Feb
Coughing can be pretty common in pet dogs, especially if they’re experiencing it three-four times. However, it can be alarming if it’s consistent and you don’t know why they’re coughing. If you’re wondering if your pet is experiencing sickness or just simply coughing, this article will inform you about the five causes of your dog’s cough and how to treat it.
Possible Causes Of Your Dog’s Cough
If you’ve observed that your dog is consistently coughing, you may want to consult or ask an online veterinarian if you still can’t go outside. Moreover, it’s wise to avail your pet of a medical professional’s services if you want to make sure that they’re fine.
- Heartworm Disease: Your dog can get this disease from mosquito bites that can spread in their blood and reach their heart. The larvae move to the newly infected dog’s heart and lungs, growing into spaghetti-like adults. Their presence, which starts an inflammation, can cause serious harm to the heart and lungs of your pet.
- Their trachea is weakening: Mostly, small dogs are the ones who are prone to have a weakening trachea. Since their trachea is collapsing, it can cause discomfort and a persistent cough that may sound like a heavy honk. However, this may be a rare case for dogs.
- Chronic Bronchitis: Bronchitis is the most likely diagnosis when a dog coughs due to airway inflammation, which can be the primary and sole reason behind it. A dry and rough cough is common in dogs with chronic bronchitis that increases with activity or excitement and worsens over time.
- Infections: Coughing in dogs can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites infecting the upper respiratory tract, lungs, airways, or a combination of the two. Furthermore, it can be caused by an infectious disease known as kennel cough, the most common infection for pet dogs. Coughing, fever, and nasal discharge indicate that the canine influenza virus is becoming more common in different countries and pets.
- Sore throat: Upper airway irritation, illness, or even a partial block can all be detected by a high-pitched, choking cough. This means that your dog may have a sore throat caused by a foreign body or material lodged in your pet’s throat producing discomfort and a sore throat, or it might be caused by a bacteria or material stuck in your dog’s throat, causing pain and a sore throat.
Moreover, it’s harmful to have bacteria or other parasitical bodies in your pet’s throat. It’ll hinder them from getting enough air and swallowing smoothly, which can affect the way they breathe air or can the way they eat.
Treatments For Your Dog’s Cough
Listed below are the treatments for your dog’s cough:
- Intensive Care and Cough Medicines
You should give intensive care to your dog because you’ll be monitoring their cough. The suggested routine is to let them take a rest, eat nutritious food adequately, and drink water frequently, especially when your dog is sick. When it comes to coughing, cough syrups for dogs may help you too.
You can use other antifungals and antiparasitic medicine to combat various fungi and parasites. However, you may still want to seek medical advice from a veterinarian to know the accurate medicine you can give to your pet.
- Take Diagnostic Tests
A complete physical examination is going to proceed using a stethoscope. The veterinarian will look at various body areas, inspect the mouth and throat, and listen to the heart and lungs of your dog. This examination might help you figure out what’s causing your pet’s cough.
This can also help uncover symptoms, including an irregular heartbeat or loud raspy noises in the lungs that may indicate that it’s just a little sickness that’s a common or dangerous illness.
- Simple and Easy Home Remedies
It’s wise to make sure that your dog is drinking enough fresh and clean water to relieve their pain somehow. Their resting place should be a relaxing, calm, comfortable, and kind of noise-free environment.
You may also use a humidifier to moisten the air that your dog breathes in the area where they rest. Hence, these home remedies may help ease some of the discomforts in their lungs. You can also get the chance to offer your dog steam therapy if you’re going to prepare for a hot bath.
Conclusion
If you’re not sure about your dog’s health because they’re coughing, you shouldn’t hesitate to contact a veterinarian. It’s always best to consult a medical professional to help you diagnose and treat your dog accordingly and properly. Moreover, this will also help you accurately take the steps for them to be healthy and stable again.
