My dog is coughing and swollen. Does she need an emergency vet now?

Poor Sophie. If her coughing is extremely bad, I would not wait until the morning to take her into a vet. Please take her into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website.

I would recommend taking Hustler to the veterinarian right away. If your vet is closed then he needs to go to the emergency vet. In an older dog with a cough and difficulty breathing we are very concerned about possible decompensating heart disease as well as lung disease (pneumonia, cancer). In combination with swelling of the limbs and abdomen we can see this with heart disease as well, or with protein loss due to systemic illness. We can also see difficulty breathing and swelling with anaphylactic reactions. All of these are emergency situations, so he should be seen right away. I wish you the best of luck with him! The vet will examine him and most likely recommend an x-ray of his chest to begin the evaluation.

If his respiratory rate is normal, he's eating and drinking, seems to be feeling good (not acting lethargic), and recovers quickly from these coughing fits (within 2ish minutes), I don't think you need to take him to emergency. A mild degree of coughing is to be expected in these guys. Try to get a video if you can, that way when you do take him in, the vet can see the severity of what you are seeing at home. I would recommend you call your vet and see if you can increase the dose of Tussigon. Use the following guidelines for when to take him to ER: *respiratory rate at rest persistently above 40 breaths per minute *unrelenting cough or any coughing fit that causes his tongue to turn a blue or purple color *not eating, or acting increasingly tired and lethargic *any new symptoms arise (vomiting/diarrhea, change in the appearance of his belly such as appearing bloated, etc) I hope that's helpful for you! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I certainly agree with your veterinarian that the symptoms you are mentioning do sound consistent with heart failure. If your veterinarian has not yet taken an x-ray of her chest, that would be the next thing I would recommend doing. It will confirm if there is fluid in her lungs. There are a number of medications that can be used for heart failure. A diuretic is only one of them and diuretic doses do have to be adjusted to each patient. I am attaching a handout below with more information on heart failure and medications for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1968 Another option would be to have a consultation with a cardiologist who can do an ultrasound of Roxie's heart (an echocardiogram) and will be able to help decide on the best medications for her based on that information. You can find a cardiologist near you here. http://find.vetspecialists.com Good luck! I hope that was helfpul. Thanks for using PetCoach.

You didn't mention if she is on heart medicaiton currently or not; however, I would either take her to your ER vet or to your regular vet as a walk in emergency appt. Spunky sounds unstable and should be looked over by a vet right away. They may be able to help stabilize her condition. Best of luck to you both. Take care.

Swelling of the face and mouth/facial swelling are often initial symptoms of an anaphylactic/allergic reaction. These reactions can occur in dogs after vaccines, after exposure to a food or substance they are allergic to, or after a bite from an insect. As it is impossible to predict whether an anaphylactic reaction will remain localized or progress to trouble breathing, which can be life threatening, it is safest to contact a 24 hour vet for Bella at this time to have her seen. The ER may recommend a treatment plan including anti-histamines, corticosteroids +/- epinephrine and montitoring until the selling has gone down. They will also likely recommend an at home dose for Benadryl after establishing a valid patient/client relationship if this should occur again as it is uncertain at this point what Bella is allergic to. Wishing Bella a quick recovery!

I'm so sorry, I am worried that Grace is very sick. Please take her to an emergency vet. If she is having trouble breathing (breathing hard), please go right away; unfortunately there isn't anything I can recommend for you to try at home. Some possible causes for what you describe include pneumonia, cancer, or heart failure. When you get to the vet, they will be able to supply oxygen to help her breathe more comfortably, and will likely recommend a chest X-ray to get an idea of what is going on so they can recommend appropriate treatment options.