Do dogs get sore throats?

AgilityPup

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#1
I guess that's the best way to word it. Psyche's been kinda strange all day. Not more so than normal, but she's been sticking extra close to me all day. And she's been coughing/hacking a bit within the last hour or so, and when she barks or growls it's NOT her noise at all. She sounds like a pissy little gremlin.

She's been playing, eating, drinking, everything normal, wagging her tail, not more sleepy than usual (I've been reading most of the day so she's just been curled up with me sleeping, which is pretty normal) etc.. The only real differences are the sticking extra close to me and the funny sounding bark paired with the coughing and hacking.

She hasn't gotten into anything, that I know of, and since she's been with me pretty much all day, I don't see how she could have, although I'll admit there have been a few times today that she hasn't been in my sight.

So the question is, do dogs just get sore throats that would maybe cause this, or should I be more worried?
 

yoko

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#2
I know my friends dog use to bark so much by the end of the day it was definitely a different bark. He basically barked his throat raw.

But just like waking up with a sore throat? I'm not sure. I don't see why not...
 

AgilityPup

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#3
She hasn't been barking more than usual. She's usually not much of a barker, but when people come down the drive way or when she's playing with Crash. And those are the only times I've heard her make the funny noise, or any noise at all, today.
 

Bailey08

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#4
They can get acid reflux, just like people, which causes hacking. Bailey takes Pepcid as needed -- may be worth a call to your vet to ask about it and what an appropriate dosage would be (if applicable).
 

Emily

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#5
Is she hacking like she's trying to cough something up? Like something's stuck in her throat?
 

AgilityPup

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#9
Hmm. Might be Kennel Cough. I have NO idea where she'd have gotten it, though. She hasn't even really left the house and interacted with other dogs in... well, not since the first of June, I don't think... Ohoo! She did go to my sisters house after my sister housed a dog she found for a few hours. Hurmp.

Are there any other signs to kennel cough? She has a trial this weekend so I'm trying to figure things out fast if I need to pull her.
 

AgilityPup

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#10
That's the thing, too. Psyche has always had a "soft" throat. I don't walk her on collars because she pulls and makes herself hack and gag. She's always on harnesses, and even then she sometimes pulls hard enough to hack on those. She was playing in water one day at a trial and swallowed some or something and that's when that all started.

Today even her growl has been different. She was playing with Crash and growling at him and it was weird. Sounded like a little dog... almost gurrgly (sp... is that even a word?). She hasn't been doing it for a few hours now.. I thought maybe something stuck in her throat, fed her some bread with oil, hoping that would somehow help, and she ate it right down. And she drank after that, and she ate all of her dinner (dry food) no problem.
 

Emily

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#11
I don't remember it changing Yoshi's bark when she had it though.
I've seen lots of it (work at a kennel) and I've definitely seen some dogs who seems hoarse from all the hacking. Depends on how badly they're coughing, of course.

Hmm signs of kennel cough... is she producing white, foamy spit/phlegm? And when she coughs does she appear to gag at all?
 

yoko

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#12
I've seen lots of it (work at a kennel) and I've definitely seen some dogs who seems hoarse from all the hacking. Depends on how badly they're coughing, of course.
Makes sense. Her hacking kind of panicked me when she got it so she went to the vet and was given cough meds pretty early on so it might have been I caught it early enough.
 

AgilityPup

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Hmm signs of kennel cough... is she producing white, foamy spit/phlegm? And when she coughs does she appear to gag at all?
Nope, nothing comes out when she's hacking. She's not always even making any hacking/coughing noise, sometimes just an open mouth, so I guess that would be the gagging... And if it helps at all, my mom pushed her off of her by her chest/neck tonight and that pressure on her throat made her hack.
 

Kilter

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Nope, nothing comes out when she's hacking. She's not always even making any hacking/coughing noise, sometimes just an open mouth, so I guess that would be the gagging... And if it helps at all, my mom pushed her off of her by her chest/neck tonight and that pressure on her throat made her hack.
That's one way to check for it, not sure how reliable but that would be a sign. I'd pull her from the trial, even if she's not coughing by then she'd likely be sharing her germs. :( Some dogs have discharge and goo, some don't at all, depends on the virus (there's lots of kennel cough viruses).
 

Emily

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Nope, nothing comes out when she's hacking. She's not always even making any hacking/coughing noise, sometimes just an open mouth, so I guess that would be the gagging... And if it helps at all, my mom pushed her off of her by her chest/neck tonight and that pressure on her throat made her hack.
Unfortunately, that's also a sign of kennel cough... pressure on the trachea inducing coughing/hacking. So is the open mouth gagging... Sucks, but if it doesn't clear up very quickly (like by tomorrow), I think the responsible thing to do would be to pull her from the trial. :( And remember that she's contagious for about 2 weeks after her LAST cough.

Good news is that Keeva had it from work a few months ago and got over it in a matter of 3-4 days with nothing but some warm honey water to soothe her throat. Sometimes dogs develop complications but it's usually pretty mild most of the time.
 

yoko

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#16
Sucks, but if it doesn't clear up very quickly (like by tomorrow), I think the responsible thing to do would be to pull her from the trial. :( And remember that she's contagious for about 2 weeks after her LAST cough.

Good news is that Keeva had it from work a few months ago and got over it in a matter of 3-4 days with nothing but some warm honey water to soothe her throat. Sometimes dogs develop complications but it's usually pretty mild most of the time.
And if it's anything like when Yoshi got it she probably wouldn't have fun going to something like that or taking part in something like that anyway. Yoshi's wasn't too bad but when when she'd get active her hacking would start back up :(
 

Emily

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#17
And if it's anything like when Yoshi got it she probably wouldn't have fun going to something like that or taking part in something like that anyway. Yoshi's wasn't too bad when when she'd get active her hacking would start back up :(
Yeah, that's how it was with Keeva! I sat there going, "No, don't play with the cat, you're gonna-" and then she would cough up white foam on the rug. LOL.
 

AgilityPup

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#18
Unfortunately, that's also a sign of kennel cough... pressure on the trachea inducing coughing/hacking. So is the open mouth gagging... Sucks, but if it doesn't clear up very quickly (like by tomorrow), I think the responsible thing to do would be to pull her from the trial. :( And remember that she's contagious for about 2 weeks after her LAST cough.

Good news is that Keeva had it from work a few months ago and got over it in a matter of 3-4 days with nothing but some warm honey water to soothe her throat. Sometimes dogs develop complications but it's usually pretty mild most of the time.
How often do they cough when they have it? She hasn't coughed for several hours now, and even before I posted this thread it was only a few times... It's not been serious all day... and she always kind of hacks if you push on her trachea, or at least has for the past 2 or so years.

I guess I'll see how she is tomorrow. I just really hope it's not kennel cough because if it is, I'm sure it'll spread through our entire pack. And for the sake of germs, that means mom's girl Tinky shouldn't go to the trial either, and Simi should be pulled from classes until we're clear.

Grrr.
 

Kilter

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#19
Storee was the last to have it here, Kilt hasn't had it yet. Storee coughed a few times, nothing major, but still kept her on 'bed rest' for 2 weeks. With some versions of it it will affect their breathing a bit too, I know of a few flyball dogs that lost half a second for months after kennel cough.
 

Emily

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#20
How often do they cough when they have it? She hasn't coughed for several hours now, and even before I posted this thread it was only a few times... It's not been serious all day... and she always kind of hacks if you push on her trachea, or at least has for the past 2 or so years.

I guess I'll see how she is tomorrow. I just really hope it's not kennel cough because if it is, I'm sure it'll spread through our entire pack. And for the sake of germs, that means mom's girl Tinky shouldn't go to the trial either, and Simi should be pulled from classes until we're clear.

Grrr.
It really just depends on the dogs. It can be pretty infrequent like you're describing when they're just coming down with it or in the process of recovering.


And yeah, it's a huge pain in the ass because it's so contagious. :( Sorry, I really wish I could give you better news, but it sure does sound like KC to me, and I'm always on the look out for it at work.
 

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