# Dachsund Hacking Cough Problem



## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

I Have A 3 Month Old Mini Dachsund Puppy Who Has A Hacking Cough. I Took Her To The Vet And They Did Some X-rays And Said They Thought It Was An Upper Respitory Problem. She Was On Antibiotics For About 10 Days. That Seemed To Help For A While,then She Started Doing It Again. The Vet Gave Her A Steroid Shot And That Helped For About A Week, And Now The Hacking And Coughing Is Worse Than Ever. Does Anyone Have Any Ideas? Thanks Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

sandyc said:


> I Have A 3 Month Old Mini Dachsund Puppy Who Has A Hacking Cough. I Took Her To The Vet And They Did Some X-rays And Said They Thought It Was An Upper Respitory Problem. She Was On Antibiotics For About 10 Days. That Seemed To Help For A While,then She Started Doing It Again. The Vet Gave Her A Steroid Shot And That Helped For About A Week, And Now The Hacking And Coughing Is Worse Than Ever. Does Anyone Have Any Ideas? Thanks Any Ideas Would Be Appreciated.


if you aren't getting satisfaction from your vet and the cough continues it is time to go and get a second opinion.... in a small breed and such a young dog I would be reticent to give any advice other than to see a vet..... 
coughs can become quiet serious in young puppies and are nothing to mess around with.... 

if your vet can't figure it out then you need to find a vet that can
s


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## Misskiwi67 (Mar 30, 2007)

Kennel cough can take weeks to resolve, and its pretty common in young dogs, especially if they've been around other dogs recently. I wouldn't accept another steroid shot however, unless your vet can PROVE there isn't any infection going on.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

Misskiwi67 said:


> Kennel cough can take weeks to resolve, and its pretty common in young dogs, especially if they've been around other dogs recently. I wouldn't accept another steroid shot however, unless your vet can PROVE there isn't any infection going on.



you are diagnosing now????? 
interesting...... 

then you AS A STUDENT most certainly realize that Kennel cough can easily turn into pneumonia in a young puppy especially a toy breed...... 

so instead of diagnosing don't you think that sending her back to her vet would be wise.......????? instead of saying well it could take weeks to resolve and implying that she should just wait it out...???

I would follow the advise of your LICENSED vet rather than that of a student over the internet who has not seen, examined or listened to the lungs of your pup.... 

as stated before.... just as with people if you do not get satisfaction as to solving the cough problem it might be time to find a second opinion. 

s


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## luv4gsds (Jul 27, 2006)

I have some question to ask.

1) How long has your Dachshund been coughing?
2) Have you had your Dachshund groomed here recently?
3) Is the cough harsh and dry or is it moist and productive?
4) Is your Dachshund having trouble breathing?
5) Does your Dachshund have a runny nose and sneezing?
6) Does your Dachshund cough most when it is up and active or when it is lying down?

It could be a number of things that can cause this starting with the heart, lungs, infection and so on. I would seek out another vet.


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## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

she has had the cough since i got her from the breeder. I have had her for about three weeks. it is a dry hacking cough,then its like she is trying to throw up but nothing comes out. she is very active,and eats and drinks well and is a great little puppy. i had called the breeder and she told me that its mother does this sometimes and that wire-haired doxies can get hairballs???? anyone ever heard of that? i called the vet this morning and am taking her in this afternoon. thanks for all the responses.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

I have not heard of that but I imagine it is possible.
I love wire haired doxies and would love to see some pictures of her when you can. 
good luck at the vet 
s


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

Dogs don't get hairballs??? what? I have a longhaired dachshund and he has never once gotten a "hairball".

Sounds to me like the breeder is trying to avoid her responsibility, IMO. Either the pup came from the breeder sick with kennel cough or some other upper resp. infection or the mom has a collapsing trachea which she passed down to her pups.

You need to be dilligent about getting the cough fixed. As Shalva said URI in puppys are not something to mess with, infact any sickness in a young pup shouldn't be treated lightly. If it is kennel cough then you need to continue with the vet recomended meds and have the vet re-check until it's gone. You may also want to disscus the posibility of it being a collapsing trachea. It's very common in dachshunds and something you need to be aware of if that is what he has.


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## Ginny01OT (Dec 3, 2006)

My first pup had kennel cough and she had to be treated several times for it--the vet would give me meds (she had a shot too) and would say, "if it is not gone in 5 days (or whatever the time frame was), I want you back in". You need to go back in to that vet for a recheck or to another vet who is more diligent about following up on his furry patients.


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## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

i took ollie(my daschund ) back to the vet this afternoon. the vet checked her again and said her lungs sounded good. she had one of her coughing attacks while we were there and the vet said it sound like something stuck in her nasal cavity or her soft palate,so she wanted to sedate her and check to see if she could find anything in there.(grass seed or blade of grass). well needless to say she found nothing.... i have to pick her up in the morning and she wants to start her on another round of antibiotics if this doesn't help then i will be referred to the vet hospital at university of [email protected] (the antibiotics helped before until she was thru taking them). Any thoughts or suggestions??? thanks


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

sandyc said:


> i took ollie(my daschund ) back to the vet this afternoon. the vet checked her again and said her lungs sounded good. she had one of her coughing attacks while we were there and the vet said it sound like something stuck in her nasal cavity or her soft palate,so she wanted to sedate her and check to see if she could find anything in there.(grass seed or blade of grass). well needless to say she found nothing.... i have to pick her up in the morning and she wants to start her on another round of antibiotics if this doesn't help then i will be referred to the vet hospital at university of [email protected] (the antibiotics helped before until she was thru taking them). Any thoughts or suggestions??? thanks


I think that your best bet is to follow your vets advice and follow through with the referral if she decides to do that..... small dogs and puppies can have severe repercussions from coughs that might be otherwise harmless 
I am glad you opted to take her to the vet..... hopefully they can figure out what is going on. 
good luck 
Steph


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## Haidden (Apr 2, 2007)

sandyc said:


> this doesn't help then i will be referred to the vet hospital at university of [email protected] (the antibiotics helped before until she was thru taking them).


You live in the knoxville area or they just sending you down here?

I live in west Knox and go to University of Tennessee.

I have a 6 month shih tzu and he has coughed once or twice kind of like a dry hack, but once was from where he ate a piece of the fuzz off a tennis ball he was playing with , he coughed for good 5-10 mins with that and then the next time I couldn't figure out why he was coughing but as far as your situation I wouldn't really know especially since your puppy has done it ever since you got her from the breeder.. Only thing I could think of is that she got something from the mom or being around other dogs as a young one..

Did you go to the house when you bought your pup and see the parents, living conditions, etc or did they meet you when somewhere?


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## Misskiwi67 (Mar 30, 2007)

Shalva said:


> you are diagnosing now?????
> interesting......
> 
> then you AS A STUDENT most certainly realize that Kennel cough can easily turn into pneumonia in a young puppy especially a toy breed......
> ...


Sensitive are we? If the vet is administering steroids, its already been diagnosed as kennel cough and NOT pneumonia, and I had absolutely nothing to do with it. 

A dog with kennel cough IS going to cough until the mucosa has healed, and the bordatella basically destroys the entire mucosal lining of the bronchioles. Any treatments given to suppresss the cough will also suppress the natural clearance mechanisms. You have to balance the need to maximize the immune system with the need for the dog to have comfort. I personally prefer to tell owners that your dog is going to be coughing for several weeks instead of telling them to find another vet to shoot the dog full of drugs to keep it comfortable. Thats just my uneducated, not a veterinarians opinion however.

Oh, and just to cover my butt since I'm giving too much advice... if your dog has anorexia, fever, lethargy, starts breathing from its abdomen, has ocular or nasal discharge, or any other change in clinical signs, you should see a vet immediately as the disease has changed. If the coughing doesn't go away in a couple weeks, you should discuss radiographs with your veterinarian as your dog may have a congenital problem such as hypoplastic trachea or collapsing trachea. 

The best way to monitor your dogs ability to breathe is to monitor their resting respiratory rate. Count how many times your dog breathes per minute while resting and sleeping. If the respiratory rate increases significantly (unless dreaming) or if it is above 60, you should call your veterinarian immediately.

Feel better now Shalva?


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## Misskiwi67 (Mar 30, 2007)

Here is an excellent article on Kennel cough if you want more information. Feline info, bronchodilators and nebulization edited out due to space restrictions...



> Bordetella bronchiseptica in Dogs and Cats
> ACVIM 2003
> Richard B. Ford, DVM, MS, DACVIM
> Raleigh, NC
> ...


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

Misskiwi67 said:


> Sensitive are we? If the vet is administering steroids, its already been diagnosed as kennel cough and NOT pneumonia, and I had absolutely nothing to do with it.
> 
> 
> 
> Feel better now Shalva?


No because as long as you continue to give advice OVER THE INTERNET for things that are serious and potentially life threatening without seeing the dog, examining the dog, talking to the person, and practicing medicine without a license .... I am going to make sure that there is someone to counter that with a good old fashioned take your dog to the vet. 

Plus even if you were a licensed vet and not a student the fact is that you can't diagnose a dog whom you have never seen or listened to OVER THE INTERNET..... and here you are telling a person to not allow the vet .... the person who has seen and heard the dog ..... to do what they think they should....!!!! to me that is downright dangerous..... 

Why you would want to WAIT for a young puppy of a toy breed to get lethargic and anorexic and and and .... before sending them back to the vet is beyond me..... 

this could indeed by kennel cough.... that might need to run its course.... it could also be something caught in the throat of the dog.... like the dog at the ER clinic when I was there who had a needle through its tongue that nobody could see with just a regular visual examination.... the people had been waiting it out.... just a cough... no problem..... 

its dangerous..... and I am very surprised that as a student you can't recognize the limitations of this medium 

S


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

Misskiwi- Its *HIGHLY dangerious to diagnose over the internet*... You cant examine the dog and to do so is dangerious.. !


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## luv4gsds (Jul 27, 2006)

I have never heard of dogs getting hair balls. I own two mini Dachshunds both smooth coats. It take KC about three weeks to a month to run its course. Some dogs get relieve from KC with in two weeks with treatment. 

Did the vet give any cough suppressants?


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## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

the vet checked ollie to see if there might be anything stuck in her nasal passages and soft pallet,(they found nothing )but they kept her overnight because she had a late afternoon appointment. I picked her up this morning and they have put her on two different drugs(CLAvamox,which is an antibiotic and predisone). since bringing her home she hasn't had an attack,which is much better than yesterday when she was having them every few minutes. she eats well and is gaining weight and is playful like a normal puppy should be,except for the cough. if this round of treatment doesn't work or if she were to get worse i will DEFINITELY be taking her to knoxville to UT. just wanted to update everyone and thank you all for your advice and info.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

luv4gsds said:


> I have never heard of dogs getting hair balls. I own two mini Dachshunds both smooth coats. It take KC about three weeks to a month to run its cours. Some dogs get relieve from KC with in two weeks with treatment.
> 
> Did the vet give any cough suppressants?


I have heard of dogs getting hairballs and wonder if it is something about the wire coat..... 

the prednisone is probably to try and calm down irritated passages and get things to relax a bit... at this point he could have just irritated his system so much that you need to break that cycle. 

good luck with your pup and don't forget to post some pictures of him.... 
nothin cuter than a wirehaired dachshund.....


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## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

the vet didn't give me a cough suppressent. i will try to post some picts later today. she is a real cutie!!!!!!!!


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## luv4gsds (Jul 27, 2006)

> the vet didn't give me a cough suppressent.


Most time vets will give cough suppressant (Dextromethorphan) to control the coughing.


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## Misskiwi67 (Mar 30, 2007)

sandyc said:


> the vet didn't give me a cough suppressent. i will try to post some picts later today. she is a real cutie!!!!!!!!


The prednisone will act as a cough suppressent by reducing the inflammation and feeling of itchiness that is causing your pup to cough so much. Its not an actual cough suppressent, but will act as one. I'm glad your pup is getting a short acting steroid instead of just "a shot." While I have no idea what that shot was, steroid shots are scary, because most of them are long-acting, and tend to be VERY over-used.

And once again for all the doubters, this dog is being treated for kennel cough, has been diagnosed with kennel cough by a practicing vet 3 times, and I DID NOT diagnose this dog... 

I don't tend to go to the doctor for a cough unless its interfering with my daily life. I see no problem in reassuring owners that their dog is going through a normal healing process that may take a long time. I very much doubt that my very short comment would have been taken more seriously than your scary long paragraphs even if you hadn't decided to get on my back about it.


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## Ginny01OT (Dec 3, 2006)

My first dog had kennel cough and it lasted a very, very long time--


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## Misskiwi67 (Mar 30, 2007)

Ginny01OT said:


> My first dog had kennel cough and it lasted a very, very long time--


Both my dogs are shelter pups, and both came home with kennel cough. Even with antibiotics, Romeo was coughing for a good 6 weeks. Sheila only coughed for 2-3 weeks, but she'd been at the shelter for almost a month before I got her. She gave kennel cough to our elderly American Eskimo, and even with antibiotic therapy, he was coughing for 6 weeks too.


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## JohnLovesDogs (Jun 23, 2007)

It sounds to me like its kennel cough but thats just my opinion. hope everything turns out ok anyway!

x


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## rapunzel (Jun 25, 2007)

Hello my name is Sandy and I am very new to all this, but we just got a Long hair mini Doxie 3 day's ago. She has been hacking, coughing and wheezing since about 45 min after we got her. The breeder said she heard her cough a couple of times on the way to meet us, but assured me it was nothing more than a side effect of her vaccinations. (although I found out later the pup had not had any shots since June 5th, I don't think side effects would take that long to show up, but again I am new to this) Needless to say she hacked and coughed all night (it really scared me) so I was at the Vet at 7:30 the next morning. My Veterinarian said the same as yours, Kennel Cough or upper respitory infection. They put her on an antibiotic and antihistimine. Your story sounds identical to mine. So far I have seen no improvement in my puppy. I would love to stay abreast of your situation to know what I'm looking at. My puppy, like yours is happy, playful, eating and drinking well. Except for the hacking attacks she is a normal happy healthy puppy, but when she is hacking and coughing I feel so sorry for her!!!!!!!
She does seem to be worse at night and first thing in the morning, at least the attacks seem to be more frequent at those times.


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## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

sandy,
ollie seems to be getting better, she is still hacking some,mostly when she gets up in the morning,but hardly at all during the day. it got better the first time the vet put her on antibiotics until she ran out. the second time they gave her a steroid shot and it was better for about a week,never entirely clearing up though. this round of antibiotics are for about 10 days and the predisone(5mg)she takes 1/2 pill in the morning and 1/2 at night for the first week then 1/2 daily daily for a week,then 1/2 every other day. hopefully,when this is finished she will be all right. I will keep you posted,please let me know how your puppy is doing. thanks


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## Wimble Woof (Jan 16, 2007)

Just out of curiosity has the heart been checked out??
I assume the trachea is alright as well?
I really do hope it is something that is treatable and curable, please keep us all posted.


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## sandyc (Jun 22, 2007)

the vet has listened to her heart and said that it sounds fine,(they haven't done any kind of test on her heart) they x-rayed her the first time i took her in to check her trachea and that was ok also.


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## rapunzel (Jun 25, 2007)

Here are a couple of pic of my beautiful little Rapunzel. I think her cough seems a little better tonight. It hasn't been as often. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for responding, it is good to have people to talk to that have been through or are going through the same thing.


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