My dog's cough returned after stopping antibiotics. What now?

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!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor guy! is your pet a dog or a cat? What breed and how old? It is helpful to know a bit more. If he has been on TWO antibiotics and zyrtec since May and it has returned while on these medications I would have him rechecked by your Vet. I would want a chest X-ray and consider doing different medications based on the recheck exam and X-rays. There are many reason for a cough: genetic condition where the trachea collapses, larygneal disease, allergies, heart worm disease, other parasites, allergic disease that needs steroids, cancer, heart enlargement or heart failure. I wish you the best!

This does not sound like a typical Kennel cough, which is usually responsive to antibiotics within 3-4 days, and then goes away after stopping medication in about 10 days time. There is something else going on here, which could include any of the following: an underlying heart condition (the heart and lungs are very much involved with each other), laryngeal paralysis (causes coughing in young adult dogs but not as common as other disorders), lung parasite, fungal infection of the lungs. You will have to get some testing done at this point to determine what the underlying cause is so that we know how best to treat Bruno moving forward. I would recommend starting with chest x-rays through your vet. I hope that Bruno feels better soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is possible that Buddy has residual bronchitis, which sometimes will not go away in older dogs. Treatment for bronchitis is steroid therapy and cough suppressants typically. I also recommend using a humidifier in the room with Buddy as often as possible. Also, I would consider having chest x-rays taken of Buddy to help better determine what the cause of the coughing could be so that the most appropriate treatment can be recommended. There may not be infection present anymore but inflammation or another cause. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be happy to help you further.

It's possible that the inflammation in the airways just has not completely resolved, and the pred was helping to decrease that inflammation. If he's still eating and drinking, and he's active and happy, I wouldn't be too concerned yet. Give it another 5 days or so, if the cough is still persisting, followup with your vet. If his breathing is labored at all, or if he seems depressed or has a decreased appetite, please followup with your vet. As for being contagious, he may still be. I would wait at least another week before having him around other dogs. Here some more information you may find helpful. https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/kennel-cough/ Thanks for asking PetCoach!

I am sorry to hear that your dog is coughing. There are so many reasons for chronic cough such as allergic bronchitis, pulmonary hypertension, heartworm disease, enlarged heart, fungal infection, parasites, and cancer. To answer your question heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes only and can not pass through people. Also, there is no answer to how long it takes for a cough to resolve. It completely depends on what is causing the cough. I would highly encourage you to consider a follow up appointment with your veterinarian soon. X-rays, bloodwork, and a fecal exam may be recommended to help determine the diagnosis and best treatment plan. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello! It sounds as if his antibiotic course may not have been long enough, but it is a little hard to know for sure, as I'm not sure what he was being treated for. It sounds like he might have had a fever. Possibly he had kennel cough, in which case, antibiotics often need to be for up to 10 days. Would you be able to take him back in to see his vet, to be checked over, and possibly to be re-started on his antibiotics? Some blood work might be helpful, too! He might need specific treatment for his eyes as well. He is adorable, and I really hope he feels better soon!