My Shih Tzu puppy mouth breathes and coughs. Should I worry?

A cough associated with drinking can be a sign of dysfunction of the nerves that affect the larynx and the vocal cords. There are many other potential causes of a cough ranging from bronchitis to heart disease. I would recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian for a physical exam. X-rays might be recommended as a first step.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. In Shih Tzus, their breathing is noisy to begin with so sometimes it can be difficult to know if it is a normal sound or abnormal. If there is nasal discharge and eye discharge, it is likely an upper respiratory infection. If the sound is new but there is no nasal discharge or eye discharge, it may be allergies or may be something else. If this is a new sound then I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Chania so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could possibly be a sign of an upper respiratory infection. If Milly has any other signs such as nasal discharge or just generally not feeling well, it may be best to have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and possible treatment. If she is otherwise doing well then it would be ok to continue to monitor her for now as this could also be incidental. Good luck and and have a good night!

I am afraid that is not normal. Considering that Snoopy is almost 16 years old my first thought here is that he needs his heart examined by your veterinarian. There is a condition almost every old dog gets, some worse than others, called endocardiosis. THis is a condition where the lips of the heart valves develop little nodules which then keeps the valves from closing properly and then the oxygenated blood is not effectively pumped into the rest of the body. This makes for a weak heart action and causes pulmonary edema, ie fluid in the lungs. The fluid in the lungs make breathing a chore (therefore a high respiration rate), and causes a moist cough when the dog is resting. Your dog also will not have as much energy as usual and slows down significantly. This can be significantly improved by giving diuretics and a heart medication that improved the output of the heart. Of course it is also possible that he has kennel cough or another respiratory condition. So I suggest you make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam soon.

Poor guy. It is possible he has a bit of an upper respiratory infection. I would recommend getting him seen by your vet for something like this, because he will need the vet to listen to his lung and heart sounds for any abnormalities and clues as to what is going on internally. He may also need x-rays of his chest if there is severe congestion heard in his chest. I do hope that your fur baby Bobby is able to get this sorted out soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hi there and thank you for your post! From your description, it sounds as though Winston may be fighting a respiratory infection that may be getting much more severe. Especially if the neck is now becoming extended, this means that Winston is struggling to breath quite a bit. I would suggest you get him seen by a vet sooner rather than later. It is possible that he will need antibiotic therapy and hospitalization if his breathing is worsening. Bringing him into the bathroom with the hot water running so he breathes in the steam may help with his breathing. I would strongly encourage you to get him seen by a licensed vet though for appropriate treatment. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns! I hope Winston improves!

What a cutie! How much to feed is going to depend on the food you are feeding. Every food is going to have a different calorie amount per cup. All foods should have a chart on the package (or you can look it up on the product website) with guidelines for how much to feed based on your puppy's size. A high quality puppy food is recommended. Purina pro plan for puppies is my favorite. Start with the guideline and then watch your puppy- if they start to look a little thin or fat you may need to slightly increase or decrease amount, and you will need to increase as they get larger. As far as the cough, if it is rare, like once a day or less, I wouldn't be concerned. If it is happening multiple times a day or lasts longer than a few small coughs a vet exam is recommended.