Cough

[Henna420]

Hi all. My 10 yrs old Basenji Boy has a hacking cough. He has had it for a few months now. I got him checked and the vet said his heart was fine and he looks healthy. He said to give him something at this moment would b a over kill. He said he would only treat it incase his cough was bothering us at night. Their vet is very good and i trust him but im kind of getting worried. The cough is getting worse.

Any suggestions?

[Marie Heidebrecht]

You need to get another opinion. Have chest xrays been done? If the cough is getting worse, you need to get a proper diagnosis. There are a number of things that might be causing it.
Good luck.

[Henna420]

No i haven't gotten chest xrays done. The vet checked him for 10 mins. His breathing, lungs and heart. That was just yesterday.

[MacPack]

He likely can't tell for sure unless he has a chest xray. A worsening cough is nothing to ignore. My Topper had multiple bouts with pneumonia, the first time the vet didn't think anything was wrong and I insisted on an x-ray. One lung was completely filled with pneumonia, but Topper hardly acted ill. And as his heart gradually became enlarged (over several years), xrays showed us whether it was fluid or pneumonia, and when he needed diuretics to help keep his lungs dry.
Could be something as simple as an allergy, or as bad as congestive heart failure, I agree with Marie, you need a good diagnosis.

[DebraDownSouth]

I heartily agree, the dog needs an xray and maybe even an ultrasound of the heart should the xray be at all inconclusive. Anything from heart failure to heart worms to some sort of sinus infection/drainage or palate problem. But anything going on that long needs evaluating.

[nomrbddgs]

He definitely needs to be checked out further. Heart problems can sometimes 'hide'.

[Henna420]

Thank you all for your advice. A good news. I called Vet's emergency line yesterday evening and expressed my concerns. We made an appointment to take Rosie in on wed but, meanwhile, he suggested trying kids cough medication. I gave him once in the evening and once late last night. Rosie only coughed once during the night and has not coughed so far today. He looks a lot more alert and active. Hopefully, that was the cure. But will still take him in for x-ray. Got my fingers crossed

[sharronhurlbut]

Do let us know what the x-ray says please.

[Kipawa]

Cough syrup will only mask what is going on - please get further testing done.

[Henna420]

Thank you all for your help and support. I have made an appointment to take Rosie for X-Ray and Blood work on Thursday. Wish him luck.

[Marie Heidebrecht]

Be sure and let us know how it goes! Will keep fingers crossed that it's nothing serious.:)

[Henna420]

I took in Rosie for X-Ray. It showed that one of his lungs is completely filled with fluid. The vet said the fluid is hard and the lung actually feels like live. However, he took the fluid sample and blood sample to investigate further. I get the result tom.

If its an infection then antibiotics may work to protect the other lung
If its tumor then there is no hope

Its been a long week but i have my fingers crossed. I love my boy. But i really want to thank you all for insisting on getting him checked again. Being a first time owner, i didnt think there was anything wrong with cough.

I will keep you guys posted.

Please Pray

[sharronhurlbut]

Oh, hugs and good wishes.
We are here to support you and your beloved boy.

[Basenjimamma]

Oh, I am so sorry…praying it is just an infection..praying hard. Please keep us posted.

[LindaH]

I know you are in Canada so this is a long shot, but have you by any chance been in the southwestern U.S. (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah) or northern Mexico with your dog recently…before the coughing started?

If not, then ignore this; but if you have, your vet should draw some blood and have it tested for Valley Fever (the fungus Coccidioides).

[Kipawa]

@LindaH:

I know you are in Canada so this is a long shot, but have you by any chance been in the southwestern U.S. (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah) or northern Mexico with your dog recently…before the coughing started?

If not, then ignore this; but if you have, your vet should draw some blood and have it tested for Valley Fever (the fungus Coccidioides).

LindaH, thank you so much for a heads up. Kipawa was born in Washington state and then came up to BC, and we haven't travelled with him to the areas you mention.

But this brings up a thought - is there somewhere on the Internet that you can look at to see if there are any dog related illnesses happening that you can be aware of, or perhaps pre-medicate before you travel?

[LindaH]

@Kipawa:

But this brings up a thought - is there somewhere on the Internet that you can look at to see if there are any dog related illnesses happening that you can be aware of, or perhaps pre-medicate before you travel?

Fran, I'm not aware of any such site, but would also be interested in knowing if such a site exists since we do a lot of traveling.

Unfortunately, as far as Valley Fever is concerned, there is no vaccination available to prevent it…just treatment once the person or dog gets the disease.

Most vets in the affected areas should be aware of this disease; however, I'm sure some aren't, so just like Fanconi and other diseases, we need to be advocates for our dogs. One of the problems with Valley Fever are for those people and dogs who visit the southwestern U.S. (think Snowbirds) and then don't become ill until they return home. Doctors and vets elsewhere may not have ever heard of Valley Fever and certainly aren't on the lookout for it.

Here are some good websites regarding Valley Fever, both in people and dogs:

http://www.valleyfeversurvivor.com/ (Includes maps of the affected areas…click on Maps and History in the upper right-hand corner.)
http://www.vfce.arizona.edu/ (Includes a section on Valley Fever in Dogs.)

[deschroedter]

We just lost our Cory and he had the cough and cancer, we had to let him go to the bridge. It is a hard decision to make and I miss him every day. Do what is best for your boy, no matter how hard it is on you. God Bless.

[LindaH]

Deschroedter, my condolences on the loss of your Cory.

[Kipawa]

@deschroedter:

We just lost our Cory and he had the cough and cancer, we had to let him go to the bridge. It is a hard decision to make and I miss him every day. Do what is best for your boy, no matter how hard it is on you. God Bless.

I'm so sorry that you lost your Cory. Losing a pet is incredibly painful. Hugs to you and bones for Cory where he runs free over the Rainbow Bridge.