Milo's coughing/gagging continues...

Okay, so I took Milo back to the vet on Friday since his gagging episodes were not improving. He got a chest x-ray done, including the trachea, and the vet said that it looked normal. So, he was started on antibiotics, still for presumed kennel cough.

Dave and I were away over the weekend and my brother watched the dogs for us. When we came back, we noticed that he sounded better, so we were both happy. Then, last night, we were outside with all the dogs and they were playing and Milo was eating grass like crazy, as he usually does. After eating the grass, I noticed he was really gagging/choking a lot more, so I thought maybe he had some grass stuck in his throat. I was about to take him to the ER vet, but then he settled down and just slept and his breathing seemed fine, so we went to bed.

This morning, he is still occasionally choking/gagging. Do you guys think that this could be related to the grass that he's eating? He seems to be breathing fine now, but I think I'm just worrying because it seemed like he was getting better and now it's starting again. Does the vet have the right diagnosis here? Maybe I should take him for a second opinion?

How long has this been going on? Did he eat grass at your bother's house too? Or just at your house? Does he do this gag with a couch at the end and shake his head at the same time? Ugh, this is hard to explain, but Baby Girl will stretch her neck out like she is choking and then do this cough at the end and then shake her head like she is shaking the whole thing off.

well, it's been almost a month now. it started when we went to visit my mom for the long weekend. he was eating lots of grass there, too. he just sounds like he is choking on something when he does it. i've looked in his throat and can't see anything. i don't know if he stretches his neck out. it's hard to say. it seems to be right after eating grass or getting excited.

It sounds like maybe he's allergic to the grass or it's getting caught in his throat. Wally will gag after eating grass, too--he's my goat, not Emmet. If it's only after grass-eating, I wouldn't worry too much.

Both my boys will occasionally "gack," too, ever since each one had the ESP surgery.

maybe i'll try some benadryl for him. it's not only after grass, but it does seem to get worse after he eats grass. now, he's on the couch and seems fine, but every now and then, he has these little gagging episodes where it sounds like he's trying to clear his throat or like there's mucous in his throat. i've had a yorkie (charlie) with collapsing trachea and it doesn't sound like that, but i'm a bit worried it could be doggie asthma or something... well, i guess i will wait and see and bring him back if there's no improvement after the antibiotics. i can always take him to the ER vet tonight if he gets worse. poor little guy. i feel so bad for him.

A month seems to be a bit long to get over kennel cough. Maybe the benadryl will help.

I remember when Chester went through his two-year grass eating phase. It would make him gag, sometimes throw up, and he kept pooping out grass blades that got stuck en route. A vet tech friend told me that sometimes dogs will eat grass to help calm their stomachs or if they are nauseous. She suggested giving Chester baby spinach with his food to try and get him off the grass. I'm not sure if it was the baby spinach or switching foods (which we did a lot in those days) or if he grew out of it, but Chester hasn't eaten grass for years. Just throwing that out there. Not sure if it will help your situation at all.

I don't have any suggestions Adrianna, just hope you can stop the cycle. Main thing is that the vets haven't found any abnormalities.

okay, so i started to panic and brought milo to the ER vet. i thought i could hear him wheezing and so i was really worried about his breathing. i actually listened to him with my own stethoscope - don't examine dogs that often, though, so what do i know?? anyway, the ER vet was really nice. they took him in right away. she told me that she thought he had upper airway congestion, possible worse in the left nostril. so, she recommended rhinoscopy, which is where they stick a scope in the nostrils and see if there was anything there and take a biopsy. she said that he was stable, so i could wait a bit more on the antibiotics and see if things got better before booking the scope. i am hesitant to put him through anything dramatic, especially with his previous history of MRIs and such with the neck issues. so, i decided to wait a bit and i will take him back to his own vet for a follow-up or back to the ER if he suddenly gets worse.

it's so frustrating to not know what is causing this!!! i agree that it's a bit too long for kennel cough. it's really good that they haven't found anything abnormal. the vet did say that it's possible there is something lodged up one of his nostrils, so i'm hoping that's not what it is and he will just get better. poor little guy doesn't deserve to have to go through more testing.

Is the coughing/gagging noises happening when he breathes in or exhales? My Pugsly who ended up with chronic bronchitis would make those noises when he exhaled. My doctor explained to me why it happened when he exhales verses inhales, but I honestly can't remember.

One of the things that the doctors at the University asked me when Taz was checked in on an emergency case was if he coughed or gagged. They suspected laryngeal paralysis and those are a couple of the symptoms although Taz did not have them

leslyeb wrote:Is the coughing/gagging noises happening when he breathes in or exhales? My Pugsly who ended up with chronic bronchitis would make those noises when he exhaled. My doctor explained to me why it happened when he exhales verses inhales, but I honestly can't remember.

One of the things that the doctors at the University asked me when Taz was checked in on an emergency case was if he coughed or gagged. They suspected laryngeal paralysis and those are a couple of the symptoms although Taz did not have them

i looked up laryngeal paralysis, but his symptoms seem different that that. it almost sounds like he has a really bad cold and is trying to clear stuff out of his nose/sinuses... i guess it's not really a cough or gag, more like a sneezing or stuffed up nose kind of sound.

the vet examined him and said that he had the congestion on inspiration and she felt one of his nostrils might be blocked, so it could be a foreign body stuck in there, like grass. his lungs were clear, so she did not suspect bronchitis. she felt it was an upper airway issue.

i'm so worried about the poor little guy. i just hope he gets better. i don't want him to undergo those tests. freaks me out.