Gagging / Cough

[milobuddy]

Hi everyone,

My two-year-old lab has, in the past few days, developed an intermittent gag/cough. It starts the same as it sounds when your dog is about to throw up, but he never actually does--just gags. I gave him some bread thinking there might be something stuck in his throat, but he's still doing it (it's been 3-4 days of this). The weather has gotten warm very quickly here, so I was thinking it could also be related to how dry it is.
He has a regularly scheduled vet appointment in a week and a half, but I'm wondering if there could be something very wrong and I should take him in sooner. He is eating/pooping and acting normally other than the gagging.
Thoughts?

Thanks!

[Annette47]

Could be kennel cough ... has he been around other dogs recently? There’s also canine flu, but that usually makes them sicker (fever etc.). If it is kennel cough, there’s not too much to be done for it - just watch to see he doesn’t get sicker and if he does bring him as they may want to put him on antibiotics to fend off a secondary infection. Or he could still have something caught in his throat or maybe even allergies (although a cough is not a common symptom in dogs). Coughs can also indicate heart failure, but probably not in a dog that young - if it was an old dog I would be more concerned. If you do end up bringing him in while he is still coughing, be sure to warn the vet in advance - they may not want him coming through the waiting room as kennel cough and canine flu are both highly contagious.

[kimbersmom]

It could also be allergies. I was super worried that Kimber's cough-cough-yurk-y sound was laryngeal paralysis, but since it ebbs and flows with pine, I'm now settling on allergies as the cause.

[ZoeysMommy]

It can be a number of things. I have never dealt with hearworm, its not common where I live but if I am correct, a cough can be one of the symtoms. So for that reason alone I wouldnt wait to take him in.

[JenC]

3-4 days is long enough for wait and see. Time to call the vet.

[Charlotte K.]

How are things going?