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My small dog coughs and wheezes daily. Is it more than allergies?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua (Long Coat) | Male | neutered

my dog is a male long-haired chihuahua. Every day he has coughing fits, he'll be laying down and then he'll start wheezing and coughing. my family says it's just allergies but I'm not convinced. he's been coughing like this for about 2 or so years. he also has at least 2 coughing fits a day and I'm worried that there is an underlying problem hiding behind the coughing. it may just be me being paranoid, but im very worried about his well being.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 14th, 2018

Chronic coughing in small dog can have many reasons. The most common cause is a collapsing trachea. This would be a weakness in the windpipe and whenever the dog gets excited, does exercise, and in some cases even when resting , the trachea collapses and keeps the air from getting to the lungs. This will cause coughing, wheezing and even trouble breathing. This can be easily diagnosed with an xray and a throough exam. Another common cause, especially in old dogs, would be congestive heart failure where the heart is not able to pump blood efficiently and a pulmonary edema develops and causes coughing, wheezing and breathing troubles. Again a thorough clinical exam and xrays/ultrasound exam can rule this out. I suggest you schedule an appointment for an exam with your vet soon.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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