Why is my dog coughing and gagging when excited but acting normal?

There are quite a few things that can cause a cough like this. Some common possibilities would include allergies, chronic bronchitis, a collapsing trachea, or heart disease. If the cough has been going on for a while, I would recommend discussing options for further work-up with your vet to help determine what is causing it. Diagnostic testing such as general blood work (a CBC and chemistry panel), chest x-rays, and heartworm testing would all be helpful, if these tests haven't been done already.

It is possible he has a sensitive trachea or a condition called tracheal collapse, which is when the trachea briefly narrows in diameter when the pet gets excited or plays. If he is otherwise doing well, then you can monitor him for now for any progressive symptoms. If he starts coughing throughout the day, then a vet visit is needed for further evaluation and x-rays to confirm this suspected diagnosis and to then start treatment. Otherwise he should be fine if he is only doing this after playing with the other dog. Just keep him play time to a moderate level (20-30 mins) to avoid excessive coughing. I hope that Gizmo does well here moving forward. Best wishes and take care!

Coughing can be a respiratory issue, heart disease, foreign body in his throat, laryngeal paralysis etc. I would recommend Jack Beck see a vet especially if it seems to be tiring him out. He needs an exam and possibly X-rays

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A honking sounding cough with some gagging is a very typical sign of a condition called collapsing trachea. This is condition of the airway where it collapses down when they try to breath. This would be unrelated to the rake incident, but the rake incident might have stressed Gizmo to the point of an attack or episode where this collapsing trachea has become evident. It usually only flares up when they are stressed or breathing heavy. Another possible cause is kennel cough, once again unrelated to the rake incident but the stress could have caused a flare-up. This causes a hacking cough that is persistent. The other option is that the CPR episode caused trauma or inflammation to the airway or neck. Either way, the best thing to do would be to have a check up with a vet to see if some of these other underlying diseases are present, so you can treat (in terms of kennel cough or irritation of the trachea), or prevent future episodes (in terms of kennel cough). If the coughing has improved, the best thing to do in the mean-time would be to keep Gizmo quiet, comfortable, and rested, and avoid any activities where he would get excited or stressed. If he is still having trouble breathing please go to a vet right away as these episodes can spiral quickly and end up with a blocked airway all together, which can be fatal. Best of luck with Gizmo, I hope his coughing has calmed down and he feels better.

Has your dog ever had an xray of his throat (windpipe)? If not I highly recommend that you talk to your veterinarian about such an x-ray. Small dogs often suffer from a collapsed trachea (wind pipe) and this can be diagnosed easily with radiographs. Here is some information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/collapsed-trachea-in-dogs/ I hope that helps.

Hello! I hate to hear that Iggy has this happening to him. Coughing can have many causes. In general, the most common are all allergies, kennel cough, or poor air quality (and often it can be even a combination of these). A collapsing trachea can cause a deep cough. It is often described as a goose, honking cough. Some people will also describe a condition, known as a reverse sneeze as a cough. You likely could go online and find several videos of pets who have these conditions and could see what they sound like. YouTube has many videos of pets exhibiting the types of conditions. If this is infectious, in an otherwise healthy pet, they can often clear the infection without a vet visit. There are some things you can do at home to aid in the recovery: Avoid any strenuous activity and vocalization. Panting, barking, and vocalization will cause further irritation to the trachea, and this will cause more coughing…. Which will cause more irritation. Keep your pup indoors. Only go outside to potty and then back inside. Keep the air filters changed on the recommended routine schedules in your house, and you may consider adding an additional HEPA air filter. Make the drinking water and food room temperature. Retailers do sell herbal remedies that can help to soothe the cough for dogs. Honey can also help. Run a humidifier in the room Iggy hangs out in the most. Do not add any essential oils. Avoid contact with other dogs for one week after the coughing ends in case it’s contagious. Have Iggy examined if you see: A significant decrease in eating or drinking. Significant lethargy. Coughing to the point of vomiting. Coughing so frequently, it is not allowing proper rest or sleep. Discharge from the nose or eyes that is green or yellow and last three days or more. Coughing up blood or any pink tinged fluid. Worsening cough. A cough not improving after one week or lasting longer than two weeks. Any significant deviation from normal in any form. I hope this helps, and that Iggy recovers quickly! Sincerely, Dr. Elizabeth

It could be Heidi has a collapsing trachea. This can be common in toy breed dogs, and you see coughing when they are excited. It could also be due to heart disease. I'd take her into the vet tomorrow to get this checked out. Best of luck.