Coughing pup

wendydoll

I have a 7 week old lab that now has developed a terrible cough. It sounds like she had something stuck in her throat. She hasn't coughed up anything and hasn't attempted to cough anything up. And we're fairly attentive when puppy is trying to eat things she's not meant to.

The cough seems to trigger when she wakes up first and when she gets excited and pulling on the leash. Have her booked in with her vet this evening but I'm just wondering if anyone else has had problems like this before?

I've googled her symptoms last night (worse thing thing to do:eek:) but I kinda thought it was a collasping trachea from pulling on leash but that doesn't really explain why she's coughing on waking. She's in perfect form otherwise.

Deank

wendydoll wrote: »

I have a 7 week old lab that now has developed a terrible cough. It sounds like she had something stuck in her throat. She hasn't coughed up anything and hasn't attempted to cough anything up. And we're fairly attentive when puppy is trying to eat things she's not meant to.

The cough seems to trigger when she wakes up first and when she gets excited and pulling on the leash. Have her booked in with her vet this evening but I'm just wondering if anyone else has had problems like this before?

I've googled her symptoms last night (worse thing thing to do:eek:) but I kinda thought it was a collasping trachea from pulling on leash but that doesn't really explain why she's coughing on waking. She's in perfect form otherwise.

My bet is it's kennel cough, they can pick it up anywhere, it's an airborne virus, similar to flu in humans.

It sounds worse when they get excited, my two Labs have had it a couple of times (even though they were vaccinated against it) and it sounds horrible.

You need to take the pup to the vet asap and get her vaccinated against it, the vet will also probably give you antibiotics, the cough may take a couple of weeks to clear up.
D

Toulouse

Kennel cough perhaps.

Why have you got a 7 week old pup? How long has she been away from her mum and has she been in contact with any other dogs? Are any of the rest of the litter coughing?

If you think it's kennel cough then leave her in the car until you've spoken to the vet, it's highly contagious and owners in the waiting room won't appreciate their dogs being infected.

barbiegirl

Definitely the vet, in the interim to soothe the cough a spoonful of honey. Poor puppy, you can't mix her with any other dogs until you get this cleared up. Such a pity at this important stage for socialising. The quicker it gets dealt with the better.

Deank

Toulouse wrote: »

Kennel cough perhaps.

Why have you got a 7 week old pup? How long has she been away from her mum and has she been in contact with any other dogs? Are any of the rest of the litter coughing?

If you think it's kennel cough then leave her in the car until you've spoken to the vet, it's highly contagious and owners in the waiting room won't appreciate their dogs being infected.

Sorry I omitted that also, please do not bring the dog into the vets until they are ready to see you, Kennel cough is highly contagious as Toulouse pointed out, if you do go into the vets with the dog before they are ready to see you the will ask you to leave.

tk123

wendydoll wrote: »

I've googled her symptoms last night (worse thing thing to do:eek:) but I kinda thought it was a collasping trachea from pulling on leash but that doesn't really explain why she's coughing on waking. She's in perfect form otherwise.

Are you taking her out on walks already - surely she's not had her all of her shots yet at 7 weeks? Hope she's ok.

andreac

Also, why is a 7 week old pup on a lead?? At 7 weeks its only a baby and shouldnt be even out on walks, as it wouldnt be over its vaccinations yet.

Are you sure its 7 weeks and not 7 months??

wendydoll

She has only had her first shot last week so she had been restricted to people company only and play and bathroom breaks in our back garden. She hadn't been in contact with any other dogs.

Would she not be coughing continuously if it was kennel cough? Yesterday I found if i rubbed under her chin she would cough also like a hacking noise but would stop as soon as you remove your hand

Toulouse

No, they don't cough continuously.

Perhaps she picked it up when she was getting her shot. Ask the vet if they've had any reports from clients.

tk123

Interesting - I know somebody with an older guide dog pup and he had KC a few weeks ago. Manuka honey is supposed to help sooth their throat if you mix a little bit with their water. You can get it in Aldi cheaper than you'll get it in a health food store - it's with the jam, peanut butter etc.

wendydoll

Toulouse wrote: »

No, they don't cough continuously.

Perhaps she picked it up when she was getting her shot. Ask the vet if they've had any reports from clients.

I spoke to the vet just there and she was saying that a few of her furry patients have a mild infection in their windpipe and the symptoms could be the same as my puppy.

I will try her with some honey. She's still in great mood, crazy as always. Will report back to you folks when I get back from the vets. Hopefully it's nothing to serious

DBB

I don't know if I ever saw a year like this one for kennel cough, it's doing the rounds big time. OP, whilst a healthy adult will brush off a dose of KC with relative ease (the coughing seems to upset the owner more than the dog in many cases!), a pup of 7 weeks could go downhill fast, so keep a very close eye on this and at the first sign of snot, snuffly noises whilst breathing, laboured breathing, lethargy etc, make sure there's no delay in getting her to the vet. It's one of those infections that's generally no big deal for healthy adults, but can hit pups, immuno-compromised dogs, and old dogs very hard.
Collapsing trachea, I'd imagine, is almost unheard of in pups, much more associated with old age. But there's a salutary lesson here... Life long use of a collar as the control point is one element that predisposes dogs to collapsing trachea in old age. As the owner of an old westie with this condition, I know how horribly distressing it is compared to KC, and I will never again use a collar and lead on my dogs, it'll be harnesses forever more.

wendydoll

Luckily she didn't have KC.

She has an infection in her trachea so the vet believes and her glands are swollen, was given an injection today and a course of antibiotics for the next few days. Fingers crossed that will be the end of it.

thanks for help folks. Don't know if the honey help soothe her throat but she sure did love the taste of it.

tk123

Ah poor puppy! Hope she feels better soon!