won't stop coughing

butter312

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May 23, 2023
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Butter
Hi all,

I'm new here. I have a 9 month old English Bulldog named Butter :) and she's the absolute best. She's a tiny girl at only 30lbs, but she's very mighty. However, she's been coughing since I got her pretty much. She's been on about 5 courses of clavamox and she briefly gets better but then lo and behold, a week or two passes, and she's back to coughing herself awake in the night. It almost sounds like she has something caught in her throat that she needs to clear, but lemon juice doesn't help it.

The vet has found pneumonia on her x rays a couple of times (along with a fused spine and a small trachea -- again, she's a special girl) but her lungs seem okay right now, however the cough persists. I've tried feeding at all different times and different foods, nothing helps. She's on an antacid. She seems fine during the day, high energy, eating a lot, no behavioral issues. It's just she will not stop coughing. Is it aspiration maybe? They mentioned a hiatal hernia as a possibility, but she's had so many x rays I feel like they would have seen it by now.

Any help? Ideas? I've taken her to two different vets (about to be 3). The vets just keep throwing her on antibiotics that I have to imagine are not working as well anymore., and i feel like are acting as a bandaid on a bullet hole. Help!
 

Manydogs

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Have you tried Manuka honey?Get the best you can buy. Try one tsp. twice a day. Is this a dry cough? You could also try Manuka honey,lemon mixed with a little water. Or 1 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of coconut oil. You may need an air purifier,or cool steam vaporizer in the house. That would help a dry throat. @butter312
 

Bulldog2001

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Hi all,

I'm new here. I have a 9 month old English Bulldog named Butter :) and she's the absolute best. She's a tiny girl at only 30lbs, but she's very mighty. However, she's been coughing since I got her pretty much. She's been on about 5 courses of clavamox and she briefly gets better but then lo and behold, a week or two passes, and she's back to coughing herself awake in the night. It almost sounds like she has something caught in her throat that she needs to clear, but lemon juice doesn't help it.

The vet has found pneumonia on her x rays a couple of times (along with a fused spine and a small trachea -- again, she's a special girl) but her lungs seem okay right now, however the cough persists. I've tried feeding at all different times and different foods, nothing helps. She's on an antacid. She seems fine during the day, high energy, eating a lot, no behavioral issues. It's just she will not stop coughing. Is it aspiration maybe? They mentioned a hiatal hernia as a possibility, but she's had so many x rays I feel like they would have seen it by now.

Any help? Ideas? I've taken her to two different vets (about to be 3). The vets just keep throwing her on antibiotics that I have to imagine are not working as well anymore., and i feel like are acting as a bandaid on a bullet hole. Help!

I would have her checked for elongated soft palate, that can definitely cause this.
Does she snore, tire easily after play? Snore and coughing and loud breathing is main symptoms.

Yes definitely try manuka boney.

Also what are you feeding?

Adored Beast Gut Soothe is really good for soothing inflammation in the throat and down to the stomach.

Soft food would be best during this coughing time.

Pet well-being brand makes a Throat Gold supplement for coughing and throat irritation.
 

helsonwheels

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@butter312, like mentioned above, Manuka is best honey. But read first as thereā€™s different grading of it. The higher the better. Yes expensive.

 
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butter312

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Have you tried Manuka honey?Get the best you can buy. Try one tsp. twice a day. Is this a dry cough? You could also try Manuka honey,lemon mixed with a little water. Or 1 tsp of honey and 1 tsp of coconut oil. You may need an air purifier,or cool steam vaporizer in the house. That would help a dry throat. @butter312
i havent! i'll try it. the lemon juice on its own doesn't cut it, but maybe the honey is the trick. it's a fairly wet cough, sounds like she's wheezing or phlegmy. but again, only at night.
 
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butter312

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I would have her checked for elongated soft palate, that can definitely cause this.
Does she snore, tire easily after play? Snore and coughing and loud breathing is main symptoms.

Yes definitely try manuka boney.

Also what are you feeding?

Adored Beast Gut Soothe is really good for soothing inflammation in the throat and down to the stomach.

Soft food would be best during this coughing time.

Pet well-being brand makes a Throat Gold supplement for coughing and throat irritation.
she doesn't have an elongated soft palate and her nares are actually very nice and wide for how inset her face is :p she has pretty quiet breathing, and though her trachea is on the smaller side, i'm assured it's not TERRIBLY small. the main structural issue with her is her spine.

that said, i will definitely try the manuka honey trick. i'm feeding her a special home cooked dog food brand called Tom & Sawyer -- soft food (it's different meats, veggies, oats, gluten free, for sensitive stomachs). i will look into beast gut soothe!
 

Bulldog2001

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she doesn't have an elongated soft palate and her nares are actually very nice and wide for how inset her face is :p she has pretty quiet breathing, and though her trachea is on the smaller side, i'm assured it's not TERRIBLY small. the main structural issue with her is her spine.

that said, i will definitely try the manuka honey trick. i'm feeding her a special home cooked dog food brand called Tom & Sawyer -- soft food (it's different meats, veggies, oats, gluten free, for sensitive stomachs). i will look into beast gut soothe!

Thatā€™s great her airways are good.

And thatā€™s good she is on the soft store bought homemade food, should be easy to swallow.

The Adored Beast brand Gut Soothe may help, and also I would recommend trying the Pet Well-being brand Throat Gold to soothe throat irritation.

Maybe try Pet Well-being Throat Gold first with the manuka Honey. Hopefully the 2 together helps.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Gang has you covered.... you can also do steam baths and use a vaporizer net to crate when she sleeps to see if it helps at all
 

helsonwheels

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i havent! i'll try it. the lemon juice on its own doesn't cut it, but maybe the honey is the trick. it's a fairly wet cough, sounds like she's wheezing or phlegmy. but again, only at night.
I mention this often n I know it works. Essential Oil in a diffuser. Nyala as a pup was coughing green n also it was coming out of her nose n snotty eyes. I put her to bed with the diffuser above her kennel on a towel so the vapors fell in part of her cage n on the sides so she can breathe n clean her lungs. Takes a good 3-5 days n green turned to yellow to white.

Water n Oil donā€™t mix n why you need to have a diffuser thatā€™s Ultrasonic to break down the oil in the water like the model attached below. Also a quality oil like DoTerra. (Online). This diffuser holds about a cup of water so you would add:

(these 3 oils are a must)
8 drops of peppermint oil
8 eucalyptus oil
5 tea tree oil

I do add an extra one. Can be thyme, clove, lavender or chamomile. Because itā€™s a cough, I would recommend 8 drops of thyme.

 
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butter312

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Butter thanks you all for your service! I will get started collecting all these recs and try them out on her :)
 

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Jsalazar0627

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Hi, my bulldog had the same issue till I switched dog food it was a long process to find the food he wasn't allergic too but we found it. We are currently feeding him Fromms.
 
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butter312

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i just switched foods again :/ its supposed to be super hypoallergenic and gluten free etc. :/ the honey isn't doing much to curb her coughing.

it almost sounds like she's wheezing, it's very wet and rattly. like she has phlegm in her throat or a cold.
Hi, my bulldog had the same issue till I switched dog food it was a long process to find the food he wasn't allergic to but we found it. We are currently feeding him Fromms.
 

Bulldog2001

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i just switched foods again :/ its supposed to be super hypoallergenic and gluten free etc. :/ the honey isn't doing much to curb her coughing.

it almost sounds like she's wheezing, it's very wet and rattly. like she has phlegm in her throat or a cold.

Have you tried the Pet Well-being Throat Gold supplement i mentioned before??? Good for coughs, kennel cough, colds, throat irritation and other viruses that can cause these symptoms.

Just a thought since the honey isnā€™t doing much.

Have you thought about switching her to Raw diet?? That could help cause then itā€™s even less carbs.
 
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butter312

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Have you tried the Pet Well-being Throat Gold supplement i mentioned before??? Good for coughs, kennel cough, colds, throat irritation and other viruses that can cause these symptoms.

Just a thought since the honey isnā€™t doing much.

Have you thought about switching her to Raw diet?? That could help cause then itā€™s even less carbs.
i ordered the throat gold and respiratory support one from the same company, so waiting for that to come in the mail :/

hopefully that'll help her out. i haven't looked into the raw diet but maybe that's the next step.
 

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