My dog's cough with phlegm returned despite medication. What's wrong?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would assume if Danny has something infectious like a bacterial or viral pneumonia he would have improved with antibiotics or the virus would have ran it's course. The only advice in retrospect would have been to not stop the antibiotic until the cough had resolved for at least a week or 2. Some pneumonia's require 4-8 weeks of antibiotics. He definitely could have something else going on in his lungs like heart worm, heart disease, tracheal disease, a hernia, fungal pneumonia (they are very sick), cancer or allergic airway disease. If you are able try to get Danny to a vet for an exam, heart worm test and chest X-rays. I wish you the best!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Precious! There are many reasons for coughing: kennel cough, allergies, pneumonia, heart failure or cancer. Since it has only been a few days it is ok to give her more time. Kennel cough takes 2 weeks to resolve. If the cough worsens or hasn’t resolved in 2 weeks then I recommend a recheck and chest X-rays. I wish you the best!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Temaril is a combination product of a steroid (suppresses the immune system, is an anti-inflammatory), as well as an anti-histamine (counters the histamine affect that is produced by allergies). Another possibility (less likely given the breed/age of Zeek) is a collapsing trachea (weak airway) where the steroid helped with the inflammation. The fact that Zeek responded to this medication, and it has come back when off it, is suggestive that there is either an allergy that is present that requires longer treatment, or small airway disease where the anti-inflammatory effect helped open up the airways. I recommend discussing with your vet if they feel this is seasonal allergies, and if so discusss a medication you can use longer term through the season (discuss Apoquel), as steroids long term can be hard on the body. Best of luck with Zeek!

Poor guy. I would first be inclined to ask for chest radiographs to be taken to look for internal causes for the cough such as bronchitis, heart disease or primary lung disease. I am not sure what kind of medication he was placed on, but for most coughs we typically will try an antibiotic first if it seems to be infectious and then go with more diagnostics if things don’t improve. I would also ask the vet to check for any abnormal lung or heart sounds on physical exam. I hope that you can get to the bottom of Pretty boys cough soon! That is a long time to have a cough, is hopefully he can stabilize soon. Take care.

You might ask your veterinarian if the X-rays could be reviewed by a radiologist. While the resolution that the forum pictures allow makes them a bit difficult to interpret, I am concerned that the X-rays do not appear normal, and she may have a more serious underlying condition. It may be that she has some underlying heart disease, cancer, or an infection that requires a more broad spectrum of antibiotic. I agree the blood work you've attached is unremarkable. Was a CBC performed as well? Check back with your vet about a radiology review, and a recheck exam as well. A consult with a cardiologist may be recommended, depending on the radiologist's opinion. I'm sorry I don't have better news, or a solution to offer you to try at home, but I think you need to circle back and followup with your vet on this. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While antibiotics can cause vomiting and nausea, a cough can definitely be due to aspiration pneumonia. However, other conditions unrelated to possible aspiration such as heart disease, infectious pneumonia, or heart worm infection can cause coughing as well and may just be a coincidence. If you are concerned about Chester’s cough, I recommend having him seen by his vet to rule out the conditions above. They can perform bloodwork and x-rays to make a diagnosis and begin the appropriate treatment. I hope this helps and that all is well with Chester!

You didn't mention if his cough improved with each treatment. I am presuming that it improved, but then started again when you finished the medication. Since the cough has been going on for a period of months, is dry and recurs without medications, you could be dealing with something like chronic bronchitis, but there are other things that your vet needs to look for as well. I have attached information below on chronic bronchitis. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=3151 If that is what BigMoe is dealing with, he may need to be on some medication long term instead of just a short term medication. I know you're on a fixed income, but I would speak to your vet about how BigMoe has responded to TemarilP and Hydrocodone and decide on your next treatment plan. Good luck! I hope that was helpful! Thanks for using PetCoach.