Dog coughing and scratching

[Veronicany422]

Hey everyone,

I am concerned and hope someone can help. On Monday, out of the blue, my dog started hacking as if she was trying to throw something up.. when she fell asleep it eased up.. the next day it was still happening, just not as severe. On Wednesday she wouldn’t eat, and threw up, so I called the vet and took her right in. The vet did a thorough physical exam on her, listened to her lungs, and took a CBC and a chemical blood test.. Her CBC was normal, but he noticed the liver levels were a bit high so he did an X-ray and ultrasound on that, and discovered bladder stones. However in terms of her cough, he didn’t see any indicators that it could be anything too serious (plus she only coughed once the whole time we were there), and he suggested benedryl. I haven’t tried that yet since I’m a little nervous about giving it to her since she’s an older dog.

I was pleased to see that the second we got home, her appetite was back and she ate everything in sight. She also hasn’t thrown up again since that day.

However, it’s now Friday and the cough persists. It’s not nearly as bad as that first night, but it’s there. She’s barking like normal (she barked for about 15 minutes straight earlier in the yard with no cough), eating like normal, and acting like herself. I’m just confused about this cough. It’s very dry, and almost sounds like she’s trying to hack something up.

The vet explained that it’s rare for a tumor to only be located in the lungs, and since he did the ultrasound and X-ray of the liver and saw no indication of a mass, it’s unlikely that she has cancer. However, I am skeptical at this point and very worried. He did say that she has bad skin allergies and I have noticed that after she goes into a scratching fit the cough follows. Could this be allergy related? I purchased Homeopet online from Chewy to see if that’s helps, but I’m curious to hear other opinions. Thanks.