What should I do if my dog coughs and retches?

Dog coughing and retching may be caused by cold and flu, or there may be an object stuck in the dog's throat, causing esophageal obstruction, thus resulting in coughing and retching. In addition, if a dog's cough persists continuously, accompanied by symptoms such as loss of appetite and poor spirit, it could be caused by respiratory infection or pneumonia. In these cases, owners need to consult a pet doctor in a timely manner or take the dog to a pet hospital for inspection and treatment to avoid exacerbating the condition.

1. Caught a cold

When there are significant temperature changes, dogs are prone to catching a cold, which can lead to coughing and retching. However, this symptom is similar to the early stages of distemper, if the dog's spirit is good and there is no repeated fever during the illness, it is possible to rule out the possibility of distemper, and confirm that the dog only has a common cold. In this case, the owner needs to take timely measures to treat the cold and pay attention to keeping the dog warm.

If the dog shows symptoms such as depression, loss of appetite, and thickened paw pads, it may be infected with the distemper virus. In this case, it is recommended to take the dog to the pet hospital for treatment promptly.

1. Foreign object stuck in the throat

If a dog's throat is blocked by objects such as bones or hair, the dog's instinctive response is to clear the object through coughing and retching. If the dog vomits multiple times without success, the owner needs to open the dog's mouth and help it remove the object from the throat. If the object is stuck too deep, it is necessary to take the dog to the pet hospital for handling.

Therefore, it is recommended that owners do not feed dogs with sharp foods such as bones, otherwise it is easy for the dog to bite and swallow them, getting them stuck in the throat.

1. Respiratory infection

If a dog shows symptoms of coughing and retching, along with loss of appetite, raised body temperature, sneezing, and running nose, it could also be caused by a respiratory infection. The owner should take the dog to the pet hospital for inspection to determine the specific condition of the infection and then proceed with treatment.

1. Pneumonia

If a dog coughs severely and has symptoms such as yellowish-green mucus discharge, loss of appetite or no appetite, it could be caused by pneumonia. This condition requires timely treatment at a pet hospital to avoid long-term coughing or difficulty breathing from causing severe damage to the dog.