Why is my dog gagging and hacking for a week? Is it heartworms?

What you are describing sounds like a reverse sneeze. Typically, we are concerned with patients developing respiratory distress associated with heartworm treatment secondary to worm die off and blood clot formation. It does not sound like a that is the case here. Nonetheless, contact your veterinarian and let them know. He may need to be evaluated if the sneezing and gagging continue.

It could be kennel cough, in that case coughing could remain up to 2 weeks after treatment started, but it could be something else such as a heart condition, heartworm or a lung disease. If the cough does not resolve within a few days I would recommend having an x-ray done in order to find out what is causing this.

I am sorry to hear that your dog is coughing. There are so many reasons for chronic cough such as allergic bronchitis, pulmonary hypertension, heartworm disease, enlarged heart, fungal infection, parasites, and cancer. To answer your question heartworm is transmitted by mosquitoes only and can not pass through people. Also, there is no answer to how long it takes for a cough to resolve. It completely depends on what is causing the cough. I would highly encourage you to consider a follow up appointment with your veterinarian soon. X-rays, bloodwork, and a fecal exam may be recommended to help determine the diagnosis and best treatment plan. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

If you are concerned about the puppy at 9 week old having heart worm disease this is not possible. Heart worm disease takes 6 months to develop from immature to adult worm. That means a 9 week old puppy is not able to have heart worm disease. However bacterial, viral and even parasites like roundworms can cause coughing. I would recommend taking the puppies to a vet for a good check up that way you can determine why they are coughing. hope that helps

Poor Mila Mumu! The most common cause of coughing in a puppy this age would be a respiratory infection such as kennel cough - if this is the problem, it should be easily treatable with antibiotics. The good news is, it's really not possible for her to have heartworm disease at her age - this illness takes a very long time to develop after being infected, so we don't typically see symptoms of it in dogs less than 2-3 years old at minimum. It's good that you're planning to take your pup in to the vet today for an exam. He/she will listen to her heart and lungs, and may recommend chest x-rays or other testing if needed to help diagnose the problem. If she does have kennel cough (or something similar), your vet will probably send her home with antibiotics to treat the infection.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Besides being due to heartworms, coughing can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Scooby evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include thoracic radiographs and bloodwork. Treatment would be dependent on findings. Good luck and have a good night!

Cough can be caused by an infection, heart problem or lung condition, it is important to first know the cause before treating it as treatment is different from condition to another. The most common disease causing cough is a viral/bacterial infection called Kennel cough, this disease usually resolves without treatment within a couple weeks but if the cough is too severe it is recommended to go to the vet in order to get cough medicine and antibiotics.