My puppy is coughing and vet suggests euthanasia. What should I do?

Hi. A cough can be caused by A lot potential things. For an older pet, I would think about infection, heart disease, fungal disease, asthma, or even cancer for the older ones. I would do what your Dr recommended and definitely recheck if no improvement. I do think though a chest x-rays for an older pet would be very helpful. Good luck

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.

I think it may be time to consider a specialist. I'm not sure if the vet has done a recent x-ray of Mumchie's chest, but I would be concerned his symptoms could be due to heart disease. That can be common in older dogs. Seeing a specialist may give you some answers. Best of luck.

I have absolutely no idea why a vet would say the x-ray would be damaging to him. That is nonsense. X-rays are definitely needed and there is no contraindication of x-raying a dog of any size. The anti-inflammatory injection will not harm but it will only help if the trachea does have inflammation and that is not likely what is going on with him. My guess would be maybe a diaphragmatic hernia or some type of underlying heart disease causing the issue. He needs the x-rays.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sparkie. It is difficult to say with only one view, but I think that his heart looks enlarged on the x-ray. His trachea also appears elevated. This can cause coughing. Did he have any blood work performed to look for internal abnormalities? I would also evaluate his joints and mobility as this can be a significant source of pain in an older dog. It is worth seeking a second opinion if you are not happy with his exam. You know your dog. I hope this information helps!

Poor guy. Coughing a small breed older dog can be caused by several things including: underlying heart disease, chronic bronchitis, tracheal collapse, or even neoplasia. The first step here would be to get Dino Diaz seen by your vet and have chest x-rays done to help narrow down the possibilities here. Once we have a proper diagnosis, then proper treatment can be recommended to hopefully reduce or even completely resolve the cough. In most cases though, the cough can only be reduced, which helps the pet become more comfortable and have a better quality of life. Schedule an appt with your vet soon. I hope that Dino Diaz does well moving forward and that his cough improves. Best of luck and take care.

Puppies (really all dogs, but it's more common in puppies) can get respiratory infections and that excessive coughing. Sometimes they cough so much that they vomit. That could be something that is going on with Princess. With any cough in a puppy, I recommend a visit to the vet to have them listen to her lungs and maybe take x-rays of her chest to make sure everything is ok.