My dog is coughing and licking his leg. What should I do about it?

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! From your pictures it looks like Blu has hives. Hives are usually due to an allergic reaction to something in the environment or an insect bite. Hives are ideally treated with steroids and antihistamines. Read this article about Benadryl. If the hives are still present Monday I would have him seen by your Vet. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/ I hope this helps and I wish Blu the best!

The obsessive licking sounds like an anxiety issue that is likely related to the coughing. Coughing in dogs can have a variety of possible causes, including kennel cough, heart disease, lung disease, infection, etc. I would recommend that you have Bodhi examined by the vet to see what could be the cause.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Bruno is super cute! So I hope I am understanding everything: Bruno got groomed then started coughing and licking his legs. He coughed and vomited up some hair? And since he suffers from gastritis you gave him a zantac. I am thinking he possibly picked up kennel cough from getting groomed. Sometimes they cough and produce phlegm and maybe since he is licking his legs there was hair in his stomach. I would make an appointment to get Bruno looked at. See if the Vet agrees, then they can provide antibiotics and something to help stop him from licking his legs. Good luck!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. I recommend that she sees a veterinarian has she has several issues. It is unlikely that the cough is related to the bump on her leg. She could have a respiratory tract infection, allergies, collapsing trachea, heart disease or a variety of other issues causing the cough. As for the bump, a procedure known as a fine needle aspirate is typically performed. The veterinarian will use a small needle to collect a sample of cells from the bump to evaluate under the microscope. This helps to determine if any treatment is needed. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Valkrie. She appears to have salivary staining around her hind quarters. When a dog licks inflamed skin excessively, the saliva stains the hair brown. This is why you are not able to wash her coat clean. The cause of her itching needs to be identified and controlled. Then she will stop licking allowing the skin to heal. She could have an allergy to something in her environment, diet or even to fleas. Anal gland issues can cause irritation in the same area. She will need to see her veterinarian to determine the best course of treatment. The cough can be addressed at the same visit. She may have an upper respiratory tract infection or be irritated from all the hair from licking. In the meantime, place an E-collar on her to prevent further licking. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. The secondary wounds are likely due to infections from the licking and need therapy with antibiotics for her to get better overall. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, I would recommend having a veterinarian recheck Duke so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The leg swelling could be due to an injury or a systemic illness. The coughing could be related to heart disease, respiratory disease, infection, allergies, etc. The coughing and leg swelling could also be related to heart disease. I would recommend chest x-rays to assess the heart and running what we call a ProBNP test to check and see if Duke is in heart failure. The sooner he is seen the better. 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 more than happy to help you further.