My senior dog has a hacking cough with foam. How can I soothe it?

There is no harm in giving her honey, though it may not help at all. When dogs are in heart failure, or have a history or congestive heart failure or heart disease, usually a cough is due to one of 2 causes-- 1) fluid in the lungs OR 2) the enlargement of the heart pushes on the on the large airways, causing a "tickle" type cough response. Take her in to see your vet. It would be best to have some chest X-rays taken to see if she is in congestive heart failure, and to monitor the size of the heart. If she is NOT in congestive heart failure, your vet may prescribe a cough suppressant medication to help ease the cough. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor Chloe! You can put her in a steamy bathroom for five minutes twice a day. Start her on an omega-3 fatty acid supplement for pets as this can help to condition the lining of her trachea. You can also try an over-the-counter antihistamine but you will have to call your regular veterinarian for a recommendation as online veterinarians are prohibited from discussing human medication usage in pets. If the coughing continues beyond two days or if it gets worse, have her examined by the veterinarian.

Hi and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can try using a humidifier for the home or in areas where she resides most frequently. Making sure the home's air filter is changed every year is also a good idea and can help decrease some of the irritating allergens in the air. Using a harness on her instead of a lead and collar around the neck can help lessen stress around airways. Lastly, making sure she is in cool moist air and limiting time spent in hotter weather can help as well. If Tia's symptoms worsen or do not improve, a veterinary visit really is best in order to obtain a diagnosis so Tia can receive the most appropriate care and treatment. Causes of breathing difficulties are many and include heart conditions, certain lung conditions such as asthma or bronchitis, as well as upper respiratory infection, collapsing tracheal disorders, or primary lung tumors. Typically chest x-rays are taken to rule out the above conditions. I hope this helps and I wish you and Tia the best!

I recommend bringing him to a veterinarian and having them listen to his chest. This may be respiratory or heart related but having a veterinarian auscultate them is the first step. It may require x-rays to determine what it going on also. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

So sorry that Mary is having this problem. Unfortunately, there really isn't anything over the counter that you should give her, especially without knowing the cause. She could have a problem with her heart and have some fluid in her lungs or have an infection, like pneumonia. If you are not able to take her to a vet than try to keep her as quiet as possible and keep her hydrated and eating. Other than that, she would need to see a vet to diagnose the problem and then prescribe medications to treat. If you have a vet that regularly treats her, you could call and see if he/she would prescribe a cough medication to see if that helps at all.

Cough can be caused by an infection, heart problem or lung condition, it is important to first know the cause before treating it as treatment is different from condition to another. The most common disease causing cough is a viral/bacterial infection called Kennel cough, this disease usually resolves without treatment within a couple weeks but if the cough is too severe it is recommended to go to the vet in order to get cough medicine and antibiotics.

Poor Roxey. The changing of seasons can certainly cause these guys to get some congestion. Unfortunately since Roxey is older, I would take her to your vet for an exam. She could have a simple upper respiratory infection or something more serious like the canine flu, heart disease, or even pneumonia. Your vet will be able to listen to her heart and lungs. Your vet can also do blood work or chest X-rays if needed and provide the proper medicine to help make her feel better. Unfortunately there isn’t a good OTC medicine to help her feel better. You can try 75 mg (3 adult tablets) of Benadryl twice a day until you can get her to the vet. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better really soon.