You’ll want to do something about your dog‘s cough or respiratory distress if it manifests as hacking, wheezing, or honking. Every single one of us here has experienced a cough and knows how awful it is. However, there is something you must do before going out to buy dog cough medicine.
Consult your vet if your dog has a persistent cough. Your vet will know best what medication your dog needs for his cough. Rather than treating the symptoms, the focus is on the root of the problem.
Giving cough medicine to a dog with a benign disease is safe, but giving a cough suppressant to a dog with an illness requiring a different treatment is extremely risky.
If you give your dog a cough suppressant, it’s better to err on the side of caution. Here is the information that you require to know:
Is there a cough medicine that you can give to dogs?
There is, but before giving any medication to your dog, you should get the OK from your vet.
It’s possible that your dog needs canine cough suppressants, which help reduce the coughing that occurs, or he could require an expectorant. This medication helps clear mucus from the lungs. This scenario would be if your dog had pneumonia and needed to clear his lungs of mucus and bacteria.
That’s why it’s crucial to get an accurate diagnosis. In the case of a dog with pneumonia, a cough suppressant is not what you need to give him right away.
It’s crucial to keep coughing because stopping it could lead to a buildup of mucus and worsening pneumonia. The same is true for cases where canine heart disease is the cause of a persistent cough. An over-the-counter cough suppressant may hasten the progression of potentially fatal heart failure.
Coughing in dogs can be challenging to deal with, but treating respiratory infections and cardiovascular disease with antibiotics, for example, can help.
However, a cough suppressant such as dextromethorphan can help prevent the trachea from collapsing. The same holds for your dog, though you may be able to simply observe the cough until it subsides on its own if your dog has kennel cough.
However, it is difficult to determine the efficacy of cough suppressants. Depending on their individual circumstances, some dogs may have improved or even worse coughing days than others. In addition, there is the ongoing difficulty that we cannot inquire as to how our dogs are feeling and receive a response from them.
Veterinarians may also recommend a humidifier or nebulizer, even though this is unusual. Still, your vet is in the best position to determine what medication is appropriate for your dog.
Is it OK to give my dog human cough syrup?
On the contrary, you should not do this. Dogs should avoid all human cough medicine because some brands contain xylitol. This artificial sweetener can be fatal to your dog.
In particular, the sugar alcohol xylitol, found in many over-the-counter medications and cough drops, is extremely toxic to dogs.
Furthermore, cough medicine dosage for dogs and humans differs significantly, particularly if you have a tiny dog. That’s why, when trying to figure out how to alleviate your dog’s cough, it’s best to avoid using any medication intended for human consumption.
What you need to know about administering cough medicine to dogs
Your veterinarian can prescribe your dog a cough medication in a pill, liquid, or injectable form.
Here’s the proper way to give each medication:
- Pills can be disguised as food or treat or even enhanced to improve their appeal. This route is likely the least complicated, but you must strictly adhere to your veterinarian’s recommendations.
- VCA Hospitals has a helpful guide on injecting your dog. Whether you prefer a pill or liquid medication, your vet should have everything you need to treat your pet.
- If the medication is liquid, you can try dosing your dog or puppy orally by spreading it over their favorite snack. Still, you may also have to employ a syringe to administer the medication. If so, administering the medicine will be very similar to giving liquid medicine to a cat.
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