Question:
I need an advice concerning dog’s cough. I have a 3-year old Border Collie, a male.
He has a cough which has been going on and off for over a year.
It’s not a kennel cough. He coughs especially early in the morning and evening,
also when he is excited. Sometimes he spits out phlegm.
First I though he had allergies, but now I think he has asthma or bronchitis.
I had been to a veterinarian with him, he gave him 2 different kind of pills,
which helped a little bit, but both had side effects.
(He was extremely thirsty and consequently peed too much.)
After examining Rambo, the veterinarian said he could hear the changes
in his lungs and bronchial tubes.
I am looking for any kind of advice on natural treatment for coughs in dogs,
eg. tea.
Answer:
You might want to have your vet test your dog for Valley Fever. A
nagging cough that won't go away is one of the first signs. Some vets no
very little about Valley Fever because it's primarily seen in the west.
Not that you don't have a good vet, it could just be that he's never
seen it before. Did he do a chest x-ray?
This could be many things. Border Collies seem particularily prone to
Heartworms which can causes what you are seeing. Is your dog on
heartworm preventative or has he been tested? Another thing it could
be is a weak trachea that can collapse. In which case there isn't
much you can do. Or as far fetched as it sounds it could be heart
failure too. Sounds like he received a form of a steroid that should have helped if
he did have asthma. Antiboitics would have helped the bronchitis. What you need to do is find out what is ailing the dog. If it hasn't
been done so already a heartworm test should be ran even if the dog is
on preventative. Secondly x rays should be taken. This is to rule
out any type of pneumonia, asthma or heart trouble. If nothing shows
from those perhaps a cbc with a differential to check for infections.
Guesswork when breathing is concerned is not a good idea.
