How to deal with short-haired fox terrier cough:
Kennel cough
Many healthy dogs suddenly start coughing because of kennel cough. Symptoms include dry cough, sneezing, sneezing, or vomiting, which may become more severe when excited or exercising.
Kennel cough is usually contracted by exposure to other dogs outside. Symptoms begin 2-14 days later and the cough continues for 10-20 days. Most dogs will recover without taking medicine. Young, healthy dogs will fully recover in about 3 weeks. Old dogs or dogs with weak immunity will need about 6 weeks. Small puppies may need longer. It takes time to be completely fine.
If your dog is diagnosed with this disease but does not recover, remember to return for a follow-up visit. The veterinarian will provide more treatment as needed.
Something stuck in throat
A sudden hard cough or gagging sound, or the dog licking its mouth or making swallowing movements may be symptoms of something stuck in the throat. The most common ones are bones and fish bones. If it keeps coughing up, you must take it to the veterinarian immediately to avoid more infections or pneumonia.
Pneumonia
When pneumonia occurs, the dog’s cough will sound like phlegm, which may be caused by bacterial infection or fungal infection. In addition to coughing, dogs may experience loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, fatigue, and difficulty breathing. In addition to pneumonia caused by infection, there is also so-called aspiration pneumonia. This is because the dog inhales foreign objects, such as vomit, refluxed stomach acid, or food, causing inflammation of the lung tissue.
Severe pneumonia can be life-threatening. Once your dog is found to be coughing and becoming weak, do not be careless and treat it actively!
Tracheal collapse
This usually occurs in small dogs and usually occurs repeatedly. When it occurs, it sounds like a goose squawking. Tracheal collapse is a chronic disease, which may be caused by nature or acquired. Dogs with this disease are often intolerant of exercise, have respiratory distress, and will choke and gag when eating or drinking. The condition is usually controlled with medication, but in severe cases surgery may be used to improve it.
Reverse sneezing
This is also a common problem for small dogs, especially brachycephalic dogs. Although it's actually a sneeze, the sound sounds a lot like a cough, which often confuses dog parents. Reverse sneezing is usually caused by external stimulation, excitement, exercise, pollen, too tight a collar, excessive temperature difference, etc., which causes spasms in the throat and soft palate.
Because it is difficult to explain in a narrative way, dog parents can take videos and show them to veterinarians for diagnosis. Usually this does not require treatment, but you should pay more attention to when it occurs and avoid such situations in the future.
Heart disease
Common symptoms of heart disease include a blue tongue, loss of appetite, tiredness, weakness, intolerance to exercise, heartbeat that is too fast or too slow, and rapid breathing. If your dog has been diagnosed with heart disease and is prone to coughing when resting, lying down, or at night, it means that the heart disease problem is getting worse. Although heart disease cannot be cured, it can be delayed by medication and dietary control. Remember to inform the veterinarian of this situation, and the doctor will give further instructions based on the dog's physical condition.
Other factors that can cause short-haired fox terriers to cough include chronic tracheitis, heartworm disease and certain cancers, which are all big problems that cannot be ignored. If your dog often coughs from time to time or does not get better for a long time, you should go to the hospital for examination as soon as possible to avoid the situation becoming more serious!
