My dog has a violent honking cough and gagging. What can I do?

Question

A rake fell on my small dog, and he went unconscious to where we preformed a "CPR" kind of thing on him. Ever since that happened, he has been coughing very violently, almost like gagging or even honking, to the point where we think he is going to throw up, but he doesn't. What can I do to prevent this? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | unneutered | 18 lbs

Ann Dion, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. A honking sounding cough with some gagging is a very typical sign of a condition called collapsing trachea. This is condition of the airway where it collapses down when they try to breath. This would be unrelated to the rake incident, but the rake incident might have stressed Gizmo to the point of an attack or episode where this collapsing trachea has become evident. It usually only flares up when they are stressed or breathing heavy. Another possible cause is kennel cough, once again unrelated to the rake incident but the stress could have caused a flare-up. This causes a hacking cough that is persistent. The other option is that the CPR episode caused trauma or inflammation to the airway or neck. Either way, the best thing to do would be to have a check up with a vet to see if some of these other underlying diseases are present, so you can treat (in terms of kennel cough or irritation of the trachea), or prevent future episodes (in terms of kennel cough). If the coughing has improved, the best thing to do in the mean-time would be to keep Gizmo quiet, comfortable, and rested, and avoid any activities where he would get excited or stressed. If he is still having trouble breathing please go to a vet right away as these episodes can spiral quickly and end up with a blocked airway all together, which can be fatal. Best of luck with Gizmo, I hope his coughing has calmed down and he feels better.

My dog has a violent honking cough and gagging. What can I do?

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