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Ever heard your pekingese cough and caught yourself thinking, why do dogs cough? Like us, humans, coughing is a defense mechanism. It prevents mucus accumulation in the respiratory tract as well as remove any foreign object inside the body. Coughing is a symptom of a possible problem like cardiac or respiratory issues.

The involuntary or voluntary cough is one of the most powerful reflexes in the body and it keeps the pharynx free from any obstruction. One thing is for sure though, when your pekingese coughs, he is experiencing an irritation in his airway. The dog cough is not the same as the sound in humans. Most of the time they just tend to open their mouths wide then gag or retch.

Your dog’s frequency and pattern of the cough are very essential in knowing the root of it. Most of the time your vet would ask you about the time, patter, duration, frequency and character of your dog’s cough. Thus, you should observe all of this before you bring your pekingese to the vet because these info are all helpful. Your vet would then evaluate if his cough is either non-productive or productive. If he has a productive cough, there would be mucous, fluid or other secretions expelled from his airway. Since coughing is linked to several illnesses, a thourough workup would be done by your vet to establish a final diagnosis.

Why Do Dogs Cough

Cough is a common problem in dogs but occurs less frequently in cats. Cough is caused by irritation of the throat, airways or the lungs. The main airway to the lungs known as the windpipe or trachea branches into smaller airways called bronchi which branch several more times as they travel to the deeper parts of the lung. There are many causes of cough. A thorough history and physical examination help the veterinarian decide which causes of cough are most likely in your pet and helps him or her decide which diagnostic tests to recommend and which therapies are most likely to be effective. Cough originating from the trachea may be stimulated by lightly squeezing the trachea. Cough due to heart disease may be accompanied by a murmur or abnormal heart rate or rhythm. Your description of the nature of the cough, when the cough occurs, and if anything brings on coughing can be very helpful in pinpointing the cause of coughing in your pet. Some causes of cough result in difficulty breathing between coughing episodes whereas with other diseases, the pet breathes normally between coughing episodes. Some types of cough occur more commonly at night when the animal (and human family members) are trying to rest. Animals with heart failure, collapsing trachea and lung edema cough more at night than during the day. Source: VetMed, http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/cough.aspx

Occasional Cough

If your pekingese has occasional coughing without any other associated sign or symptom is not alarm. It is a dog’s nature to go sniffing in various areas especially when outside, places that are surrounded by dirt, dust, loose hair or other substances that gets inside their mucous membranes and got sucked inside his trachea. Just observe your dog carefully before getting all worked up.

Complications

There are serious complications related to coughing, usually it is a high-pitched kind of cough accompanied by mucus or blood and it won’t go away in a day or two. Possible culprits would be parasites, fungal diseases, or cancer. You can also consider heart enlargement which may cause pressure on his airways and making it difficult to breath thus coughing.

When to Go to the Vet

When you see your pekingese coughing uo blood or mucus should be examined by the Vet, who needs to know the dog’s whole history before acting that way. The vet would then run series of tests in order to detect the real problem.

Knowing the real reason on why do dogs cough is important to every dog owner out there. Being equipped with the right knowledge would truly help you on how to cope with such situations. You would also know how to react properly and not being too panicky about the littlest of thing. Investing on knowledge is a win-win situation for both you and your dog, it would actually help you save dollars on vet trips.

Did your pet experience coughing? How did you handle it? Did you manage to find some sure home remedy in order to ease your dog’s coughing? Share it with us all.