Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Advice.

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gluesticks
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Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Advice.

Post by gluesticks »

So Louie has always had this hacking cough type thing, which is occurs more often in the morning after he wakes up, or just randomly throughout the day. It sounds like he is gagging or coughing up a hairball.

Recently however, 2x in this past week, he has thrown up. Now, neither one of us has been physically present when he does this (he's done it outside, or while either one of us was in the bathroom/at work), but the color of the vomit/regurg is greenish bile looking with occasional chunks.

He is still eating his food and drinking water, and is still alert and active, and willing to play.

Louie is being fed Simply Nourish LID salmon, but has been recently switched to ACANA Pacifica. But by no means is this related, as the hacking cough thing has gone on for many months now, and the vomit/regurg started before being switched. His hacking does not seem to coincide with eating, however he will occasionally hack after drinking. Louie is also given a glucos/chond supplement called Pet Naturals by Vermont, as well as a homeopathic pain medication called Zeel twice a day.

While I cannot explain the hacking thing, I'm wondering if the supplement is causing his stomach to be upset (he has been on the joint supplement since October and the Zeel since November). OR, his hacking/gagging thing irritates him enough to regurgitate something.

Another thing everyone should now about Louie is that he is 1.5 years old, has severe congenital hip dysplasia, and has mysteriously and recently started limping on his front left leg after standing up from lying down since Friday (I know, wth?: He can apply weight to the leg, but walks with a limp. I've manipulated the joint aggressively and he doesn't appear to be in any kind of pain. sprain or strain maybe?)

I've included a picture of his gums, just because I wasn't sure if they were normal colored or pale?:
Image

I will try to get a video of him hacking... Doesn't occur all that often. Random mostly.
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gluesticks
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by gluesticks »

The coughing/gagging comes in short 1-3 bursts, and sounds exactly like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_2qA_pnLEM

PS: this is NOT my dog. =P
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by Laura »

Poor Louie! I have no idea on the hacking thing. Shug will do it occasionally after drinking water but never to the point of throwing up. As far as the front limp I can only think that with hip dysplasia they tend to compensate for the bad back end by distributing more weight on the front and using more of those muscles/joints for getting up too. This of course leads to injuries, extra wear and tear, etc. My vet and surgeon warned me that torn acls and front leg/shoulder/joint issues were a possibility. Did you have his front legs/ shoulders xrayed when you did the hips? I always say go to the vet because when it gets to the point that a dog actually shows pain and discomfort something is going on. Hugs for poor Louie. He just can't catch a break and trust me I know the vet bills are killer for you!
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Chloe (left) Shuggy (right)
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by gluesticks »

Laura wrote:Poor Louie! I have no idea on the hacking thing. Shug will do it occasionally after drinking water but never to the point of throwing up. As far as the front limp I can only think that with hip dysplasia they tend to compensate for the bad back end by distributing more weight on the front and using more of those muscles/joints for getting up too. This of course leads to injuries, extra wear and tear, etc. My vet and surgeon warned me that torn acls and front leg/shoulder/joint issues were a possibility. Did you have his front legs/ shoulders xrayed when you did the hips? I always say go to the vet because when it gets to the point that a dog actually shows pain and discomfort something is going on. Hugs for poor Louie. He just can't catch a break and trust me I know the vet bills are killer for you!
Thank you for the response Laura.

I know, he/we cannot catch a break. =(

I know that he primarily uses his front legs when standing up, and that is my only explanation for the recent injury. He was completely fine in the morning, and then after lying down for 20 minutes or so, he stood up and bam, he was limping. Like I said, I have applied aggressive pressure and manipulation to the joint, and he can bear some weight on it with no reaction. So he doesn't appear to be in any serious pain, but pain nonetheless if he is limping. -sigh-

Now he only has one 'good' leg -_-

He did not have his front legs/shoulders xrayed, just his hips.

Grrr. This really sucks. Why me? I've bitterly learned to REALLY THOROUGHLY research breeders. Never will I recommend D&M Farm Kennel.

As for the coughing thing, I have always suspected allergies, as it does not imitate any kind of kennel cough or anything. The vomiting is more of a regurgitation, and has only recently started.

I'm going to bring my dog into the vet and they're going to ask, "ANYTHING ELSE?" Looking like a bad dog owner here... -sigh-

-Glue
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by maikinda »

After Louie takes a drink does his water look slimey or foamy? If you put your finger in the back of his throat does it come out with a white foam on it? The area I live in is bad for allergies and this is what we see in the dogs. Very common for them to vomit bile during this time. Sometimes they go off their food for a day. They do sometime cough too.


Laura
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by gluesticks »

maikinda wrote:After Louie takes a drink does his water look slimey or foamy? If you put your finger in the back of his throat does it come out with a white foam on it? The area I live in is bad for allergies and this is what we see in the dogs. Very common for them to vomit bile during this time. Sometimes they go off their food for a day. They do sometime cough too.


Laura
I will have to try it out (the finger in his throat thing) and let you know.

Though, the water will be a bit slimy if I recall correctly. The hacking/coughing thing isn't all the time either, and is more frequent at times than others. One day he did it about 4 times, and these past two days he hasn't done it at all. The 'vomit' looks mostly like bile, as it is not whole food or a whole lot of vomit too. And occasionally, he won't want to eat as much (whether that is related to the coughing thing, or the pain in his hips -shrug-, I've no idea).

We live in NJ (southern half) and I suffer from all kinds of allergies myself. And the house that we live in was built in 1916, so there could very well be a whole lot of things in here (like mold/moisture/dust, especially from the basement. It's one of those old stone/dirt/freddy krueger basements), that could be aggravating it.

So I feel that after speaking with the two of you, that this hacking thing may not be something I should worry about all that much. His arm/hips however... sigh.

The limping still occurs since Friday, only not as severe or apparent throughout the day. It seems to only affect him in the morning after he's been resting for a long period of time.

-Glue
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by ChowServant »

I recommend a vet visit. My poor BooBoo has a hacking cough and was diagnosed with a fungal infection which eventually resulted in a bacterial infection in his lungs & pneumonia. The NC State University Vet Med School says they've only heard of one other dog getting the particular fungus he has, but it was within the last 6 months so may be a new problem popping up among dogs. Unfortunately, it is being very difficult to knock out. His lung X-rays are clear now but still getting both fungal & bacterial remains in tracheal washes & the hacking cough persists.
Worth the cost of a vet visit to catch it before it results in pneumonia if it is an infection of some sort.
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by gluesticks »

ChowServant wrote:I recommend a vet visit. My poor BooBoo has a hacking cough and was diagnosed with a fungal infection which eventually resulted in a bacterial infection in his lungs & pneumonia. The NC State University Vet Med School says they've only heard of one other dog getting the particular fungus he has, but it was within the last 6 months so may be a new problem popping up among dogs. Unfortunately, it is being very difficult to knock out. His lung X-rays are clear now but still getting both fungal & bacterial remains in tracheal washes & the hacking cough persists.
Worth the cost of a vet visit to catch it before it results in pneumonia if it is an infection of some sort.
How often did he have the hacking cough and how frequent?

Louie only experiences it occasionally (like once or twice in the morning and/or some days when he doesn't do it at all), and has had it for apprx 6 months now or more.

His limping has subsided/gotten better. Its still slightly there, but now he bounds around the house with no problem. I guess its healing. Haven't had time to make an appt yet. Started an internship 2x a week and work the other 5 days.

-Glue
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Re: Hacking/gagging type cough. Occasional regurg/vomit? Adv

Post by ChowServant »

BooBoo's cough frequency varies, probably based on how well the anti-fungal & antibiotic are working at any given time. Sometimes we'll go a week without hearing him cough, other times just when something has caused him to breathe heavily (running up the stairs to bark at the UPS delivery guy, etc.) Before the meds he was coughing half a dozen times a day. He's been on Fluconizole anti-fungal for almost 3 months now.
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