When Your Dog Is Coughing...

You may notice that your dog will make a coughing noise every once in a great while. However, if your dog seems to be coughing on a regular and almost consistent basis, there could be an underlying problem that needs to be checked out. Often times, such a chronic cough in dogs can be caused by some type of bronchitis, a foreign object in the windpipe, pneumonia, tumors in the lung and even heartworm disease or heart failure. Because any of these problems can occur and some of them can be fatal, it is important that you seek the advice of your veterinarian as soon as you begin to notice a prolonged cough.

Basically, what happens when your dog coughs is that he or she is cleaning any matter from the throat area. This coughing can be of great concern after you have noticed that your beloved canine has been coughing persistently for two or more weeks. You may want to give your veterinarian a call first and explain all of the symptoms, then he or she may be able to better decide if you should bring your dog in for a check or not.

Canine bloat can cause your dog to make a coughing like noise as some dogs will forcibly "cough" to expel the pressure they are feeling. By simply providing your canine with raised food and water bowls, you can combat this problem of your dog swallowing air when eating or drinking.

If you do bring your dog in for a checkup, there are some tests that your veterinarian may want to perform. Some of these tests may include certain blood tests to detect any underlying problems, x-rays of the chest area, a complete medical examination and possibly even a heartworm test. As long as you have something like a chronic cough checked out as soon as you can, your dog will have a much better chance of a complete recovery.
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