coughing pug

[marceym72473]

My 12 yr. old pug has been coughing for 3 months. I have been to two different vets and together they have ruled out collapsed trachea, kennel cough, pneumonia and heart disease. He has been on several different antibiotics and steriods. He is still eating as usual and the coughing seems to be worse at night. They are not productive coughs just dry hacking coughs. I am running out of ideas and am desperate for answers.

[marceym72473]

Hi there,
I spoke to you via email back in January and followed the advice that you gave me regarding my coughing pug. Just wanted to thank you very much, here it is October and he is still alive and kickin'. The vitamin regimine that you suggested worked better than any antibiotic that the vet prescribed. Other than the normal stiffness in his legs from getting old, the coughing is gone thanks to you:-)

marceym72473

[marceym72473]

Thank you everyone for the comments. I have had him since he was 12 weeks old and it is hard to see him get older. He tested negative for heartworm and I really don't want to give him anymore of the steroid though it seemed to help. I am going to try building up his immune system suggested by smid and go from there:-)

[Margot49]

Ah, poor little thing.  At that age, I would have worried about heart but you seem confident your Vet ruled that out.  
I would hesitate using antihistamines.
If it were me, I'd try setting up a cool mist humidifier at night near his sleeping area and see if the moisture in the air will help with the cough.  Seriously..

[smidlapp]

First thing is to replace all the natural flora (good bacteria) in your dog's digestive system. The antibiotics and steroids wiped them out. Your dog's immune system will be greatly improved once you do this. Get a probiotic with at least 1 billion cfu. Hopefully your vet already advised you to do this. Continue with the probiotics long term, (especially in an older dog).
Once you get the probiotics started go to a health food store and get shark liver oil capsules. Give your dog 2 per day until the cough goes away. Then continue with 1 per day. Shark liver oil will boost the immune system and will take care of any URT infection your dog may have. Also use 500mg MSM powder in his food. You can get the powder form or just open a MSM capsule. MSM will help deyoxify his system, boost immunity, reduce inflammation and allergies and is very good for the lungs in general. It's great for people as well as pups. These three agents will work together to heal any infection and reduce any allergies your dog may have.
Another thing to consider is aged garlic extract. One 500mg capsule can be given daily for coughs and infections. The antioxident CoQ10 will help especially if the cough is related to his heart in some unknown manner. Coq10 helps with tissue oxygenation especially in the heart, brain and lungs. It is a great supplement for older dogs! A 30mg capsule would be plenty for your pup.
Hopefully you're feeding your dog a high quality diet with extra omega 3's. Do not use any chemical flea and tick agents. These could cause serious toxic issues. Becareful with air fresheners, household cleaning agents and pesticides. They all could play a roll in your dogs condition. Last but not least- your dog is to old to be vaccinated. His immune system will not respond to the vaccine and it could cause serious problems. This applies to any older and/or sick animal.  
Whatever the cause, (ie., allergy, infection, cardiac or toxins) if you follow these steps the cough should go away in a couple of weeks or less.  God bless your and your pug! Take care and lets us know how things are going!!  

Smid
  

[Misfits4Me]

Hello & welcome.......Well, since you've ruled out most of what I would have suggested, there are two more things left....First, did you rule out Heartworms?

Do the steroids make him better? How about the antibiotics? Did they help?

After that, I'd go with Asthma or Bronchitis....If it's allergy related, a trial of Zyrtec or Claritin would be of benefit.  Both of these can be used in dogs....Not the D products, however....

I have found that the winter months are the worse for these conditions because of houses closed up, heating systems running, low humidity, etc.

Let me know what you think.......Karla