My dog with a heart murmur is coughing and drinking a lot. What's wrong?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The diarrhea is very common after boarding and can be related to either the food or the stress/excitement of boarding. The thirst is usually secondary (that is, to keep up with the water loss of the diarrhea.) The antibiotics Tylan and metronidazole are commonly prescribed for diarrhea because they restore the gut bacteria balance and have some anti-inflammatory effects in the gut as well. I expect that part o clear up in a few days. The cough could still be kennel cough. “Kennel cough” is a syndrome that can be caused by about a dozen viruses and bacteria. The current kennel cough vaccine only covers one bacterial cause. If it is mild, you may not need to do anything. Most dogs clear kennel cough on their own within 4 weeks. If she is not eating, is lethargic, the cough is severe or keeps her (or you) up at night, you need to see your vet for antibiotics and/or a cough suppressant. Of course coughing can also be: pneumonia, fungal infection, heart disease, bronchitis, and others. So if you are worried at all, see your vet. Best wishes to you and the pups!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. With the symptoms you are describing, I would have a veterinarian examine her to be on the safe side. I would want to make sure her heart is functioning normally and that there is not a heart murmur or fluid in the lungs. I would also suggest having her blood tested to make sure there are no concerning changes with Lola's systemic functions. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I am also available via consult if needed.

I think it's a good idea to get Precious checked out again if the coughing is returning. Sometimes it's an infection and other times it persistent inflammation. The doctor may recommend a medication to break up mucus and/or decrease inflammation. Until you get her into the vet, make her drinking water tepid and avoid excessive activity that will cause her to bark a lot of pant. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Possible conditions that Muñeca could have include pneumonia, congestive heart failure, bronchitis, among many other possibilities. What should be done for it treatment wise will depend on what the cause is. For this reason, I recommend that you have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. At that time your veterinarian could also check her urine and blood to see what may be wrong with her inappropriate urination. There is no good at home treatments for any of the possible conditions she may have. Good luck!

Since Moxie does have a heart murmur and Cushing's disease, there is a chance that he has either congestive heart failure or at least fluid retention and pulmonary edema. This would explain the cough. I suggest you have his heart and lungs examined by your veterinarian who, if he finds pulmonary edema, can prescribe a diuretic to remove the fluid from the lungs and heart medication to help the heart be more efficient, This would afford Moxie a much better quality of life as he could breathe much easier and would have more strength and power to move around.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Coughing and bringing up clear liquid could be coughing up stuff instead of vomiting. This is important to try to differentiate. Coughing up liquid is more consistent with heart disease. The x-rays are difficult to read as the image transfer through is of poor quality and to really assess the lungs you need good quality images, however the heart does look a bit enlarged and the lungs do look a bit 'white'. I cannot assess the liver on these radiographs as you cannot see them. An enlarged heart, white lungs (fluid in the lungs), and an enlarged liver is consistent with both right and left sided heart disease. I recommend you return either to your vet, or another vet, and get a specialist ultrasound of the heart (an 'echo') to determine if heart medications are required. Your vet can also listen to the heart to see if a murmur is present in the heart, or 'crackles' are heard on the lungs. Heart disease is very serious and needs medications to manage. Without these Lily unfortunately will essentially drown in her own lungs, if heart disease is the problem. I suggest a recheck as soon as possible to get this figured out. Best of luck with Lily, I hope she feels better soon.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! While antibiotics can cause vomiting and nausea, a cough can definitely be due to aspiration pneumonia. However, other conditions unrelated to possible aspiration such as heart disease, infectious pneumonia, or heart worm infection can cause coughing as well and may just be a coincidence. If you are concerned about Chester’s cough, I recommend having him seen by his vet to rule out the conditions above. They can perform bloodwork and x-rays to make a diagnosis and begin the appropriate treatment. I hope this helps and that all is well with Chester!