Why is my dog hacking, dry heaving, and throwing up but still active?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Poochie. Poor girl. There could be a couple of things going on with her causing this cough. It could be a respiratory infection, it could be a collapsing trachea, it could be kennel cough, or it could be something more serious like heart disease. I'd have her seen by a vet in the morning for this problem. The vet can diagnose what is causing it, and can treat her. I hope this helps!

She may have a cold or kennel cough. They get this from other dogs and it causes a lot of coughing and often some nasal discharge. When dogs cough they also sometimes vomit a small amount as a result so I'm not overly concerned about the vomiting if Rainey is otherwise normal. Keep her quiet to reduce the coughing, and away from other dogs as this can be infectious. She should be better in a few days to a weeek or so. It also could be due to a throat irritation from eating the bark and other items. Same thing though, with time this should resolve on its own. If she should get worse and stops eating or starts more vomiting then it's time for a veterinary exam and treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Rainey.

This sounds like kennel cough. If she’s been around other dogs a few days ago she may have gotten this from them. Usually if you keep her quiet and she continues eating and drinking she should get over this without treatment in a week or so. If the coughing worsens or she stops eating or becomes lethargic then bring her in for an exam and treatment. They will probably give her antibiotics and perhaps something to stop the coughing. If it’s kennel cough she could be contagious so please keep her away from other dogs until she’s better. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your dog.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It sounds like Achilles may have a respiratory infection called kennel cough (or tracheobronchitis). It is like a cold with a cough humans get and causes a tickle in the throat and dry heaving type behavior. I recommend taking him to a vet for a confirmation. They may need to take a xray of his chest to make sure its not pneumonia or something stuck in his throat. If it is kennel cough, he needs medications to prevent pneumonia and to help his cough. Good luck and kisses to Achilles!

Hi, and thanks for your question. This sign could be compatible with an upper respiratory tract inflammation/infection or possibly to a tracheitis (inflammatory, allergic, infective). A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm these clinical suspicions and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Dory! There are a few things that come to mind for causes of Dory's symptoms: the more common reason is kennel cough, which is a tracheal cough from bacterial or viral infections. The cough is "goose honk" like and is worse at night and with activity. The dog usually eats and drinks. The cough can trigger the gag reflex which causes the dog to make a gagging sound and motion that sometimes is productive. Dogs can get kennel cough from boarding, grooming, doggie day care, dog parks, playing with other dogs or even from us if we were around a coughing dog. The other possibility is she ate something that irritated her esophagus like a raw hide. I would have her seen by your Vet Wednesday. Most vets treat kennel cough with antibiotics and anti-cough medication. It usually resolves with in 2 weeks. I wish you and Dory the best!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Cody. Dry hacking/coughing can be caused by many things and it's hard to answer this without being able to ask you questions since the history is very important when trying to figure out why something is happening. Like if you said he was boarded, groomed, went to doggie daycare, was around strange dogs recently, I would then be thinking about kennel cough. Coughing has many causes including kennel cough, infection, inflammation, allergies, heartworm disease, parasites, laryngitis, bronchitis, irritation from a foreign body or something he ate, irritants in the air, toxin exposure, among many other causes. I always suggest that if something is wrong and it persists, worsens, or other signs develop, always have your pet checked out immediately by your veterinarian. They can get a good history, perform a physical exam, and then advise you on diagnostics/treatment. Possible tests could include fecal/blood/urine tests and x-rays of the chest and upper airway. Once a diagnosis is made or suspected, a sound treatment plan can be discussed and implemented. Good luck and I hope Cody recovers from this soon.