Coughing / Attempting to Clear Throat
Submitted by stardalo on February 23, 2011 - 11:02amHi-- My bulldog Rocco always seems to get some sort of phlegm caught in his throat. Recently it has been a little worse than usual. I was told by my vet that it is acid reflux. He rarely ever vommits it out, but when he has, it is all white and foamy. I am pretty certain it is acid reflux bc you could smell the reflux on his breath. He breathes good, eats and goes potty normally and his energy levels are fine. In an attempt to help him with the reflux, i started adding some Tums tablets to his food but it does not seem to help too much. I also started giving him a Zantac 150 1x per day. But he is till having problems with having this phlegm caught in his throat. The problem seems to occur in the middle of the night after a deep snoring session. For example, he did not cough once all yesterday evening but after going to bed and snoring for a few hours, it happens again I feed him Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potatoe. Any suggestions would be helpful. thank you.
Have his palette
checked by a vet with bulldog experience. If he is a good breather I would probably manage it for know but he may need to have his palette done. How old is he?
He will be turning 3 in
He will be turning 3 in April. We go to a great bulldog vet in NY, Dr, Kinnear. In the past his palate was checked and all was fine. Could it have grown? It might be time to have it rechecked.
Yes....It can grow
Cleo was a great breather and never had problems up until she was about 2 yrs. She had a knee surgery around 1 year and they used an 8 trach tube...but when they did her entropian surgery around 2 years they could hardly get the trach tube down. My vet said she had the longest, thickest palette he had ever seen and it was down her throat.
Dr. Kinnear I hear is a great bullie vet. I would have him recheck.
When does it stop growing?
Or does it grow back like your liver? ;) Really though does it ever stop?
Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!
Katie & Chumlee
I'm guessing it depends
on the dog. Norbert never had a problem with his palette and was always a great breather. Ester has no problems as well. MacKenzie had his palette done when he was around a year old and will be 8 this year and is a good breather.
So I suspect it justs depends on the individual dog.
Can your liver grow back? I never knew that, LOL! Weird because I was watching House last night and in the episode a guy coughed up his liver (well a part of his liver). I know it's tv...so is that saying actually true?
Yum liver and onions for dinner
Yuck! My mom use to make me eat that when I was little. It was terrifying. If you have a third of your liver left it will regenerate just like a woman's cervix but the cervix grows back with scar tissue :(
Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!
Katie & Chumlee
In the meantime
you could try gently wiping the roof of his mouth with a soft warm cloth to get the gunk off there so he can go back to sleep :(
Skasqueeeeeeakaaay!!
Katie & Chumlee
kibby has that too...
it often happens when there is a draft in the room... i think its from her snoring and sleeping with her mouth partly open. i agree and use a small warm wash cloth to get the phlegm out of the roof of her mouth.
somethings other things that i found that helps;
1. humidifier, or sometimes i take a shower at night and keep the bedroom door closed so the warm air stays in the room. i noticed that if she sleeps with her face a little smooshed in the blankets then it maybe makes the air "warmer" while she breathes in and out? makes less phlegm
2. some people use lemon juice or whatever with citric acid to help break down the phlegm. i use baby tangerine oranges, i think the brand is cuties, they are seedless and sweet! i take a bite out of one and when i feed the other half to kibby , i squeeze it so all the juice goes in her mouth and i feel like the pulpy peice of fruit helps to push the phlegm down too... she loves them, i try to limit like half to a whole tangerine before bedtime.
3. vet told me its probably allergies too, i give kibby 1 claritin daily, if her phlegm is worse at night or in morning, i give her the claritan for her dinner, i feel like its more powerful through the night and morning this way.
its pretty scary because sometimes it seems as though she is trying to throw up, but vet says thats the only way they know how to clear their throats. they can't "hock" loogies like humans so they just try to either throw it up or swallow it. good luck!
sincerely, christine
How much Claritin?
What is the mg. that you give?
"Still Plays In the Dirt"
10mg, plain white pill
there was a sale at walgreens last night... 60 pills for $22 ! one a day with her meal! good luck!
sincerely, christine