Coughing dog?

[`Akiko`]

Alright, so long story short, our Sheltie cross Scooter gave a us a wee bit of a scare about a month ago. We took him to the vet for his coughing and other reasons. She prescribed us medicine for him, some for his coughing, and some for his heart.

He coughs because he has fluid in his lungs, and his heart is a little bit enlarged to it pushes on his lungs which is another factor for his coughing.

Anywho, I was wondering if there was another thing we could do for him, other than his pills, to try to keep his coughing to a minimum? I feel awful hearing him cough ):

Any tips are helpful smile  

[d i m i r h e x]

I did a little research on Google about coughing dogs.
I got a lot of hits on kennel cough which it doesn`t sound like your dog has.
None the less I found some homeopathic remedies to help with immunity and respiratory protection.

KC-Defense.

Here is the website I pulled it from if you`d like to take a look at it as well.
It is directed towards kennel cough but it has some remedies to help with respiratory problems.

Home treatment for Kennel Cough.

I hope this has helped in some way.  

[`Akiko`]

Thanks! Ill talk to my mom about it, see what she thinks smile  

[imderanged]

d i m i r h e x means well but what you are describing is not kennel cough and those remedies won't help. From the symptoms you described your dog has congestive heart failure. He needs a reduced salt diet, restricted exercise and he needs to get the medication as prescribed by his vet. He should have regular checkups at the vet to monitor his condition.  

[`Akiko`]

imderanged

d i m i r h e x means well but what you are describing is not kennel cough and those remedies won't help. From the symptoms you described your dog has congestive heart failure. He needs a reduced salt diet, restricted exercise and he needs to get the medication as prescribed by his vet. He should have regular checkups at the vet to monitor his condition.

He already gets all of this smile  

[d i m i r h e x]

imderanged; I know her dog does not have kennel cough, I said that in my post.
I found respiratory homeopathic remedies that don`t cover just kennel cough.
Plus since she already talked about going to the vet`s on a regular basis I just wanted to give some kind of another remedy. 4laugh

`Akiko`; I hope this helps in some small way!
Why not try calling your vet and asking them for other remedies as well?
Usually they know of other ways to help. ^_^  

[`Akiko`]

We're going to the vet tomorrow to pick him up another bag of his food.

My mom said that we're going to talk to the vet tom. about his coughing and such tomorrow to see what else we can do smile  

[skyy365]

My dog had the same problem. So we gave her alot of water and then took her to the doctor cause it was going on for a long time. so thats wta i have to say about that. thats all i know neutral  

[Angel of the Dark Prince]

we turned the heat up when our dogs coughed. or had sneezing fits. kept us out of the vets office.  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

Did the vet say WHY he has fluid in his lungs, or how his heart got to be enlarged? Could there be a mechanical issue with the valves in his heart?

Until the fluid gets cleared up it's probably best to stick to low levels of exercise. I.E just walking. I know that science diet makes a diet for heart diseased dogs. You could talk to your vet about that, or what to look for in other foods to be sure they are right for your dog. Like low sodium, high potassium etc.  

[`Akiko`]

Gabrielle_AnimalLuver

Did the vet say WHY he has fluid in his lungs, or how his heart got to be enlarged? Could there be a mechanical issue with the valves in his heart?

Until the fluid gets cleared up it's probably best to stick to low levels of exercise. I.E just walking. I know that science diet makes a diet for heart diseased dogs. You could talk to your vet about that, or what to look for in other foods to be sure they are right for your dog. Like low sodium, high potassium etc.

I wasnt with my mom when she took Scooter to the vet the first time. So I just got the jist of whats going on with him. So I'm not sure why he has fluid in his lungs, we do know he has a leaky heart valve. His vet said its common for dogs his age to have an enlarged heart (Old man is 12)

Scoot gets little walks when hes having a good day and hes feeling energetic.

We got him food the vet recommended, but of course he wont eat it. So we get to go out and find food the bugger will actually eat.


He's going to a checkup soon. Ill go to that one so I can ask more questions that my mom will forget if I leave it to her ._.  

[Gabrielle_AnimalLuver]

`Akiko`

Gabrielle_AnimalLuver

Did the vet say WHY he has fluid in his lungs, or how his heart got to be enlarged? Could there be a mechanical issue with the valves in his heart?

Until the fluid gets cleared up it's probably best to stick to low levels of exercise. I.E just walking. I know that science diet makes a diet for heart diseased dogs. You could talk to your vet about that, or what to look for in other foods to be sure they are right for your dog. Like low sodium, high potassium etc.

I wasnt with my mom when she took Scooter to the vet the first time. So I just got the jist of whats going on with him. So I'm not sure why he has fluid in his lungs, we do know he has a leaky heart valve. His vet said its common for dogs his age to have an enlarged heart (Old man is 12)

Scoot gets little walks when hes having a good day and hes feeling energetic.

We got him food the vet recommended, but of course he wont eat it. So we get to go out and find food the bugger will actually eat.


He's going to a checkup soon. Ill go to that one so I can ask more questions that my mom will forget if I leave it to her ._.

could you entice him to eat it? maybe a bit of tough love? or sprinkling a touch of salmon oil over it? I can't remember off the top of my head what specifically to look for in a heart diet. But I do know low sodium is very important, and I don't think foods will actually list that. Avoid treats with added salt at least. Omega 3 is generally great for circulation so salmon oil on the food would be a good thing.  

[`Akiko`]

Gabrielle_AnimalLuver

`Akiko`

Gabrielle_AnimalLuver

Did the vet say WHY he has fluid in his lungs, or how his heart got to be enlarged? Could there be a mechanical issue with the valves in his heart?

Until the fluid gets cleared up it's probably best to stick to low levels of exercise. I.E just walking. I know that science diet makes a diet for heart diseased dogs. You could talk to your vet about that, or what to look for in other foods to be sure they are right for your dog. Like low sodium, high potassium etc.

I wasnt with my mom when she took Scooter to the vet the first time. So I just got the jist of whats going on with him. So I'm not sure why he has fluid in his lungs, we do know he has a leaky heart valve. His vet said its common for dogs his age to have an enlarged heart (Old man is 12)

Scoot gets little walks when hes having a good day and hes feeling energetic.

We got him food the vet recommended, but of course he wont eat it. So we get to go out and find food the bugger will actually eat.


He's going to a checkup soon. Ill go to that one so I can ask more questions that my mom will forget if I leave it to her ._.

could you entice him to eat it? maybe a bit of tough love? or sprinkling a touch of salmon oil over it? I can't remember off the top of my head what specifically to look for in a heart diet. But I do know low sodium is very important, and I don't think foods will actually list that. Avoid treats with added salt at least. Omega 3 is generally great for circulation so salmon oil on the food would be a good thing.

Ooh, Ill try that thanks! smile

Hes a really picky eater, so we'll see how it goes razz