Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook.pdf - Mr. Walnuts

Before doing debarking surgery, you should try behavior training and/or
eliminate the cause of the excessive barking. Using a citronella or electronic
bark collar may also work. These deliver a negative response when your dog
barks, either with a spray of citronella or a mild shock.
Coughing
Coughing is a reflex initiated by an irritation in the airway. Coughs are caused
by respiratory infections, congestive heart failure, chronic bronchitis, respiratory
tract tumors, collapsing trachea, pressure from tight collars, and inhaled
irritants such as grass seeds, fumes, and food particles.
Coughs are self-perpetuating. Coughing dries out the mucous membranes
and irritates the breathing tubes—leading to further coughing.
DIAGNOSING A COUGH
The type of cough often suggests the diagnosis:
THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM • 319
• A deep, dry, hacking cough made worse by exercise or excitement is
characteristic of kennel cough.
• A moist, bubbling cough indicates fluid or phlegm in the lungs and suggests
pneumonia.
• A high, weak, gagging cough, followed by swallowing and licking the
lips, is characteristic of tonsillitis and sore throat.
• A spasm of prolonged coughing that occurs at night or while lying on
the sternum suggests heart disease.
• A “goose-honk” cough in a toy breed dog indicates a collapsing trachea.
The diagnostic workup of a dog with a chronic cough includes a chest
X-ray and transtracheal washings. Washings are cells obtained by flushing the
trachea with saline solution. This can be done with a sterile tube passed down
the trachea while the dog is sedated, or by direct penetration of the trachea
through the skin of the neck using a needle and catheter. The washings are
processed for cytology and bacterial culture. The information usually leads to a
specific diagnosis.
Bronchoscopy is particularly useful in the investigation of chronic coughs
and coughs with the production of mucus and blood. The procedure requires
sedation or general anesthesia. A rigid or flexible endoscope is passed into the
trachea and bronchi. This enables the veterinarian to see the interior of the
respiratory tract. Biopsies can be taken with accuracy, and washings collected
for examination and culture. Bronchoscopy is also the procedure of choice for
removing bronchial foreign bodies.