Why is my dog retching like a hairball but acting completely normal?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A honking sounding cough with some gagging is a very typical sign of a condition called collapsing trachea. This is condition of the airway where it collapses down when they try to breath. This would be unrelated to the rake incident, but the rake incident might have stressed Gizmo to the point of an attack or episode where this collapsing trachea has become evident. It usually only flares up when they are stressed or breathing heavy. Another possible cause is kennel cough, once again unrelated to the rake incident but the stress could have caused a flare-up. This causes a hacking cough that is persistent. The other option is that the CPR episode caused trauma or inflammation to the airway or neck. Either way, the best thing to do would be to have a check up with a vet to see if some of these other underlying diseases are present, so you can treat (in terms of kennel cough or irritation of the trachea), or prevent future episodes (in terms of kennel cough). If the coughing has improved, the best thing to do in the mean-time would be to keep Gizmo quiet, comfortable, and rested, and avoid any activities where he would get excited or stressed. If he is still having trouble breathing please go to a vet right away as these episodes can spiral quickly and end up with a blocked airway all together, which can be fatal. Best of luck with Gizmo, I hope his coughing has calmed down and he feels better.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It sounds like Rocco has quite the cough if he is vomiting as well. This could be an infection such as kennel cough or pneumonia. I would recommend having him examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The veterinarian may suggest having chest x-rays done to evaluate the lungs. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Scooting can be a sign of a few things. The first would be tapeworms. I know the stool check was negative but these parasites are hard to pick up during that test. When they try to come out of the colon they can be itchy and cause the pup to scoot. The second problem is full or impacted anal glands. Not common in puppies, but the sacs inside the rectum will fill and it express normally when the puppy defecates. The last possibility is just using the scoot as a means to wipe the but if it's dirty after defecating. For all of these I would recommend a dewormer from the vet for tapeworms, have the vet check the anal glands for issues, and have a groomer trim the hairs around the rectum if the pup has long fur. As for hiccups, all puppies have hiccups and as long as there are no medical problems, it is not concerning and will go away when Oliver gets older. The retching is not normal. An empty stomach could cause this. But it could also eat too fast, be sensitive to the dog food, have an esophagus problem, or have a foreign body. For now I would feed Oliver 3 times a day. If the retching continues, I recommend an X-ray of his chest and abdomen to rule out esophagus or GI problems. I hope this clarifies things! Good luck and kisses to Oliver!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This could be secondary to an allergy, a reverse sneeze or coughing. I would recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. A thorough examination will help rule out multiple causes and even considering having x-rays performed would help rule out multiple causes. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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!

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!

Hello, sorry to hear about Thor! He may be having an incidence of kennel cough. This an infectious cough that typically is not life threatening and resolves within a few days to a week with some medical management. I would have Thor evaluated by your veterinarian to assess if he needs medications. There are other things that could be causing the retching such as having something lodged in he threat or esophagus. Finally, if he is having a productive fetching with a painful bloated abdomen this could be consistent with a bloat. Both of these would be a medical emergency and warrant immediate attention. If his retching is severe, please contact your veterinarian immediately. Hope this helps and best of luck