coughing in Akita
Just thought I'd see if anyone had any suggestions for us. Oskar, my soon to be 4 year old American Akita, is coughing a fair amount. It's a dry muted cough, and he does it especially if he is excited or exerting himself. It's not like kennel cough (I recognize that one), and he's done it off and on for a couple of months now. Nothing is stuck in his throat/nose. He's been to the vet, and they don't see anything. More than anything, what this cough reminds me of is the sound a dog makes that has a collapsing trachea--if you've heard dogs that have been jerked around with prong collars or even regular collars too much, you'll know what I mean. Oskar, however, has never been walked with a collar, so if that is the problem, I'd have no idea why. He also does not seem to have any problems eating or drinking (not sure that matters, but thought I'd mention it).
If you've been around the forum for awhile, you know he has health issues. He has problems in the cervical vertebrae that are bad enough that they sometimes put pressure on the vagus nerve, and when this happens, he has flare ups that include upper respiratory issues, and problems in his eyes. When this happens, he does sometimes cough. Right now, though, he's not in one of these acute phases, and the only thing going on is the odd, dry coughing.
If anyone has any thoughts of things I should check for, I'd appreciate it. Right now, I'm not even sure what to ask my vet to look at.
If you've been around the forum for awhile, you know he has health issues. He has problems in the cervical vertebrae that are bad enough that they sometimes put pressure on the vagus nerve, and when this happens, he has flare ups that include upper respiratory issues, and problems in his eyes. When this happens, he does sometimes cough. Right now, though, he's not in one of these acute phases, and the only thing going on is the odd, dry coughing.
If anyone has any thoughts of things I should check for, I'd appreciate it. Right now, I'm not even sure what to ask my vet to look at.
Comments
Bijo has occasionally coughed a lot since we got her, but specifically it sounds like she's hacking up a hairball and it happens after she has been eating or drinking. She's never been sick or had anything else that seems to be a problem and it clears up in a couple minutes and doesn't come back; so we try to get her to slow down when she eats, with some success, but it still happens when she drinks too quickly.
Recently a puppy from Litter B (Noogie) had a cough that was similar to Bijo's. The owner video taped it and it seemed the same - but it didn't go away, so she took him to the vet. The first time he was at the vet, he said it wasn't kennel cough but he had inflammation/irritation that was causing it. Perhaps he swallowed something with a rough edge. However, it still didn't go away and then her other dog started coughing too, so it turned out to be kennel cough after all.
EDIT: So maybe kennel cough sounds different in different dogs. Or maybe he swallowed something sharp and did some damage.
He does it very often when he is blowing his coat, i guess it is mainly because of his fur getting somehow into his mouth. I dont know if this info might help you.
Edit: Found one type http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_dg_laryngeal_disease
I think it is interesting, and rather disturbing, that one of the reasons this syndrome may occur is vagal nerve abnormality, and we do think a lot of Oskar's odd symptoms are from pressure on the vagus nerve.
Our shiba Riku, who is almost 13, started coughing and hacking like he has a hairball last year. We have radiant heat so we know is not from forced air heat. This happens very sporadically and usually ends up keeping me up at night from all the noise he makes. The first two times it happened we went to the vet to make sure it's not kennel cough, got cough syrup. Blood work and urine test came out clear (granted, that's not going to test Kennel Cough but our JA Meichan isn't coughing and both dogs get vaccination) So our vet suggested we get some children's Benedryl as it could just be allergies. Riku otherwise has no symptoms of allergies. I started monitoring the pollen count in our area via The Weather Channel app and I do see a correlation between days when he's quiet vs. days when I need to give him Benedryl.
Oskar is very susceptible to URIs, but this was very very bad indeed. Mostly, my vet wanted to just get him to stop coughing before it got worse, so we've got more meds that I normally like to give (and I'm never a fan of predisone, but in this case, we had to do something). Once he's over this bad patch, though, we're going to look into this further, but since it was an emergency visit today, we didn't do xrays--today was mostly just trying to get him under control. She hadn't heard of the larnyx issue, and I couldn't remember all the details while I was in there, but I said I'd bring in more info. on it next time, so we can check.
My poor boy, though. he was miserable today, and the thing that made me saddest was he was clearly upset that he kept vomiting, and was frantic to go outside to do it out there. Of course, I don't care: I just want him to feel better, but he clearly thought he should not do it in the house, and so in addition to being sick, he was anxious from that.
But what I nightmare. I don't usually get the bordatella vaccinations because in general, the dogs aren't going places they'll get it, and it's not that effective, and even when they have got kennel cough before (probably from a class at the shelter, like this time, brought home by Zora), it was so mild it was gone in a few days. But I'd not thought of Oskar's immune system,and how bad he gets these kind of infections. I guess I'll have to rethink my strategy on the bordatella vaccination, if it helps to stop something like this from happening. Maybe at least he should have it.
I think because the rescue also gave him a steriod shot as a preventative for flea allergy, it surpressed him immune system and made it worse than it usually is.
(For my other dogs, I tend not to vaccinate for it, because if they get it, it's mild, like your experience. But Oskar is still quite sick today--though improving--and I'd really like to try to avoid a repeat of this).
I was taking my Akita puppy to a class at the local shelter, and of course, shelters are places where things like this crop up and are hard to control. I suspect she brought it home (she has had the mildest of coughs, but it is almost gone). Oskar is the one who couldn't fight it off well.
Here's an article on kennel cough: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/kennel-cough-in-dogs
Effective vaccination would require that the vet have vaccines specifically formulated for the strains in the region and re-formulated very frequently to keep up with the changes in the local environment. But they get their vaccines from a national manufacturer and they're not making new ones all that frequently. In short, re-vaccinating does nothing because in all probability its the same vaccine the dog got six months ago - which may not even be one of the strains in your area.
http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2012/03/21/bordetella-does-your-dog-really-need-the-kennel-cough-vaccine/
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/bordatella-vaccination-dogs/
Akitas are a high-risk breed for vaccinosis; I have experienced it first hand and they're listed by Dr. Hean Dodds as well. With that in mind, as well as the complete lack of efficacy of the bordetella vaccine, I don't give it and I don't take my dogs any place that requires it.
http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/32291451370/
I hope you find the right balance for Oskar, with his existing health issues and apparent susceptibility to infectious diseases.
But...if it would stop Oskar from going through this....But I can't really tell if it would or not, knowing how ineffective it usually is.
(Funny, too, that WDJ had an article on Kennel Cough which I got right after I got back from the vet with him...)
It's clear that this has to do with him, and his immune system though. Zora was coughing a bit last week, and is already over it. Leo seems to be starting a bit yesterday, but it's so mild, I'm just going to wait and see. It's just poor Oskar that got knocked down by it.
And the other dogs are totally fine, now, so while I do believe it was/is kennel cough, it just hit him particularly hard.