Wheezing

Hi PT,

My 2 year old cockapoo has been wheezing lately. I can only compare it to kennel cough because she had that when I first got her 2 years ago. She was treated and I never heard that kind of coughing again until recently.I thought it was just for attention because she would only do it while I was preparing food and she was looking up at me. I thought she wanted my food so bad that she would choke. She pretty much coughs a couple of times then gags as a cat does when it has a hairball. It now happens a couple of times a day even when she is laying down, sleeping. The vet couldnt tell me anything over the phone, they just want me to bring her in so that they could charge me an arm and a leg for looking at her and probably tell me she is fine. She is updated on all of her shots and is currently taking heart worm prevention tablets once a month.

Any ideas as to what this is? What should I do?

Thanks PT!

A common cause of the symptoms you are describing is a collasping trachea. The condition resulting in a weakness of even a genetic defect of the cartlidge rings that comprise the trachea. A Vet would have to confirm using a scope to look at the trachea.

Other possibilities contributing to gagging/chronic cough are:

1. Migration of round worms from the lungs to the stomach completing their life cycle.

2. Stomach reflux irritating the esophagus triggers a reflex. Acid blockers resolve the problem.

3. In older dogs - possible heart problems.

In another words it's an arm and a leg time for you. If the Vet says everything is fine, then ask them about the possibilities listed above.

I've seen lots of dogs come in the hosp. gagging like that and turns out they had a respiratory infection, although lately we've had several cases of pnemonia. Either would require antibiotics and waiting will only make things worse. And if it's the problem DragonDawg suggested then you REALLY need to get to your vet.

I look at it this way, a vet can't see your pet or examine it properly over the phone, and even if that were possible, in many places it's illegal to dispense medications without seeing the pet for proper diagnosis. That puts the vet's medical license on the line if something were to go wrong. You wouldn't expect the man to put his livelihood on the line for someone else's convienience would you?

I'd rather pay a simple office call to find out a problem is 'nothing' than to wait and lose my pets LIFE because it was 'something'. I wouldn't want to know I caused the pet I love pain and misery because I waited and valued a $50 bill (or whatever your office calls are) over my pets life and health.

Thanks for the responses!

I do have an appointment with a vet today. I'm having trouble finding a good vet in my area and am worried about my dog not getting the right medical care if she needs it. The last time she had to see a vet, they wanted to keep her for a week to watch her progress and charge me for her stay. She was only on antibotics and I was home with her until I felt safe. They still wanted to keep her at the vets office.

Now that I have some ideas of what this may be, if they say its nothing, i'll definitely bring up these situations. I know I made it seem like its about the costs, she is definitely worth the world to me so i dont care what the costs are. I just worry they will make it seem worse than what it is just to get some money out of me. They might have to do loads of tests and I wanted to get an idea as to what to expect. She's only been doing this for about 3 days. Thats long enough for me.

Thank you so much for the insight. I'll update the post tomorrow with results from the vet.

Hi! My Sugar was wheezing, more and more over a week or so. Long story short, one of her canine teeth (a "fang") was infected and decaying from the root. As it was an upper tooth, the infection was going into her sinus cavity. We had the tooh removed, and now she is recovering.

It took time and a few visits to figure out what was wrong. Dogs can't tell us, "My tooth hurts," or "It hurts when I swallow," so there is something of a guessing game to eliminate causes and find out which one is the REAL issue.

This is the MOST expensive tooth removal, I have seen, lol over $900. That is because we had to have x rays of the chest and head / sinus cavity, and several other things trying to figure out what the heck was going on. The first time I took her in, we tried a course of antibiotics, hoping it was a sinus infection which would clear up. It didn't. So after that 10 days, back we went and started the next round of tests. It is frustrating, and expensive, but all part of having a pet.

Best wishes with your pet. Let us know how things develop!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boricuajenny5

Thanks for the responses!



Thank you so much for the insight. I'll update the post tomorrow with results from the vet.

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Just wanted to say that I hope the Vet can help. Dogs do not do things
out of spite, only humans do that. ;) I hope she feels better soon.

Turns out that my little Amaya has developed allergies and as a reaction, her throat closes up. She was given a shot and will be taking a number of pills for the next two weeks to see if that helps. The vet says she could be allergic to the forced heat coming through the heater vents. The filters are clean and I havent even turned the heater on in about a week so that cant be where she is getting her allergies from. Only my bedroom has rugs but i've seen her react in the living room and kitchen so its not isolated to one room. I'll have to find out what it is. Hopefully its nothing major and she'll get over it within a week. I would hate for this to be the start of a long battle.

Thanks for all of the great advice!

I have forced hot air for heating as well. I put some filter material on the inside of the grill on the INTAKE vents. This prevents any additional "stuff" getting into the venting system. It has been a year now, and I am AMAZED at how mucch "stuff" collects on the vent. (I just vacuum it away, no need to bend over or anything.) This doesn't cost much except some time, and it benefits all who live in the home. Might be something you want to consider.

I used paper clips and those black gripper clips (office supplies) to attach the material to the inside fo the grill.

Prayers that the pills and shot work!

I know it is too soon to tell for sure but I havent heard Amaya wheeze since I took her to the vet. I cant remember the name of the shot they gave her but she is taking Antibiotics and started on Cortizone today. I dreaded the thought of giving her pills because when Amaya was only a pup, we had battles trying to get her to swallow half of a small tablet. Now she is grown and takes the tablet from my hand like nothing. :D

I've been keeping a close eye on her and hope to never hear that noise again :)