LaurenA
New member
Hey guys! I'd love to get your thoughts on this... I'm not entirely sure what happened.
The weather is nice today, only about 65F and overcast, so taking advantage of the cooler weather Rook and I went for a walk and stopped at the dog park. It had been a while since we had been there, and as soon as it came into view Rook started really pulling on the leash as if we couldn't get there fast enough (he wears a harness on walks). Everything was fine when we walked in, two dogs came over to greet him... one a little more aggressive than necessary in my opinion, but Rook is a lover not a fighter, so he laid down to submit to the dog and that was that. When Rook got up, he coughed, but then he went over to sniff some other dogs and seemed to be okay. He started coughing more, and then coughed up some white foam and a little bit of kibble (he had eaten 2 hours earlier). This was all within a minute or two of entering the dog park. I separated him from the other dogs, and he continued to cough. A woman brought over a bowl of water, but Rook (being a spoiled pup) wouldn't drink it - he did drink from my water bottle. Rook still wanted to play with the other dogs, but he kept coughing and occasionally hacking up some more foam, so I decided we needed to leave.
As soon as we exited the gate, he was fine - stopped coughing. He kept trying to turn me around and pull me back to the dog park, so I picked him up and carried him a ways until it was out of sight and we could continue our walk home. All the way home he was completely normal - not a single cough or any indication that he wasn't feeling well. He even tried to steal lettuce off the sidewalk from someone's garbage and found a stick to carry home.
Any ideas on what might have caused this? Do you think he was just too excited? He was wearing his harness and we have never had any problems with him wearing it, but do you think that could have choked him in some way when he pulled to get to the park?
He's acting completely fine, so I don't think it was anything serious. But if there is something I can do or change to make sure we don't have a repeat of this, I'd love to get your ideas!
Thanks everyone!!!
The weather is nice today, only about 65F and overcast, so taking advantage of the cooler weather Rook and I went for a walk and stopped at the dog park. It had been a while since we had been there, and as soon as it came into view Rook started really pulling on the leash as if we couldn't get there fast enough (he wears a harness on walks). Everything was fine when we walked in, two dogs came over to greet him... one a little more aggressive than necessary in my opinion, but Rook is a lover not a fighter, so he laid down to submit to the dog and that was that. When Rook got up, he coughed, but then he went over to sniff some other dogs and seemed to be okay. He started coughing more, and then coughed up some white foam and a little bit of kibble (he had eaten 2 hours earlier). This was all within a minute or two of entering the dog park. I separated him from the other dogs, and he continued to cough. A woman brought over a bowl of water, but Rook (being a spoiled pup) wouldn't drink it - he did drink from my water bottle. Rook still wanted to play with the other dogs, but he kept coughing and occasionally hacking up some more foam, so I decided we needed to leave.
As soon as we exited the gate, he was fine - stopped coughing. He kept trying to turn me around and pull me back to the dog park, so I picked him up and carried him a ways until it was out of sight and we could continue our walk home. All the way home he was completely normal - not a single cough or any indication that he wasn't feeling well. He even tried to steal lettuce off the sidewalk from someone's garbage and found a stick to carry home.
Any ideas on what might have caused this? Do you think he was just too excited? He was wearing his harness and we have never had any problems with him wearing it, but do you think that could have choked him in some way when he pulled to get to the park?
He's acting completely fine, so I don't think it was anything serious. But if there is something I can do or change to make sure we don't have a repeat of this, I'd love to get your ideas!
Thanks everyone!!!