Why is my 1-year-old Chihuahua coughing and gagging like a goose?

Goose honking tells me that she is coughing. There are a few different things that can cause a cough. With puppies, it's more likely to be an infection or parasite causing this. It's best to take her to the vet for an exam. They will be able to narrow-down the cause of this and can likely provide treatment that will stop the cough. I hope that helps and Marquessa gets better soon.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Dory! There are a few things that come to mind for causes of Dory's symptoms: the more common reason is kennel cough, which is a tracheal cough from bacterial or viral infections. The cough is "goose honk" like and is worse at night and with activity. The dog usually eats and drinks. The cough can trigger the gag reflex which causes the dog to make a gagging sound and motion that sometimes is productive. Dogs can get kennel cough from boarding, grooming, doggie day care, dog parks, playing with other dogs or even from us if we were around a coughing dog. The other possibility is she ate something that irritated her esophagus like a raw hide. I would have her seen by your Vet Wednesday. Most vets treat kennel cough with antibiotics and anti-cough medication. It usually resolves with in 2 weeks. I wish you and Dory the best!

Goose honking coughs are typically kennel cough, which is a multifactoral bacterial infection of the upper airway. If he is also lethargic then I would recommend getting him seen by your vet to get him started on antibiotics to help clear up his infection. There are some pets that have mild symptoms that have a self limiting infection (starts clearing up on its own within 3-4 days), but this may not be the case for Finnigan. It’s best to take him in soon for treatment. Best of luck to you and I hope he feels better soon. Take care.

Kennel cough, or Bordetella, is a common upper respiratory pathogen that is very contagious between dogs, and usually dogs have a loud goose-honk cough, sometimes ending in coughing up a bit of phlegm. This could be going on with your dogs. Don't worry, it isn't life-threatening, but I usually put these dogs on an antitussive to help alleviate the cough and sometimes an antibiotic. If you don't take them to a vet, the cough should go away in a week or two, but make sure you don't let them socialize with other dogs as they will spread it around.

I'm sorry your dog is having this issue. Kennel cough is typically a dry, almost "honking" cough that can produce a white foamy/mucus substance- they can cough so hard it causes a gag reflex. It usually starts at one time of day and then gets worse and more frequent. Do you have other dogs in your home or neighbor dogs that play with your dog? If so, are they gagging or coughing? Kennel cough is very contagious thus can spread to other dogs in close contact. If you are noticing this, I would contact your vet so they can determine if your dog needs an antibiotic. Some other possibilities for what you are noticing are other respiratory infections, allergies and/or a reverse sneeze or there may be something stuck in your dogs throat (like a grass seed or part of a rawhide chew). Also, some dogs can simply drink too fast especially when it's very hot- this can cause some water to go down "the wrong pipe" and then a gag response. If your dog continues to gag or, especially if the gag becomes more frequent or severe, I would take him back to your vet. Your vet can listen to your dog's lungs for sounds of infection and may want to take a chest X-ray as a next step in working this up. I hope your dog feels better soon!

As Dr. Linda mentioned, a honking cough can be due to respiratory infections, including kennel cough (tracheobronchitis). It can also be due to conditions like a collapsing trachea, reverse sneezing, or other more serious respiratory issues. I included a link below that has a video of a dog reverse sneezing for comparison to Niko’s episodes at home. If this issue persists, if Niko has any other concerning changes at home (loss of appetite, lethargy, changes in his normal breathing efforts or patterns, etc.), it would be best to have him examined by your vet. Wishing you and Niko the best! https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952493

I'm happy that Mille is still wanting to play and is acting normally despite her cough. I can't say for certain without listening to her, but she may have picked up kennel cough somewhere. "Kennel cough" isn't a particular diagnosis, but simply a cough caused by one of several different possible infections (viral or bacterial). Most dogs develop a mild cough, but it can get worse. You might want to get it checked out, and if the cough is bad enough your veterinarian might want to give her medication for it. Hopefully Mille recovers quickly.