If the dog begins to cough, this is not a reason to panic, but you should not ignore it either. After all, coughing is a protective function of the body. Since your pet is coughing, there is a reason. In order to help an animal, you need to find out which one.
Why does a dog have a cough?
There are many reasons for a dog's cough.
Perhaps your four-legged friend overbought or overcooled and, as a result, caught a cold. The first symptom of colds in dogs is coughing.
A dog can also get an infection from a sick dog, such as adenovirus. This disease is also called kennel cough, tk. it lives in places where dogs gather.
If your dog coughs mostly while walking, check the collar. Perhaps it is too tight and prevents the animal from breathing and swallowing normally.
The cough can be caused by something stuck in the dog's throat or upper respiratory tract.
Your dog can start coughing due to allergies to food, dust, chemicals, plants, insect bites, flea and tick sprays. As a rule, this cough is accompanied by tearing and sneezing.
If a dog has a heart condition, it can also cause a cough. In addition to coughing, the animal develops another symptom - the gums acquire a bluish-gray color.
It is important to understand that coughing is not a disease, but a symptom. Therefore, to determine the true cause of the cough, you need to assess the condition of the dog as a whole. To do this, the animal needs to measure the temperature, examine the oral cavity for ulcers or hemorrhages, feel the trachea, abdomen, check if the lymph nodes are enlarged. It is worth watching to see if there are any other symptoms, for example, snot.
If the cough does not go away, then your observations will help the veterinarian make the correct diagnosis.
When does a dog cough as if it choked?
Among other symptoms, the nature of the cough can be very helpful in figuring out what is causing the cough.
If the dog is coughing as if it choked, it means that it is trying to get rid of what is stopping it. And it can interfere with a foreign object that has got into the pharynx or bronchi. It can be a chip from a stick that she gnawed on the street, seeds, spikelets, paper, pieces of toys. In this case, the cough can be paroxysmal, sometimes with foamy discharge, and sometimes with blood. A cough of the same nature occurs if the dog has inhaled or swallowed poison. Therefore, if you notice such a cough, contact your veterinarian immediately. Every hour of delay can cost a dog his life.
You could treat your pet to ice cream in hot weather or drink it with cold water, and the dog has a sore throat and sore tonsils. They interfere with her, and she tries to cough up them like a foreign body.
The dog may also try to cough up worms. If the dog has not been prevented from worming for a long time, and a huge number of them have accumulated, then they can freely walk along the esophagus and interfere with it, and by coughing it will try to get rid of them.
What if the dog is coughing?
If the dog has coughed several times, while it is playful and eats normally, then the owner does not need to do anything. Just watch the animal.
If the pet's cough does not stop within 24 hours, or shortness of breath appears, the temperature rises, the dog becomes lethargic and indifferent, then you need to go to the doctor.
You should not engage in self-treatment, because the symptoms can only determine the possible cause of the cough. The true picture is shown only by the results of the survey. Therefore, in order not to struggle with complications later, you need to immediately seek help from a specialist.
