*Ahem*. If your older dog has a cough that just won’t go away, it’s a good idea to book them for a prompt veterinary assessment with our experienced team.

Here are four potential causes of a chronic cough in an older dog, and how we can help.

1. Chronic bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis involves longer-term inflammation in the airways. This inflammation may initially be caused by a bacterial or viral infection or allergy (e.g. to second-hand cigarette smoke), but then triggers a cycle of ongoing coughing and airway irritation.

Chronic bronchitis coughs are often dry and may get worse with excitement or exercise.

2. Collapsing airways

Smaller breed dogs (particularly those who are middle-aged to older and overweight) can be prone to a progressive condition called “tracheobronchomalacia”, where the supportive cartilage structures in their larger airways become weaker. This means their airways may begin to briefly collapse during normal cycles of breathing, thereby triggering coughing episodes.

These coughs generally have a distinct “honking” tone and can be worsened with excitement or collar pressure around the throat.

3. Infections

Infectious coughs may involve airway infections (such as viral or bacterial causes of kennel cough), infections affecting the lungs (e.g. bacterial pneumonia), or infections affecting the cardiovascular system (such as heartworm).

Pets with bacterial infections may also demonstrate other symptoms of being unwell, such as a nasal discharge or fever.

4. Heart disease

Heart disease can result in coughing due to either direct pressure on the airways (from an abnormally enlarged heart) or fluid build-up within the lungs (from the heart failing to pump blood effectively).

These coughs may worsen when your pet is resting, and may coincide with other symptoms of heart disease (such as reduced exercise ability).

How can we help?

For any dog with a chronic cough, we will perform a full examination and history collection. This gives us direction to then advise on further diagnostic testing, which may involve treatment trials, chest X-rays or potential specialist referral.

Once we’ve pinpointed the cause of your pet’s problem, we can make suggestions to help curb that cough!