My dog's cough returned after meds. What can I do at home?

Sorry to hear that Maeve isn't feeling so great. Unfortunately, there is little you will be able to do at home for her coughing unless you have access to medications for it. You may want to make sure you limit her environmental exposure to things like smoke, musty air, or environmental allergens. As for medications, the kind of things that might help are cough suppressants, bronchodilators, and anti-inflammatory drugs. Ultimately, it is hard to say how to medicate the condition until it is determined why the coughing is occurring. X-rays will likely be required to gather more information on this topic. Some of the more common causes for coughing in dogs are infectious disease, inflammatory conditions, structural issues of the throat / trachea / esophagus, and heart disease. If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to ask. Hope this helps!

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!

I would not recommend giving him anything over the counter for the cough as it's probably not going to help much and human medications are generally not safe for dogs. if the cough becomes severe he will need antibiotic and strong anti coughing meds, if that happens take him to the vet in order to get the medications, otherwise the condition should resolve within a couple weeks without treatment.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Kano. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian as I am concerned that he has an upper respiratory tract infection. Since the coughing has not resolved on it's own, he may require a medication. In the meantime, encourage him to continue to eat and drink. Keep him home to allow him and to rest and as he may be contagious to other dogs. I hope this information helps!

I would recommend starting by calling the vet who saw him to see if there's any treatment they can recommend over the phone based on what they saw at the visit. Sometimes we have a next step in mind that requires another physical exam first and sometimes it's something we can safely and appropriate recommend over the phone. It probably depends on how Zeek was doing overall at his visit last time. The vet may need to see him again to listen to his heart and lungs and take x-rays of his chest before moving forward. I would be most concerned about an infection being part of the problem. I hope you get it sorted out soon and Zeek starts to feel better!

It could be kennel cough, scratch in the throat from chewing on hard objects or swelling in the throat from being stung in the throat by an insect. As long as your dog is acting as normal, eating food and keeping it down you should monitor him at home. Kennel cough symptoms usually resolve within 7-10 days without treatment. However, if your dog continues to cough or becomes lethargic and off food, you should get him checked by your local vets.

There's really nothing that can be given at home to lessen the duration of the condition. Keep him warm and rested, away from other dogs and be patient. If he hasn't been seen by a vet, it's a good idea to since he may need antibiotics to help him recover faster. If he's coughing so much he cannot sleep or rest, that's another reason to get him seen so he can be prescribed cough suppressants. An occasional spoonful of honey can coat his throat and help suppress the cough temporarily.