My dog ate bark and is coughing. Should I be worried or give her something?

Hacking cough can be related to upper airways infection (kennel cough-type infections) or inflammation of the throat from a wound or foreign body. It is possible that Baylle has throat infection and because of that she is coughing a lot. However, she may have a wound from chewing wood, or a piece of grass at the back of her throat which irritates the throat and makes her cough. I would recommend you to take Baylle to your local vet for an appointment. Your vet may suggest to examine her throat under sedation to make sure thare is no foreign material or a wound from chewing wood there.

Hello and thanks for your post! He likely got a little frightened by the noise and may have choked on his food a bit, but he should be okay if he's calm now and has no signs of choking or distress. If he continues to cough or begins coughing tomorrow, he may have aspirated some of the food and should be seen by a veterinarian, but I think this may be unlikely. I hope this helps and thanks again for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

She may indeed have a wood chip lodged in her mouth or throat somewhere but since she is drinking and eating without problem I think there may be another cause for the gagging and coughing, Your dog may be suffering from kennel cough or another upper respiratory condition which also causes this kind of coughing and gagging. or she may have an infection in her throat. If the coughing/gagging does not subside by tomorrow take Leica to your vet for an exam.

Since it's resolving on it's own without treatment, I'd recommend just continuing to monitor things and take her to her vet if she starts to get worse again. She may have just had a mild cold or kennel cough, but it sounds like she's well on the mend.

It sounds like Zoey may have an upper respiratory infection such as kennel cough. This is a very contagious disease and she may have picked it up while walking outside, or when sniffing another dog. This is usually a self-limiting disease and will go away by itself within 4 weeks. If she gets a purulent discharge (nose and/or eyes), has trouble breathing or coughs more than a couple of times a day, you need to take her to the vet for an exam, antibiotics and cough medicine.

If she isn't having any trouble breathing, and its more of a retch type cough, the pieces are probably in the back of her throat or they are in her esophagus (as apposed to being in her trachea/airway). I recommend that you offer her a piece of bread - preferably starchy white bread such as Wonderbread, then offer her some water or low sodium broth to wash it down. If the pieces are in the back of her mouth or in her esophagus this may help them move down. HOWEVER, if she is unable to swallow the bread, if she seems distressed when she tries to swallow, if she is drooling a lot of making a hard swallowing motion, you need to take her in. I'm sorry, I know that's hard when finances are a stress, but if she has something that is stuck in her esophagus that can be a real problem. I think that is unlikely the case, as I would expect for foam to be able to pass on down, but a big enough piece could be a problem. Likewise, even if/when we can get her to stop coughing/retching with the bread, please watch her closely for vomiting and decreased appetite. If these things occur, please take her in. It is possible that bedding can cause a blockage in the intestine (much more common than an blockage in the esophagus as I discussed above). Also, please watch her breathing. If she starts coughing again or if it seems she is breathing faster than normal (persistently faster than 40 breaths a minute at rest and when not panting) or it seems she is labored in her breathing, take her in. Anytime they have been working on "getting something up" there is a risk that some of the material, and/or some stomach acid/contents can regurgitate into the esophagus and then get sucked down the trachea, causing aspiration pneumonia. Try the bread and water or broth, then watch her closely. I hope you can avoid a visit to the vet but be aware she may need to be seen. Again what you are watching for is: vomiting decreased appetite painful belly continued or recurrent coughing breathing fast or labored Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I hope that information helps you.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is possible that this is all related to Rose pulling a lot in the leash which ultimately could have resulted in some degree of tracheitis. This usually improves on its own relatively quickly. If this does not resolve in the next 3-5 days, have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment. At that point, if nothing else is wrong, they may choose to start her on an anti-inflammatory medication. Good luck and have a great day!