Hound coughing and gagging

My oldest dog, an eleven year-old basset hound, has been having fits of coughing and gagging since late thursday night. I sat up with her, and it lasted about an hour. I couldn't find anything wrong, and it sounded a lot like dry heaves. She didn't throw up (aside from some mucous coming out when she'd cough) and there's no obstructions in her throat (at first I thought she was choking, since it sounds much like that)

By friday morning, she seemed fine ... her perky self, no coughing or anything. Then last night, while I was out, my mom said she started again. Early this morning, she threw up a few times after eating and drinking (she drinks a whole bowl of water in under 2 minutes, which could have been cause for it, as she does throw up on the rare occasion after drinking that fast) ... but throughout the day i had her with me in my car and out walking and she seemed fine again ... it only seems to bother her early in the morning and at night.

I thought she might have an upset stomach and am wondering if I might be able to get some baby gravol into her to ease it and help her sleep ... i've never given any of my dogs human medications before though and am a little nervous doing so ... any suggestions?

I can't get her to the vet till monday (for financial reasons) but if there's something i can do to make her a little more comfortable till then i'd like to

 

I would'nt give her any human meds without consulting a vet first...at least over the phone. Most vets are closed on Sundays but maybe you can call an ER vet for advice.

 

has she been around any other dogs? Maybe it is kennel cough? Or Alergies? Hairballs? (hahah) But do you know reversebreathing, it is similar to a cough?
I hope she is getting better!

 

no, she hasn't been out to the petstore or to see other dogs for quite some time ... she's had kennel cough before, and it's not that ... she just goes into these fits of where it sounds like she's choking, then she'll gag like she's about to throw up, but nothing comes up, even after she eats, except a mucousy-foam once in awhile. Then after she gags, she'll go back into the coughing/choking sound again ... i can get it to stop if i massage her stomach, but as soon as i stop, she starts again ... the last fit she JUST had lasted about 10 mins ... the one before that was just under an hour in the middle of the night.

i was drifting through the messages earlier and saw one on jake's page ... went and read it and it seems the symptoms are exactly that of bloat ... only thing is, she's not an extremely large breed (she's a basset hound) and this is now day #3 ... so it can't be that ... but to give an idea of what she's going through. i can't wait for tomorrow to roll around ... she's got me sitting on nails, every time she starts i run straight to her side ... when she's fine during the day, she's glued to me, like she knows something's wrong ... i've had no sleep in days cause i sot up with her at night (since that seems to be when it bothers her the most)

and the worst part is ... i have to go to work now.

 

Bloat is actually not uncommon in Bassett hounds. Many deep chested breeds, not only very large ones, are prone to bloat.
Let us know what happens at the vet tomorrow.

 

Hi if this is only happening on a night and early morning it could be the humidity in the room if the air is too dry this will cause the dogs throat to dry pu and cause coughing.

Also as dogs get lder they sometimes become more susepctible to things that might never have bothered them before like dust,pollen, things like that.

Also smoking around animals is a bad idea as this can also cause coughs i know this is going to sound silly but i was told by my vets that not only can humans get cancer from passive smoking but so can animals so glad i smoke outside away from my pets.

You can tell if your dog has a chest infection by placing the palm of you hand on her chest and hold it there for about 5mins if there is an obstruction you will feel a vibrating sensation or a whezzing while she breathes...

I would however have her checked over just to make sure all is well with her...

Keep us posted on how she gets on...

Mike

 

thanks for your suggestions ... i don't think humidity is an issue, i keep a 140 gallon aquarium as well and the evaporation keeps the air in my room from getting too dry. It's helped me sleep better of the last couple years too ... and as for dust and such, she's always had allergies and gets treated for her seasonal ones every summer ... they mostly make her sneeze though, and cause some hive-like breakouts on her belly ... i'm gonna take her into the vet first thing in the morning ... but they don't open for another 3 1/2 - 4 hours ... and i may have to send her in with my mom instead since my father needs me to drive him to kitchener in the morning to pick up his new car. :? i don't know if she'll be able to get a proper diagnosis if i'm not there to explain exactly what's been going on ... but i hope so ... she's got me so scared and i hate leaving her in the hands of someone else ... what if something happens while i'm away. she really doesn't like it when i leave right now ... over the last few days she's cried and cried when i left without her ... so i know she's scared too. i just hope it's something simple and treatable tomorrow. i can't bear the thought of not having her around. :cry:

 

Okay, so i took her to the vet yesterday afternoon when i got home. They did some bloodwork and had me come back today for some chest and abdominal x-rays to rule out everything from heart disease to liver & kidney failure (she threw up a couple times and has been drinking excessive amounts of water lately, so I guess that scared them a bit)

got all the results this afternoon, and incredibly enough, she's got a clean bill of health ... all the vet figures is that it's an infection and she's treating her with antibiotics for 10 days and see what happens from there.

i'm relieved to know that it's nothing too serious, and the vet assured me that everything is working exactly how it should be and she doesn't look like an 11 year-old dog, inside or out ...

so a crisis avoided ... maybe i should learn not to panic so much just cause she's older ... this time it cost me $310 ... who knows what it'll be next time

 

Thanks for the update. I'm so glad to hear that she is in good health.