My (nearly) 10 year old crossbreed has started coughing a lot recently. For the past 3 days she has been coughing when she gets up in the mornings, almost constantly. It's a dry cough and she often retches but doesn't bring anything up. It seems to come and go in the day, often when she gets up from resting and occasionally during exercise.
My first thought is kennel cough. I have never experienced it in a dog of mine so I don't know what it looks like (well I suppose there are so many strains that it often looks different anyway!).

But I'm also a little bit worried it could be her heart. She had a heart problem when she was 6 years old (the vet wasn't sure exactly what it was) but she has been fine since then. Does it sound like it could be something to do with her heart?

I suppose we better take her to the vet... technically she's my parent's dog so it'll take some persuading :rolleyes:

If she's retching it does sound like kennel cough to me.  You could always take her to the vets to get heart checked out but pease keep her in the car until you're called - don't want to be infecting all the others waiting if it is kennel cough ;)

Debs

I'm afraid coughing first thing in the morning is a classic sign of a heart problem.  Many heart condition can be controlled very effectively with medication particularly if caught early so a trip to the vet is certainly in order.

Hi Bekki
Sorry to hear that your girl is coughing and that you are worried.  My concerns would be exactly the same as yours - but the only person to be able to diagnose properly will be your vet.  If it does turn out to be her heart, there is a lot of medication nowadays that can help with the various conditions.
Best of luck
Carina

Edited to:  Snap, Isabel, I got distracted part way through typing!

My old girl does this same thing, and thats heart related. Go see your vet, just make sure shes ok. Good Luck, I know how hard it is.

Thanks for your advice everyone

I will call the vets tomorrow morning to make an appointment. Should I keep her outside anyway in case it is kennel cough? It may be a little difficult as I don't have a car and will be walking there (it's only 2 mins down the road) and I will be on my own.

I have given her a small dose of benilyn in case it is KC. I kind of hope it is, as it's better than heart problems... but then again I don't want my pup to catch KC as we'd have to miss training classes and shows.

I will keep you updated :)

If you explain your worries to the vet's receptionist when you call in the morning, I'm sure they'll be able to suggest something.  Hope all is well
Carina

Bekki,
       Just a thought...... does she lick her front paws ???

The reason I ask is because my old boy does exactly the same and has done for a while...... Because I lost my last dog to a heart tumour, I took him to the vets the first day he did it and every so often since to get checked out....
His heart is apparently really strong but he does lick his paws a lot in the morning before he gets up and the vet felt it was hair that was tickling the back of his throat.......

Hope she is ok,
Gabrielle x

With kennel cough often the throat is so irritated it's enough to touch it, stroke it a bit etc, for the dog to start coughing. With a heart cough that doesn't happen.

I think it can do when the heart is enlarged enough to displace the trachea.  I certainly would not like to see people making that conclusion without a vet's opinion.

Oh I didn't mean without a vet's opinion, of course! Either would need a vet anyway. But I can say that my dog with a really bad heart, and also another I had in the past with a very, very enlarged one, do/did NOT cough when their throats were touched. And the touching of the throat to see if it was irritated I was taught by a vet. :)

It's probably another test to be added to the arsenal that the vet can deploy :)  My cocker has recently been diagnosed with an enlarged heart and certainly a pull on the lead can cause her to cough but then I've been asking her for years not to ;)

Well I just got back from the vets.

The vet was almost certain that Holly has kennel cough. But she also found a slight heart murmur :(
So I went there thinking it would either be KC or a heart problem, and it's both

They're not going to do anything about the murmur because it's only slight and she is living with it so well (not lethargic, still energetic on her walks etc) but she has been given antibiotics for the cough.

Felix coughed a couple of times today and brought up a white foamy liquid so it looks like he could have it too :(

Oh dear :rolleyes:

Try and give them both some Benylin to ease the cough and keep them both nice and warm and away from drafts especially Holly :)

Hope they both get better soon

Lucy
xx