Nilla is coughing and hacking...

[jazzzytina]

Hey Everyone, I was hoping for a little advice here.

Nilla, my American Eskimo, pictured here...
http://www.jazzytina.com/nilla2.jpg

has had a persistent hack for a while. She's in the "chewing" phase still, and shares a home with 3 cats, and has chewed up their cat toys as well as anything she can get her teeth on. She seems to really favor plastic things, like butter carton lids, things like that.

Does anyone else have this problem? Keeping the house clean isn't helping - she just drags stuff out from wherever, and we do like to have toys for the cats too...

Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks. tina

[LorraineO]

Well if she is into chewing plastics etc,,, perhaps she has swallowed some of it and it had a sharp edge,,, it coud have scratched her throat and its irritated? Best to have her checked out by the vet

[LabradorLover]

I would take her to the vet as well. I hope it is nothing to serious. It probaly is something she swallowed but It could also be kennel cough....

[dragondawg]

Sounds suspiciously like kennel cough. Time for some antibiotics to clear it up. Even if a dog has been vaccinated against it, a mild case can still develop.

[Glacier]

it does sound like kennel cough, but I wouldn't bother with anti-biotics. My vet says he prescribes them only to make owners feel better. Kennel Cough is a virus. Anti-biotics do nothing for it. They only work on bacterial infections. Kennel cough should run it's course in 10 to 14 days. Watch for a fever--a sign that the infection is becoming more serious. No strenous exercise, lots of water.

Last March, 16 of my dogs got kennel cough. It took three weeks to work it's way through everyone then they were all fine.

[stacwase]

I wouldn't waste time trying to figure out what it was on my own. A cough can be serious (though sometimes it's not). Good luck, whatever you decide!

[dragondawg]

I would tend to take issue with Vets who believe it's useless to give antibiotics for Kennel Cough.

True Kennel cough is usually a combination of an initial Virus belonging to the parainfluenza, or adenovirus strains. What quickly follows that is a secondary infection caused by Bordetella bacteria. The Kennel Cough nasal vaccine is directed against all 3 infectious agents. Although the immunity conferred by the vaccine lasts about 1 yr.

In general a virus is dependent on a health host for successful replication. A bacteria is dependent on a sickly host. Thus the virus infects the healthy host, and once run down from the viral infection the bacterial infection takes off. In the case of Kennel Cough it's a guessing game as to how weakened the immune system has become due to the viral infection. If not much then yes the dog should be able to combat any subsequent Bordetella that try to take advantage of the situation. On the other hand if the viral infection really ran down the dog or in an immature or compromised immune system then the Bordetella part of the illness can be prolonged. In puppies the subsequent Bordetella infection can in concert with other bacteria progress to serious pneumonia.

Ironically some Vets argue that using antibiotics too soon may encourage antibiotic resistance hampering efforts to combat the pneumonia later if it should develop. Logically this doesn't make sense since Clavamox has a low profile for resistance, Baytril even lower (i.e. Baytril should not be used in puppies), and Zithromax is the current wonder antibiotic with nearly no resistance. Why wait for complictions to treat? Also most antibiotic resistance in bacteria is pre-existing. Probably their concerns are valid if they typically only prescribe a wide spectrum antibiotic such as Doxycycline. Exit antibiotics mode...

In general although antibiotics will have no effect on the initial viral infection, they will help the dog avoid complications of pneumonia, and allow it to recover more quickly. There is really no reason not to treat with antibiotics.

[jazzzytina]

This is all really helpful and I really appreciate your advice.

I should mention that at the end of her coughing spell, she acts like she wants to "hack" something up. She's been pretty good today - she also has episodes of what i would describe as wheezing.

Any other advice would be most appreciated. Thanks so much!

[Glacier]

Originally posted by dragondawg
I would tend to take issue with Vets who believe it's useless to give antibiotics for Kennel Cough.

True Kennel cough is usually a combination of an initial Virus belonging to the parainfluenza, or adenovirus strains. What quickly follows that is a secondary infection caused by Bordetella bacteria. The Kennel Cough nasal vaccine is directed against all 3 infectious agents. Although the immunity conferred by the vaccine lasts about 1 yr.



I don't vaccinate for it and I don't treat it. I give them OTC cold syrup to limit the hacking and let the disease run it's course. Just like I do when I get a cold. If it gets worse I treat it, just like I do for myself. Kennel cough is just one of those things that is going to happen when you keep 21 dogs together and they live within a few miles of at least 200 other sled dogs and your husband is the adminstrator of animal shelter.

My vet is amazing. I'd trust him with my own health care! I have several animals here who alive only because of his skill.

[schteve_d]

Oh, I just finished posting a question almost exactly like this, then read this, guess I should have read first! This sounds alot like the symptoms I described for Buddy, Tasha, and Docker, especially the "wheezing episodes".

[dragondawg]

letting the disease run its course may be ok, but for puppies it can readily lead to pneumonia.

Sort of reminds me of going to the Dr about 1.5 yrs ago. All the symptoms started off as viral, but after 8 days it seemed to be getting worse. I went to see the Dr, but got intercepted by a nurse practioner. After a very brief discussion she diagnosed it as a viral infection. I almost had to imply that if she didn't give me some Zithromax, I was going to find a prompt care clinic that would. So she made me promise I wouldn't take it unless I didn't feel better 3 days later. I'm not good at keeping such promises. I started taking them, and presto 24 hrs later I was almost completely back to normal. Again what started out as probably a viral infection turned into a bacterial infection. I never should have been a microbiologist in my younger days, maybe I'd be a better patient!

I've had two dogs get Kennel Cough. My previous dog was about 2 yrs old when she got it, and antibiotics did seem to help her quite a bit within 24 hrs. The other my current male puppy got the Kennel Cough from the shelter. Antibiotics made him feel a lot better at around 36 hrs post treatment. He had the classic signs of heavy mucus from the nose (i.e. started out as blowing clear bubbles), along with the cough. My other had a little cough, but mostly just zapped of strength. Variable symptoms.

[Glacier]

Originally posted by dragondawg
letting the disease run its course may be ok, but for puppies it can readily lead to pneumonia.
.

Oh, I'd treat it more aggresively in a puppy. But puppies aren't allowed here! I don't do puppies. Hasn't been a puppy here in almost six years! All my dogs arrived as adults. I love puppies, but greatly prefer them when they belong to someone else! :p

When it came through here last March, my vet was worried a bit about my senior boy, Preacher, who's health is often fragile. He's at least 11 years old and was one of only 2 dogs in the yard who never hacked once! Go figure!

That Zithromax is amazing stuff. I had a lung infection last year. After several different treatments, a few days of that stuff cleared it right up!

[lv4dogs]

I can't remember how old she is but have you tested her for hearworm? Coughing is a sign of heartworm, but *usually* not until it is in a more advanced stage, *usually* 1-3 years after they are infected. But better safe than sorry.

Other than that everyone else has said what I would of. Kennel cough would be my first guess, followed by an obstruction of some sort, then heartworm or other heart/respiratory problems.

She is such a cutie. I hope she feels better soon!

[jackie]

or your pup could have just swallowed something and is now trying to bring it back up. it always best to go to the vet, just to check it out.

tito was horrible for eating ANYTHING, when he was about 3 months old he had to go under the knife to remove a pair of socks. :rolleyes:

BTW- nilla is a beauty!!! and i really like the name.