My senior dog has a dry cough that won't go away. What's wrong?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. It is possible that Buddy has residual bronchitis, which sometimes will not go away in older dogs. Treatment for bronchitis is steroid therapy and cough suppressants typically. I also recommend using a humidifier in the room with Buddy as often as possible. Also, I would consider having chest x-rays taken of Buddy to help better determine what the cause of the coughing could be so that the most appropriate treatment can be recommended. There may not be infection present anymore but inflammation or another cause. 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 happy to help you further.

Poor guy. I would first be inclined to ask for chest radiographs to be taken to look for internal causes for the cough such as bronchitis, heart disease or primary lung disease. I am not sure what kind of medication he was placed on, but for most coughs we typically will try an antibiotic first if it seems to be infectious and then go with more diagnostics if things don’t improve. I would also ask the vet to check for any abnormal lung or heart sounds on physical exam. I hope that you can get to the bottom of Pretty boys cough soon! That is a long time to have a cough, is hopefully he can stabilize soon. Take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor guy! is your pet a dog or a cat? What breed and how old? It is helpful to know a bit more. If he has been on TWO antibiotics and zyrtec since May and it has returned while on these medications I would have him rechecked by your Vet. I would want a chest X-ray and consider doing different medications based on the recheck exam and X-rays. There are many reason for a cough: genetic condition where the trachea collapses, larygneal disease, allergies, heart worm disease, other parasites, allergic disease that needs steroids, cancer, heart enlargement or heart failure. I wish you the best!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Temaril is a combination product of a steroid (suppresses the immune system, is an anti-inflammatory), as well as an anti-histamine (counters the histamine affect that is produced by allergies). Another possibility (less likely given the breed/age of Zeek) is a collapsing trachea (weak airway) where the steroid helped with the inflammation. The fact that Zeek responded to this medication, and it has come back when off it, is suggestive that there is either an allergy that is present that requires longer treatment, or small airway disease where the anti-inflammatory effect helped open up the airways. I recommend discussing with your vet if they feel this is seasonal allergies, and if so discusss a medication you can use longer term through the season (discuss Apoquel), as steroids long term can be hard on the body. Best of luck with Zeek!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Precious! There are many reasons for coughing: kennel cough, allergies, pneumonia, heart failure or cancer. Since it has only been a few days it is ok to give her more time. Kennel cough takes 2 weeks to resolve. If the cough worsens or hasn’t resolved in 2 weeks then I recommend a recheck and chest X-rays. I wish you the best!

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!

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.