Why is my 1-year-old Chihuahua coughing and gagging like a goose?
Updated On September 23rd, 2025
My Chihuahua one year old just started to cough and gag !! Not all the time more when she gets excited like a goose cough she not with other dogs ?? She eats fine plays
2 Answers
Most Helpful Answer
Published on October 27th, 2017
Hi, It sounds like your dog may have kennel cough. This sounds like honking cough. I’d recommend an exam with your vet as your dog may need some antibiotics. She’s is likely also contagious so avoid contact with other dogs until she’s better. Hope she feels better soon.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Related Answers from Veterinarians
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Published on December 9th, 2018
Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Coughing can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. The coughing could definitely mean that she got kennel cough from the other dog. I recommend that you have Ash evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include thoracic radiographs and bloodwork. Treatment would be dependent on findings. Good luck and have a good night!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has been making goose-like honking noises for a while. It would go away after a couple minutes and come back after a while. A few days to a couple weeks would go by before another episode. At first we thought she ate something she wasn't suppo
Goose honking tells me that she is coughing. There are a few different things that can cause a cough. With puppies, it's more likely to be an infection or parasite causing this. It's best to take her to the vet for an exam. They will be able to narrow-down the cause of this and can likely provide treatment that will stop the cough. I hope that helps and Marquessa gets better soon.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Food & Nutrition
Coughing like a goose with a gag at the end. Not super interested in food or water, but did eat some wet food. Cough goes away when relaxed.
Coughing can be caused by issues with the heart, lungs and respiratory tree, or disease outside the lungs. This could be infectious, heart disease, pneumonia, tracheal collapse, or several other things. It is concerning she is not eating well. The best plan is to have her seen by your vet for an exam and chest xrays to start. Based on these results he or she can then recommend additional testing and/or a treatment plan. I hope this helps and thank you for using Boop by Petco!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has a dry goose cough like something is stuck in his throat I thought kennel cough might be the problem but I have 2 other dogs with no coughing and no other symptoms
Your dog may have a condition known as collapsing trachea. It's much more common in toy breeds, such as poodles and Chihuahuas, but it can happen in other breeds too. The trachea is supported by tough rings made of cartilage. Occasionally, the trachea will lose its rigidity and collapse while the dog is breathing. For unknown reasons, the cartilage rings weaken and the trachea no longer has proper support. It happens most often as a result of excitement or exercise. The symptoms depend on the severity of the deterioration. Usually, the dog will have difficulty breathing, especially during exercise. The deeper the pet tries to inhale, the more the trachea collapses, further restricting air flow (similar to sucking on a straw too hard). The pet appears to tire easily as it becomes short of breath. Dogs with a collapsing trachea will generally cough as if trying to clear the airways, and occasionally this cough will sound like a goose honk. In very severe cases, the tongue and gums will a
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is hacking but not vomiting. Occasionally some clear liquid comes up. She is eating and drinking as normal but continues to hack. This has been gong on for over 12 hours now. She is a 6 month old golden retriever puppy
Hi, thanks for using Boop by Petco! Poor Dory!
There are a few things that come to mind for causes of Dory's symptoms: the more common reason is kennel cough, which is a tracheal cough from bacterial or viral infections. The cough is "goose honk" like and is worse at night and with activity. The dog usually eats and drinks. The cough can trigger the gag reflex which causes the dog to make a gagging sound and motion that sometimes is productive. Dogs can get kennel cough from boarding, grooming, doggie day care, dog parks, playing with other dogs or even from us if we were around a coughing dog. The other possibility is she ate something that irritated her esophagus like a raw hide.
I would have her seen by your Vet Wednesday. Most vets treat kennel cough with antibiotics and anti-cough medication. It usually resolves with in 2 weeks.
I wish you and Dory the best!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is coughing and it sounds like a goose. He is also very tired. Could it just be Kennel Cough?
Goose honking coughs are typically kennel cough, which is a multifactoral bacterial infection of the upper airway. If he is also lethargic then I would recommend getting him seen by your vet to get him started on antibiotics to help clear up his infection. There are some pets that have mild symptoms that have a self limiting infection (starts clearing up on its own within 3-4 days), but this may not be the case for Finnigan. It’s best to take him in soon for treatment. Best of luck to you and I hope he feels better soon. Take care.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
Both of my dogs my 10yr old jack russel terrier & my 9 month old sharpei/american pitbull terrier mix both have developed a cough that sounds like they have something stuck acting like they want to throw up but cant throw it up, & sound congested & a
Kennel cough, or Bordetella, is a common upper respiratory pathogen that is very contagious between dogs, and usually dogs have a loud goose-honk cough, sometimes ending in coughing up a bit of phlegm. This could be going on with your dogs. Don't worry, it isn't life-threatening, but I usually put these dogs on an antitussive to help alleviate the cough and sometimes an antibiotic. If you don't take them to a vet, the cough should go away in a week or two, but make sure you don't let them socialize with other dogs as they will spread it around.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog has been intermittently gagging since Sunday. Initially, it was happening after every drink of water but now it doesn't seem to be triggered by anything and it is only in the mornings. I thought he had something stuck in his throat, so we took
I'm sorry your dog is having this issue. Kennel cough is typically a dry, almost "honking" cough that can produce a white foamy/mucus substance- they can cough so hard it causes a gag reflex. It usually starts at one time of day and then gets worse and more frequent. Do you have other dogs in your home or neighbor dogs that play with your dog? If so, are they gagging or coughing? Kennel cough is very contagious thus can spread to other dogs in close contact. If you are noticing this, I would contact your vet so they can determine if your dog needs an antibiotic.
Some other possibilities for what you are noticing are other respiratory infections, allergies and/or a reverse sneeze or there may be something stuck in your dogs throat (like a grass seed or part of a rawhide chew). Also, some dogs can simply drink too fast especially when it's very hot- this can cause some water to go down "the wrong pipe" and then a gag response.
If your dog continues to gag or, especially if the gag be
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My dog is making a honking sound and I'd like to know if it's something serious. He's acting like his usual self except when he gets excited he makes this loud sound like a goose. Sometimes he'll make a hacking sound afterwords like he's coughing up
As Dr. Linda mentioned, a honking cough can be due to respiratory infections, including kennel cough (tracheobronchitis). It can also be due to conditions like a collapsing trachea, reverse sneezing, or other more serious respiratory issues. I included a link below that has a video of a dog reverse sneezing for comparison to Niko’s episodes at home. If this issue persists, if Niko has any other concerning changes at home (loss of appetite, lethargy, changes in his normal breathing efforts or patterns, etc.), it would be best to have him examined by your vet. Wishing you and Niko the best! https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952493
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
I have a puggle Mel 4 moths eight pounds and she has developed a cough first hacking now honking gagging. She recently got a distemper shot, bordertella shot and was wormed on September 29. Why coughing should she see a vet?
A young dog with a honking/gagging kind of cough sure sounds like kennel cough, or infectious tracheitis/tracheobronchitis. This is really common in young dogs who socialize with other dogs, like at puppy class, or at a vet clinic, grooming facility, etc. It is usually self-limiting and not dangerous, but is very infectious. Keep Mel away from other dogs for 10-14 days, and if the cough is very frequent, or if she seems run down and not feeling well, she needs to see the vet for some antibiotics and anti-tussive (cough medicine) like codeine. Hope that helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Health & Wellbeing
My 4month old puppy is coughing a lot, it's not at any particular time and sounds like a goose. She is eating and playing normally but our other dog has a respitory infection which she's on meds for just wanted to check it out before we take her the
I'm happy that Mille is still wanting to play and is acting normally despite her cough. I can't say for certain without listening to her, but she may have picked up kennel cough somewhere. "Kennel cough" isn't a particular diagnosis, but simply a cough caused by one of several different possible infections (viral or bacterial). Most dogs develop a mild cough, but it can get worse. You might want to get it checked out, and if the cough is bad enough your veterinarian might want to give her medication for it. Hopefully Mille recovers quickly.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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