My dog has pneumonia, heavy breathing, and gargling cough. What to do?

I am concerned that she is having such trouble breathing. This could be another pneumonia, an upper respiratory infection, a fungal infection, a congenital heart problem and much more. If your vet has already done X-rays and they were normal, you may want to talk to them about having an ultrasound of the heart done. Also, I would have her blood work checked to see how her liver and kidney values are and see what her white blood count looks like. Finally, I would talk to your vet about whether see needs some antibiotics and medicine to help her breathing. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon.

Poor Brie! Gargling and coughing are concerning for an infection deeper in the lungs or fluid in the lungs. I recommend to have her seen by her veterinarian today to be safe. The doctor may need to do an x-ray to see the structures within her chest. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Cassie was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia, but I'm glad to hear that she is getting treated with antibiotics. Your idea of trying to feed small amounts at a time may help her, especially if you can try to form the food into little meatballs (if it is wet food). If she normally eats dry food, you can moisten the dry food and form it into little meatball-shaped pieces. This make be easier for her to swallow and cause her to cough less afterwards. That being said, coughing is not a bad thing when dogs have aspiration pneumonia. Coughing means their body is trying to cough up the mucus and phlegm that is down in their airways, and bring it up and out so they can breathe better. Her historical collapsing trachea should not make it difficult for her to swallow fluids, although it may contribute to her coughing. As long as Cassie still has a good appetite, is drinking, and is able to keep fluids and food down (ie not vomiting), she may just require more time to get back to normal. Antibiotics can take several days before we see a clinical response. If she does not improve or you are ever concerned about her coughing or breathing, I recommend having her seen by your veterinarian, as a different therapy may be needed. I hope this is helpful - wishing you the best with Cassie!

Bronchial pneumonia can be a very serious diagnosis. Sometimes pets that have been diagnosed with pneumonia need oxygen therapy for a few days until the antibiotics kick in. He seems to be very uncomfortable because of his difficulty breathing. My recommendation is to have him seen at a facility that can provide oxygen therapy. In the mean time, you might try taking him in a steamy bathroom and patting his chest firmly until you can make him cough. This may help break up some of the mucous, but the best thing for him is oxygen therapy and continued antibiotics. Best wishes!

Hello there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Ebony still has a respiratory infection, it is going to be even more difficult on her body because of her narrow nostrils, which may explain the difficulty breathing. This breed will typically have a hard time when dealing with a respiratory infection because they are unable to move air through their nostrils efficiently. I would recommend taking her in to be seen by a veterinarian and have chest x-rays performed to see if there are any abnormalities that need to be addressed or more infection that requires further antibiotic therapy. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

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!

Poor Moca - he is having a tough time! A suspect pneumonia which has not responded to regular treatment should be x-rayed in order to determine any complicating factors and also be tested for parasites. A swab of fluid from the airways may also need to be cultured in order to determine the type of infection