Cough Medications For Dogs
Information On What To Give Your Dog If It Has A Cough.
Dogs can cough for any number of reasons, just as humans do. They don’t tend to cough by habit or as frequently as people do, however, and while it could be something as seemingly innocuous as cigarette smoke; your dog’s coughing could have serious connotations such as a parasites, heartworm, or even tuberculosis. There are several cough medications for dogs to deal with these.
Coughs are triggered by irritants in the airways and there are many different types. The type of cough is characterized by the cause and there are distinct coughs, including: moist and bubbly; dry and hacking; wheezy; harsh; gagging; or weak. Coughing can be can be frequent, intermittent, or chronic.
Types and causes of dog coughs
- Kennel Cough: a dry, hacking cough which is generally not serious and is over within a week or two.
- Allergies: generally a moist cough caused by irritants such as cigarette smoke or pollen. The coughing will often subside when the dog is moved away from the allergen.
- Parasites: roundworms, heartworms, and hookworms are the most common ones and can be serious, with verminous coughing.
- Heart disease: a dry, continuous cough caused by an enlarged heart compressing the airway.
- Tracheal collapse: a hacking cough generally in older, overweight or toy breeds of dogs, whereby tracheal membranes have become inflamed - can be treated with medication.
- Distemper: a dry, hacking cough with a fever and yellow discharge from the nose and eyes. Vaccinations for distemper are available.
- Canine influenza: coughing and sneezing through upper respiratory problems, often accompanied by high fever. There are no vaccines against dog flu.
- Lung tumors: cancer in dogs may also cause coughing and is often accompanied by phlegm or blood.
- Problems with brachycephalic dogs: these are the snorting type (flat-faced bulldogs and pugs) where their soft pallets can irritate and cause coughing. Surgery and/or cough medications for dogs usually help.
Determining the cause
Only a veterinarian can do this and seeing one before you administer any dog medication is essential. They may perform a number of diagnostic tests and treatments, such as transtracheal wash and bronchoscopic examination. Echocardiograms and electrocardiograms may also be performed for serious infections.
You should take your dog to the vet right away if she is a, struggling to breathe; b, is weak or lethargic; c, if there is any discharge with the coughing; and d, if the coughing goes on for an extended time.
Cough medication
There are various dog medications on the market for helping out with most conditions. Antibacterials are the most common group. If your dog has a cough but also remains normal and energetic, you could try home remedies such as vitamins C and E, along with licorice root, mullein, or coltsfoot herbs. Using essential oils around the house, like eucalyptus and tea tree in a burner, will help to keep your dog relaxed and breathing easier. Any more than a couple of days of coughing, however, you should have your dog seen by a vet and perhaps put on medication.
Don’t be tempted to give your dog cough medicine meant for human consumption, unless you vet has advised you to. You may be doing more harm than good in treating the wrong problem with a medicine which is made for people. Some human medicines are okay to give as cough medications for dogs, but standard cough medicine is not one of them.
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