My old dog has a huffing cough, vomits, and is always tired. What to do?

I would be extremely concerned about her having a cardiac issue. Please take her to your vet so they can check to see if she has a heart murmur as that can lead to heart failure. Coughing is one of the first symptoms. She is the right age and breed for this to be happening. The other likely cause would be a collapsing trachea. So again, please take her to your vet for an exam. Best wishes.

These are alarming symptoms indeed. For an older dog with coughing and lethargy, my top suspicions would be: heart disease, heartworm disease (if he is not current on heartworm prevention) primary lung cancer, pneumonia or a heart based tumor. He is at risk for all of these based on his breed. I would highly recommend taking him in to your vet for bloodwork analysis and chest radiographs to properly diagnose him based on the many possible causes stated above. Poor guy. He sounds very unstable for now and the quicker you can get him in to a vet the better. I hope that this is something you can treat for, but the odds of it being something major are high in an older large breed dog. I send you all my best in getting Casper well again. Take care and best wishes.

Persistent coughing in older dogs is usually due to heart conditions where the heart doesn't function as well so enlarges, then this puts pressure on the trachea and causes fluid on the lungs, both of which contribute to coughing. Coughing can also be due to infection or tumours etc, but if it has been 2 years I would seriously suspect a heart issue. I understand your dilemma in terms of wanting to make her comfortable, but unfortunately we are legally not allowed to give you specific information on administering medications. I do think that there are medicines that could really help her though, such as furosemide to take fluid off her chest or corvental to help with the cough, and of course painkillers if requiref. However, to obtain these medicines she would need to be examined by a vet to get an appropriate diagnosis. If you really cannot get her to the vet you could try phoning your most local vet as they may be able to discuss her symptoms over the phone, and could potentially send you medication. I hope you can get Tonki something to help her!

I agree that infection is less likely in Chandler if he is to around other animals. At Chandler's age I would be most concerned about heart disease causing his cough. In a Jack Russel terrier a collapsing trachea or even asthma could also be causing these signs. Unfortunately, cancer can also be a cause of coughing in an older dog. I definitely recommend you take Chandler to your veterinarian for an X-ray and examination. If heart disease is present medications can be started to reduce the cough. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope Chandler is feeling better soon!

It could be a reverse sneeze. Hard to say for sure without seeing the action in person or having a video of it. Here is a video you can use to reference from https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1UyBrb0Hhpk However if this is not the case, because you mentioned your pet is panting also, then it's best to take Tess to your local vet for a proper examination at that point. Panting can be a sign of pain, lung disease, or even anemia just to name a few. Whatever it is needs to be visualized to hopefully better classify what it is and get treatment, if indicated. I wish you all the best with Tess's care.

I am sorry to hear about Hunter. I would strongly recommend an examination by your veterinarian which should include x-rays of his chest. In any older dog that is coughing we definitely want to evaluate for more serious concerns such as heart disease or tumors. We can also have infectious causes of cough including fungal disease, or we can see chronic bronchitis. Your vet can prescribe icough suppressant's and any other medications needed.

Poor Blanket. It could be he has a respiratory infection, but at her age, it could be something more serious such as heart disease. I think it would be a good idea to take her into a vet today to get checked out. Best of luck.