Coughing, Gagging and Choking in Dogs Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

hi there welcome to the top dog tips youtube channel thanks for joining us we're going to be talking about something that we all fear and hope to never happen with our dog we're going to be talking about coughing gagging and choking in dogs and the symptoms causes and treatments we can do before we begin please be sure to like and subscribe to our youtube channel also be sure to subscribe to our website topdogtips.com we've provided a link below in the description if you click on that link and subscribe you'll receive a free ebook on 25 vet recommended homemade dog food recipes with that let's get into it coughing for humans is our body's natural way to respond to the presence of any irritants or abnormalities existing in our airways on the other hand gagging or choking is a reflex that usually happens after or before coughing and just like us dogs cough and gag occasionally when they have something irritating the back of their throat or there's something lodged in their airway hopefully that's not the case but it's something to note if your dog is persistently coughing gagging or choking and it can be a symptom of some more serious underlying illness or medical condition so loosely speaking the reason your dog is gagging coughing or choking persistently is because it's throat that's irritating it or something obstructing the airway or there's something else going on the symptoms might include mucus production from both of your dog's nose and eyes or nothing at all your dog may also experience coughing frequently in occasional vomiting from time to time if the coughing continues your dog will eventually feel pain in its throat which then can result in them having a reduced appetite to eat which results in lethargy and extreme weight loss these are obviously extreme examples and hopefully you catch it earlier before it gets to something like that so the severity of the cough can range from mild as i described to life-threatening signs of any respiratory infection generally there are four types of coughs in dogs a hacking cough this is when your dog lets out a dry hack sounds like they're getting a blockage out of their mouth or throat a wet cough this is when your dog emits kind of a phlegmy cough a gagging cough this is when your dog constantly makes gagging sounds as you kind of know or you've probably seen it a honking cough i've heard this before the only thing was my dog had i think water go down the wrong way there she was drinking it too fast so she sounded like a geese when she was coughing so let's talk about the common reasons why your dog would be coughing or gagging number one tracho collapse it's a kind of respiratory distress in dogs that causes the trachea or the windpipe to become soft and floppy this tends to happen in smaller dogs unfortunately once a dog's cough starts it doesn't really calm down immediately overweight or obese dogs tend to have the worst case of tracheal collapse especially when exposed to heat or irritants dogs with tracheal collapse are not as active as other dogs and they have exercise intolerance and have difficulty swallowing food and water a collapsed trachea treatment includes a regulated diet and weight loss plan cough suppressants and antibiotics the veterinarian also might recommend surgery a second common cause could be kennel cough it's a condition caused by a certain bacteria where your dog's airways and trachea is inflamed this condition is actually common among seemingly healthy dogs that have been adopted or bought from breeders or shelters if your dog acquires kennel cough or if your dog gets kennel cough they might experience a hacking dry cough due to upper airway irritation this also later on could lead to wretching and possible vomiting keep in mind that this condition is very contagious it may spread through you know other dogs kennel usually resolves itself over time but they may require prescribed antibiotics and dog cough suppressants to secure itself quicker and prevent secondary symptoms one might also be able to avoid it if the veterinarian has the vaccine for it which is something you would obviously speak to your vet the third common cause is pneumonia dog pneumonia is a severe one where the inflammation of your dog's lungs is caused by pre-existing conditions like for example with a canine influenza virus or a bacterial infection or a parasitic invasion based on the dog's condition they can either have the primary or secondary disorder although pneumonia can happen to any dog breed older dogs are more prone to contracting the illness due to complications in the respiratory tract symptoms of pneumonia can include coughing difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing and also might showcase particular issues with them being able to lose weight unlike other conditions dogs with pneumonia they cough softly so it's not like a big like hacking noise or like a honking noise occasionally they'll sound like they're gasping pneumonia is not contagious but it will rapidly become fatal if not treated or appropriately addressed the fourth common cause is heart disease dogs with chronic heart disease are more prone to coughing than other normal dogs their coughs are usually soft and continuous and may worsen at night while lying down depending on which types of heart disease they have they continue to cough due to breathing difficulties that is resulting from the compression of significant airways in your dog's lungs chronic heart disease is common to large dogs and miniature toy breeds alike fifth common cause is heartworm disease dogs infected with heartworm are also predisposed to any coughing and can experience hacking coughing sounds or choking or gagging it also includes bloating and lethargy mosquitoes are known for the carriers of this parasite and are they're prevalent in warmer areas of the country like texas and florida so outside of that the risk of your dog getting heart warm is not super high but it's possible number six canine chronic bronchitis also known as tracheobronchitis it's a respiratory bacterial infection where it flames the linings of the airways so basically causes inflammation in the lungs and will result in swelling and excessive mucus production making it harder to breathe for your dog this type of bronchitis is a progressive disease that will worsen over time which can lead to severe breathing problems aside from having trouble breathing its symptoms also include lethargy so like say they're not really having a lot of energy and wheezing like cough sounds and as well as a sore throat it's not really easy to tell if your dog has a sore throat that would be something a veterinarian would diagnose man if it seems like they're having a tough time swallowing generally affects any type of reed but miniature sized dog breeds are more prone or dogs with shorter snouts the seventh common cause is laryngeal dysfunction and paralysis also known as vocal cord paralysis laryngeal dysfunction just basically your dog has the inability to bark while also having difficulty breathing the potential causes for this illness are tumors on the dog's throat neck or chest when the paralysis sets in the larynx does not expand hindering their ability to breathe and gives off a like a honking cough its coughs are continuous loud and very laborous so it looks like the dog is definitely it's like wearing them out as the dog is attempting to free their airway the eighth common cause is lung cancer it occurs among dogs who have tumors as well growing in their lungs this would be obviously discovered after if they seem like they have trouble breathing then you take them to the vet and the vet would do x-rays and further tests it's quite scary obviously for dog owners fortunately only one percent of the dog population is diagnosed with lung cancer the lifespan of dogs with lung tumors often varies if they have lymph nodes present you definitely need to take this one seriously as it can be potentially life-threatening your veterinarian may suggest chemotherapy for this type of disease the ninth common cause is reverse sneezing it usually occurs in short-snouted dogs wherein they produce cough or choking sounds it's kind of like you would know what it sounds like just youtube like a video or a google video of what it sounds like it sounds like they have like water in their nose or something like that and they're like trying to inhale but yeah that's basically what reverse sneezing is and it's like a spasm where they like inhale inhale inhale and it sounds like they have like some water in their nose or something like that some of the reasons this happens is irritants including like poor material actually as well as an excitement sudden changes in the weather and temperature as well as exercise and a collar that might be too tight it's not a severe condition but it can be problematic if it becomes chronic and prolonged the final common cause for coughing is allergies and contact with foreign objects there may be an instance where a dog can inhale like a foreign object such as like spores or pollen and then have an allergic reaction causing them to choke or cough and gag let's talk about some treatments for dog coughs so dogs with kennel cough as long as it's mild just make sure you prioritize hydration nutrition and rest and it'll kind of handle itself however the condition seems severe you may have to contact your vet and then antibiotics cough suppressants steroids and even sedatives are the standard prescription for dogs diagnosed with tracheal collapse and chronic bronchitis and then if diagnosed with heart worms treatments vary depending on the stages of the condition dogs without symptoms may be prescribed some prescription pills to reduce and eventually kill larva in the earliest stage heartworm can be fatal if they don't receive early and proper diagnosis so how can we prevent some of these coughs and treatments it's definitely important to have your dog be fully vaccinated by like making sure that they have their vaccines taken care of that's the bordetella vaccine the heartwarm vaccine i didn't get the heartwarm vaccine but my dog every summer go to the vet and they prescribe her stuff for heartworm just to be taking as a preventative because i live in florida and mosquitoes can be bad your dog may only have to take pneumonia shots once every five to seven years and flu shots at least annually well that's gonna do it for us here at top dog tips if you like our content if you learn something new if you find our content helpful please be sure to like and subscribe to our youtube channel as well as share the channel share it with your friends that's how we continue to grow and continue to put out great content i hope you have a great rest of your day and we'll talk to you soon [Music] you

Channel: Top Dog Tips

Views: 486,074

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Id: VkyTd37l5GQ

Length: 10min 29sec (629 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 16 2022