bob coughing and hacking

hi my jack russel last week went into th lake chasing the swans in the local park when out with my son, he is now coughing really badly and hacking when moving about he is worse in the morning, i know its not kennel cough as he not been in kennels or near a dog that has its since he went in the water ... any ideas as to what this could be , he sounds like a pig snorting somebody said he can have kids cough medi but m,y son said he read online that it can poison a dog...

Hi Sheryl I would have your dog checked by the vet . Your little dog may have an upper respiratory tract infection that can be helped with medication.

Have you checked in his mouth/throat/nose for obstructions, one problem which may be encountered in lakes etc can be fishing tackle like hooks left behind by careless anglers.

Giving cough medicine is pointless (a waste of time with children too, I looked after many and the latest thinking is it is of no benefit) . The best you can do is to attempt to keep the throat moist and soothed after coughing. One thing which can help with this is to give a little honey in warm water .

excellent advice from minihaha. my jrt pup recently had a cough similar to how you describe your dogs. she hadn't been in a lake though! i took her to the vet and he gave her antibiotics and it cleared up in a few days.

i was slightly concerned that lily could have had something stuck in her throat and although i could see nothing, i knew the vet would be able to tell.

hope your dog is better soon.

It could possibly be kennel cough my friend's dog went down every time it was in the area. Vet said it was airborn & could be caught even if the dogs did not meet.

Kennel cough is an airborne virus your dog does not have to go anywhere near kennels, a walk down the street is enough, you can even bring it home on your clothes! It also has an incubation period of upto 11 days.

hi thanks for that...really i didnt know that it could be caught like that thought as the name suggests it is caught in kennels ...thanks

Its because when in situations like a kennels, the disease will spread very quickly as dogs are all in a small space together, much like this Swine Flu in schools. Hope your dog is 100% very soon.

Chasing swans is dangerous and can get you prosecuted. I`d make sure this doesn`t happen again.
Kennel cough is an infection caught from other dogs and it takes a few days for the symptoms to show. It is not caused by water.
Some people use benlyn to ease the symptoms of kennel cough but it is important not to give too much.
You should take the dog to the vet.