Dog Coughing – Five Common Causes of Canine Coughing

Dog coughing can occur for many different reasons, some of them serious and others minor. Your dog can cough if he drinks water too fast, or he can cough due to lung or heart conditions. Other common causes include parasites, allergies, and distemper. This article will take a look at some of the common causes of canine coughing.

Kennel Cough

As it's name suggests, the main symptom of this disease is frequent coughing. Dogs with a healthy immune system can get over in roughly two weeks. However, puppies and smaller breeds may develop thick secretions that can cause pneumonia. This can be a life-threatening condition.


One of the next common causes of dog coughing is distemper. Most canines are vaccinated from this disease, but all of them are not. This disease can be fatal to puppies and dogs without a healthy immune system. Distemper causes symptoms that mimic a human's head cold. They include a dry cough, yellow discharge from eyes and nose, and a relatively high fever.


Roundworms are internal parasites that can also cause canine coughing. After infecting your dog, they wind up living in his intestine. Dogs because infected by ingesting soil that has been contaminated with eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the worms crawl up your dog's windpipe which results in coughing. A light infestation of roundworms is easily treatable.


Heartworms on the other hand present a much more serious problem. An infestation of these worms is often fatal. By the time your dog starts to cough, the disease has already progressed to an advanced stage. Treatment involves a series of injections given weeks apart. The first injection contains arsenic which will kill the worms. The next injection is aimed at destroying microfilariae circulating in the blood.


Infectious tonsillitis is a condition in which your dog's tonsils become swollen and painful. These two symptoms prompt your dog to try to cough the tonsils up violently. Some dogs will also paw at their mouths. Treatment usually involves giving your dog antibiotics for a few weeks until the infection is cleared up.