions. In this case, before treating a cough in a dog, you should find its causes and apply only a systemic approach.
- Heart diseases. In old animals, cough often indicates problems with the heart. The heart slightly increases in size, and the liquid is collected in the lungs. As a result, they begin to put pressure on the trachea and cause a reaction.
- As a special form, aspiration pneumonia is isolated. It is caused by swallowing disorders, esophageal expansion; the dog begins coughing and vomiting in an unconscious state. The cause of the appearance of this form of pneumonia is the throwing of food into the upper respiratory tract and inflammation of the lung tissue afterwards.
Coughing a dog: what to do to the owner?
For prevention, all factors that can reduce the resistance of the animal's organism should be eliminated. You are obliged to provide decent living conditions, competently select the diet of the dog. To avoid viral diseases, consult a veterinarian about the necessary vaccinations.
Do not look for a "magic pill" for a cough. Solve the problem should be integrated and closely monitor changes in the behavior and well-being of the pet. Of course, if the dog coughed a couple of times, it is not worth to sound an alarm. But when you notice obvious seizures, you can not delay with a visit to a specialist.