Coughing !!

[Hobbie]

We have two cockers,the eldest one when walking around or when she first gets up  seems to like" sneezing/breathing heavy".Then stops and suddenly after while starts again.As anybody come across these symptons,and if looks as if a trip to the vets

[elaine.e]

Not meaning to worry you, but your description sounds like the symptoms my first Cocker had when he was about 9 or 10 and it was because he had heart failure and his lungs had fluid in them. But once diagnosed and on the correct medication he went on to live a fit and healthy life until almost 17 years old.

I think a trip to the vet is needed. Hopefully nothing more than a cold or similar, but should be checked if the symptoms continue for more than a day or so. Hope she's OK 

[Biff]

Could it be reverse sneezing?  Poppy does this and so did my last dog.  It's as if they can't quite catch their breath, their middle area really contracts with the effort of it and it's a strange grunty, breathy sound, really hard to describe.  If you google it there are some videos comparing it to dog coughing.

An easy test of it is to hold your finger over their nose to force them to breath through their mouth, if that works then it's probably reverse sneezing.  It's something to do with their soft palate/oesophagus and by breathing through their nose it forces everything back to normal.  Poppy did this quite a lot recently but after a couple of times covering her nose it has stopped.  I think she recognises the feeling now and immediately breathes through her mouth to fix it (cos last time it happened as soon as I put my finger to her nose she seemed to remember to breath through her mouth so I guess she does it automatically  now).

If this doesn't fix it or if you're worried then get to the vet.

[catcmartin]

Our Charlie did this a couple of weeks ago.  He does have a grade 4 heart murmur so we kept a wary eye on him for a few days and it was reverse sneezing
a group I am in for congestive heart failure also had a few dogs with the same symptoms which turned out to be alergy related.  When I asked the group what they thought they sugested that I would see a difference in his breathing patterns if it was CHF, after about 4 days he stopped doinfg it and was back to normal.  If you are worried a trip to the vet would reassure you.  Try and get a video on your mobile phone to show the vet as no doubt the likkle darling wont do it in the vets. Hope this helps 

[CospyCockerSpaniel]

A trip to the vet is definitely necessary. The coughing might get serious.