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My senior Shih Tzu chokes, coughs mucus, and gurgles. What's wrong?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | 10 years and 4 months old | 19 lbs

Hello, I have a 10 year old female shitzu. She has been having this regrudtation and chokes then sometimes mucus comes out. Her stomach makes gurggling sounds as well. My last vet put my dog on a pepcid 20mg 1x a day for about a year but still keeps going on. Shes eating, drinking, going to the bathroom both fine and playing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 28th, 2019

I'm sorry that Luna is having this issue. There are quite a few things that could be going on. Collapsing trachea is my best guess based on your description. I suggest you video the "coughing" behavior to show your vet. That will be the most helpful. I would also recommend x-rays of her chest as the next step. It is not a good idea to continue Famotidine for such a long time. It actually will stop the stomach from producing any acid at all which can make issues worse. If you are still doing that I would stop. ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/tracheal-collapse-in-dogs )

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