Sick dog-- I'm worried! Advice?

[sickofcollege]

Yesterday my dog started to cough (at first I thought they were hiccups). Which turned into coughing and then making a gagging noise. I checked to see if something was lodged in her throat since she is the queen of sticks.

At about 4 am (central) she coughed/gagged up some white foam. She has done this 3x so far. Very very small amount and she usually eats it before I can clean it up. Gross, I know.

Kera has been acting herself so far. But, I'm getting somewhat worried. I've learned that searching the internet just freaks you out more...

She's picked at her breakfast (normal for her), played briefly in the yard, etc. I was thinking it could be allergies so I gave her a Benadryl just in case. It hasn't helped so I don't think that's it.

She's an Australian Kelpie--1.5 years old. UTD on all shots, Frontline, and Heartguard. VERY active dog. I used to take her to the dog park daily but recently stopped because of overcrowding.

I'm keeping a close eye on her and if I think it gets worse she's going to the ER Vet. I'd like to wait til the morning though....the ER vets here are outrageously priced.

Any advice? I'm just kinda freaked right now.

[kookicat]

Do you have kennel cough over there?

http://www.darwinvets.com/dogs/kennelCough.htm

If she's behaving normally, temp is normal, gums are normal, there's probably no need to worry too much yet. Keep an eye on her, but don't feel bad for not taking her to the vets at this point.

[Pancakes]

Dogs with allergies generally don't show the same things we get when we have allergies -- itchy eyes, runny nose, coughing, etc. The Benadryl probably didn't hurt but probably didn't help.

I would also continue to keep an eye on her. Could be she ate something that's irritating her esophagus? If she continues to vomit up water, food, etc., then I might be more worried and bring her in. I wouldn't rush her to the ER just yet though.

Don't read stuff on the internet...it will just freak you out. She's young enough and UTD on vaccines and acting normal enough (right?) that no red flags pop up immediately.

Wait and see, and if anything changes that alarms you (more vomiting, loss of appetite), take her in. Lethargy might be another sign but since you gave her the benadryl that might make her a bit sleepy too.

[sickofcollege]

We do have kennel cough here in Texas...I just pulled out her health file and she is treated for it. Question...is it 100%. She is also due for everything at the end of the month.

Now that I think of it, she had severe diarrhea Friday night. She woke me up 5-6 times to go out.

Here's a pic of my special little girl.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc60/guiiamarie/DSCN1263.jpg

[sickofcollege]

She is acting like herself (for the most part). I have to agree with you, Pancakes, that the lethargy might just be due to the Benadryl.

She is very very active most of the time. Right now, she is laying in the dark cool hallway. Normally she sits by the one of the windows on squirrel patrol and begs to be let out to play. But, its 100 degrees here--hot, dry, and humid.

Question: I have a 12 y/o lab mix as well. Should I separate them just in case it is something bad? BTW, the older dog is her normal fat/lazy self. No signs of sickness at all.

I'm gonna stay off of Google. It just freaks me out too much. BTW, I just found out about a clinic in the city that isn't an ER vet but is opened 7 days a week! Evidently its a city-run program...which will do. Even if I can just get some meds to give her some relief. Poor baby :no:

[Ghazzu]

I'd be somewhat suspicious of a foreign body, if, as you say, she eats things other than food.

If she seems stable, might be ok to wait, but if she doesn't improve, I'd consider radiographs or ultrasound.

Is she running a fever?

[sickofcollege]

No fever. Gums are fine, too. I'm going to keep watching her to see where this goes...if she gets any worse over the next few hours I'll take her in.

My bf thinks she just has allergies and is reverse sneezing (?) to the point that she gags herself. IMO, that just isn't the case.

Sick dog, lame horse, insomnia, and a ton of schoolwork to complete. I'm hoping things get better. Moreso for my four legged girls!

[Doodlebug1]

Sounds like kennel cough to me - vaccinations are notoriously ineffective for some dogs, there is a short term nasal 'vaccination' that is more effective, but is only really practical if you know your dog has to go to the kennel.

Some dogs do get it far worse than others. With some dogs you can just let them get over it - but with others the cough is really bad - and it sounds like your dog has the 'bad' version.

It really sounds horrid, but as you can tell from your dog, it is just a cough (it has such a bad reputation because it spreads so quickly). Keep your dog quiet (over exertion triggers coughing) and avoid if you can, changes in air temperature - dry air particularly can be irritating.

Keep an eye on your dog's temperature to make sure KC is what it is and then get to the vet when you can.

As a responsible dog owner, be upfront with people for about 3 months and say your dog may be carrying KC and don't intentionally mix your dog with others. When you go to the vet, keep her in the car until your appt is ready.

I hope she is feeling better soon.

[sickofcollege]

Sadly, that's what I think it may be, too. I always tend to think of and dread the worst case scenario. Although, I'd be thrilled if we went to the vet and they said it wasn't the case.

I've noticed that keeping her in the house (AC--stays around 65-70 degrees) helps alot. But, when I have to take her potty outside (where it's usually 100-105 degrees) it gets worse.

Any suggestions for keeping a really active dog quiet? Crate?

Just to be safe should I keep my two dogs apart? So, it doesn't spread?

If Kera does indeed have kennel cough she won't be leaving the house for awhile. I take every precaution to keep my dogs healthy and assume others do the same. But, I can see how it could happen. She is very social and plays with all dogs at the park (which is an off-lease park). There are anywhere from 50-150 dogs there at anytime.

I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed and watch her. Hopefully she doesn't get any worse.

Thanks for the advice and suggestions thus far. I appreciate it greatly!

[Doodlebug1]

It's waaaay too late to think about separating your dogs but out of courtesy I wouldn't take my 'healthy' dog to the dog park for a while as there is a strong liklihood she is contagious.

I think you are doing just the right thing. Yes, she will cough when you take her outside, but just take her out a few times a day - you can't not let her out, all you can do is minimise the triggers. She really is unlikely to get worse, so don't worry so much!!

KC isn't that bad, really, as soon as the vet gives you some drugs, it will clear up really quickly - the reason people don't like it is because it spreads so rapidly and without drugs can take a very long time to clear. Both my dogs got it last year, they came in contact with a dog who had it (no, the owner didn't say anything :mad:), my girl coughed like crazy, but was generally her normal self - nothing was going to stop her coughing apart from drugs. my boy dog coughed a bit, like most ill men, acted like it might be a near death experience, but ultimately recovered very quickly though i did get drugs to assist as my dogs do come into contact with a lot of other dogs.

Really, KC is not the 'worst case'. It clears up quickly, and I don't think dogs really suffer with it that much. Worse would be something stuck in the throat that needs an operation or similar. Really, this isn't a bad thing.

[sickofcollege]

Phew! What a relief, Doodlebug1! I am such a worrier...but, it really made me feel alot better to hear about your two dogs.

My animals are my family since my real family is so dysfunctional. So, if they get sick it really hits me hard.

I'm going to stop by the park tonight to tell some of my close 'dog park' friends about it. Just in case. I don't want their pups getting sick either! But, I'm sure if Kera got it their dogs were exposed as well.

Thanks again, really. I appreciate it immensely!

[Ghazzu]

Is she honking like a Canada goose?
That's pretty typical for KC.

[sickofcollege]

I thought of posting a video of what shes doing so everyone could see what she's doing. But, I found a dog doing the EXACT same thing on YouTube. But, my dog is slobbery and coughing up white foamy phelm (sp?).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN3RpoU0qXw

[Sing Mia Song]

Well, it's been going on for 24+ hours, so it's probably not bloat. Could be kennel cough (the vaccine is only effective against certain strains). Could be pneumonia. Generally you don't get the phlegm production with reverse sneezing.

If you can't get in to a vet today, I'd monitor her temperature and raise her food and water bowl so she's more comfortable eating and drinking. But it sounds like radiographs are on the agenda.

[fourmares]

Is there any chance that she could have gotten into rat poison? It's worth ruling out since it can cause bleeding into the lunges which makes the dog cough. Most likely it's bordadella (kennel cough).

[WaningMoon]

Yesterday my dog started to cough (at first I thought they were hiccups). Which turned into coughing and then making a gagging noise. I checked to see if something was lodged in her throat since she is the queen of sticks.

At about 4 am (central) she coughed/gagged up some white foam. She has done this 3x so far. Very very small amount and she usually eats it before I can clean it up. Gross, I know.

Kera has been acting herself so far. But, I'm getting somewhat worried. I've learned that searching the internet just freaks you out more...

She's picked at her breakfast (normal for her), played briefly in the yard, etc. I was thinking it could be allergies so I gave her a Benadryl just in case. It hasn't helped so I don't think that's it.

She's an Australian Kelpie--1.5 years old. UTD on all shots, Frontline, and Heartguard. VERY active dog. I used to take her to the dog park daily but recently stopped because of overcrowding.

I'm keeping a close eye on her and if I think it gets worse she's going to the ER Vet. I'd like to wait til the morning though....the ER vets here are outrageously priced.

Any advice? I'm just kinda freaked right now.

Sounds like my dog when he had tonsillitis. We were giving it back and forth to each other regularly until I had mine out finally at 30 yrs old.

[Ben and Me]

In my limited experience, kennel cough coughing sounds like they're trying to choke and cough/hack something up....like a Canada Goose (good one, Ghazzu!) It also seems to get worse when the front of the neck is pressed (so if you're taking her out on a leash, that might explain why the coughing gets worse outside).

Even if it is "just" kennel cough, still make sure to get her into your vet (and make sure they know you have possible kennel cough!) so they can get her on some drugs to help get it cleared up!

[RacetrackReject]

I had a Siberian Husky do the same thing and it turned out he had heartworms. And yes, he was on Heartgard.

[Brookes]

One of my girls had the same symptoms, coughing up the white foam, hacking. It was a strain of kennel cough she picked up at a show. My girls all get the nasal vaccine for kennel cough. However just like the human flu there are a variety of strains out there that the vaccine doesn't cover.

Take your dog to the vet, let them know you think she has kennel cough so you don't infect a bunch of other dogs while waiting. I don't remember the treatment but it worked immediately and my other dogs never picked it up from her. But seriously your vet is the one you need to be talking to not us.

[Tiki]

I would also guess foreign body. Take her to the vet!

[kookicat]

How is your girl doing now? :)

[dalpal]

If she's been at the dog park playing...chances are, she has good ole Kennel Cough.

You can give a dog Rubitussen....don't know the dosage, but know that you can.

Some vets will prescribe antibotics to ward off the chance of pneumonia. They don't do anything for the KC itself.

I've had a dog get it in my household..and no one else did.

Vitamin C
Goldenseal

both good things to boost your dogs immune systems.

KC is annoying, but will be over and done with in about 10 days.

[Milocalwinnings]

I'd guess kennel cough too. Vaccines are def. not 100% effective. Our dogs are all UTD on vaccines and occasionally one will pick it up somewhere.

[FindersKeepers]

My bet would be kennel cough also. She's just coughing so hard she gags a little...we've all been there.

No need to separate them, but I'd treat them both with antibiotics. In my experience, the vaccine is never effective. Everytime we've boarded a dog, we've gotten the vaccine, within the right time frame, and everytime they come home with a strain of it. It's not the fault of the vaccine, its just like our flu shot. They can't target every single strain.

They always bounce back just fine within a couple of days.

Give us an update when you get a chance!

[IdahoRider]

If this were my dog, I would want the vet to make the diagnoses. Although there have been some great ideas from others here, only a vet actually examining your dog can diagnose your dog effectively.
Sheilah

[Roulett]

If this were my dog, I would want the vet to make the diagnoses. Although there have been some great ideas from others here, only a vet actually examining your dog can diagnose your dog effectively.
Sheilah

I agree, only your Vet can give you a 100% answer - coughing is also the first
signs of possible heart problems - coughing can also be a sign of gastoric torsion,
and then, simply kennel cough. I just think it's wise to have your Vet take a
look at your dog just to make sure it's not something more serious.

[Roulett]

If in fact your dog has kennel cough - Hycodan is what most Vet's will give you for your
pet.

[TripleRipple]

My dog did exactly the same thing as you've described, only thing different is that she also drooled clear drops as well.

She did it last Thursday, started with the hiccuping, gagging, frothy stuff, then drooling like she didn't want to swallow (clear, not a color or anything stringy or pus like)etc...went for hours, then she woke me up doing it at 1am, though just the hiccups and gagging by then. By the next day at noon, however, she was fine. The whole time, her temp stayed normal, stool great, appetite strong, personality sparky. So I didn't take her in.

She had no signs at all of any trouble until this Wednesday, and it started again. So this time I took her to the vet with this weird set of symptoms. He looked down her throat, said that one of her tonsils was inflamed/infected, it was whitish. Said she probably had swallowed something at some point that irritated/infected/got temporarily stuck on it. I said what would it look like if the object was still stuck (we have cheet grass here). He said it would look like a red lump/nodule (I hope I have that part right - he said he didn't think anything was still stuck there).

He prescribed amoxicillin, which she is taking. So far, so good. When I reflect back on her symptoms now, I recognize that when I was a kid and had tonsilitis and thus a sore throat, these were also my symptoms. Good luck - you might want to check with a vet.

I felt pretty bad that I didn't do it the first day, but my dogs always get into stuff that causes a one day bad event, so I can't rush in each time. But she had a sore throat for a week longer than necessary because I waited. The tonsilitis just never occurred to me as a cause.

[keddy]

sleep with her tonight, it wll comfort her and maybe calm her down. it might be a nerve disoder my dog has it too. it isnt curable but it wont kill her. i hope she turns out to be fine and i am very glad you are taking her to a vet right away that will definetly play a factor in her getting better




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dog kennels (http://www.simplykennels.co.uk/)

[arnika]

Everyone, this thread is from July of 2009. Whatever this was, is long taken care of, lol.

[Zu Zu]

Everyone, this thread is from July of 2009. Whatever this was, is long taken care of, lol.


:lol::lol::lol: = JULY 2009 ??? BUT seriously hoping this dog recovered uneventfully ~ :yes: