Q:  I have a dog who is 3/4 Lab and 1/4 Shepherd. She is almost a year old. She started coughing early this morning, and this is the first time that she has had this problem. I have not taken her to the vet yet. The cough sounds like she is trying to get something out of her throat. My dog is not on any meds, and there aren't any other animals in the household.  Any ideas?

A:  Because of your dog’s age I would most likely suspect as a cause either ingestion of foreign material or an infection. By ingestion of foreign material I mean your dog may have ingested something that irritated her throat. It is also important to note on this topic that when a dog coughs it almost always sounds like s/he is trying to expel something. However, it does not necessarily mean that something lodged in the respiratory tract. It can just indicate soreness or irritation in the region. By an infectious cause, I mean diseases such as kennel cough or roundworm that has migrated to the respiratory tract.

If your dog is eating, drinking normally, and does not appear lethargic you can wait a few days to see if the cough disappears. If the cough lasts more than a few days or is accompanied by any of the above symptoms, I would have her checked by your vet. Also, if you have not had your dog checked for gastrointestinal parasites, you might want to do this at the vet appointment.

 

Your question has been answered by the following veterinarian:
Daniel Lauridia, DVM

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