Hi all, I have a standard poodle male, 7 y.o., who has had an occasional cough for the past year at least. I have done antibiotics, heart and lung checks and it's not kennel cough. He's very well, active and happy. He just has a deep cough every now and again, mostly first thing in the morning, almost choking, and then spitting out a bit of bile. Poor lad. I'm wondering now whether it's an allergy. An suggestions?

Welcome to the forum Robyn :-)

Do you smoke?

No, there is no-one around here who is allowed to. Beautiful clean air on top of a mountain in Victoria.

Lucky you :-)

If you have ruled out heart/lung problems, I think your dog is probably just clearing it's throat :-) I had a GSD bitch that would do this, not necessarily first thing in the morning, but she sounded like a 'Dockyard hand' .. not lady like at all :D

My other thought is that maybe I should get his throat scoped to see if there's anything growing. The vet poked around a while ago and said he thought he was fine. Plus it has been happening for a time now, so anything dark and nasty would be even worse by now. He makes such a ghastly racket you would think there was a chicken drumstick wedged down there. Most disconcerting.

If you are really worried Robyn, get it checked out. Does it seem to bother him at all?

Some days, he'll carry on for a while, other times he has a cough and moves on. It possibly upsets me more than him. He is the dearest boy and I would hate to think he was suffering in any way. I'm kicking myself because he was under anaesthetic a month ago to have a tooth out. I thought the cough might have been a secondary infection site from that. He could have been looked at then. Never mind. I will brace myself and maybe have him put under again just to make sure he's OK. The weather is warming up here, and my asthma is coming good, perhaps his cough will get better as well.

Thanks for your time, Leigh.

Hi Robyn.
Have you considered Laryngeal Paralysis ?

Often starting around 7 yrs of age and affects biggish dogs, primarilly Afghans and Irish Setters, this disease starts with a cough, not really bothering the dog. Sometimes when the dog is excited and sometimes when they are resting. Another symptom can be the dogs voice changing, often barking in a higher pitch. If you think this could be what you are experiencing, start a new thred titled "FAO Sue Lloyd", when she sees it, she will help you, she had 3 dogs with it and will be able to tell you more.
Dawn.

Thanks Dawn, that's really interesting. Connor's voice hasn't changed at all, so that is not a symptom. But he does cough sometimes when he's excited, and when he first wakes up..though not this morning! nothing today yet, and he's been running around like crazy with Lily. I will do what you suggest, and look it up on the Net AND chat to my vet. Great stuff!