# bad cough



## desertracer (May 26, 2009)

Last night after coming home from dinner, I let the dogs out to go bathroom. Shortly after my pitty, comes inside coughing horribly. Not 100 percent sure why, figured he had a piece of chew bone stuck. Dug in no luck finding anything, he stopped the horrible cough in about 10 minutes. So around 10 pm, he starts coughing bad again. I take him outside, get him some water.

He winds up coughing up a dead bee. Not sure if stinger was intact or not. Called local 24 hour vet hospital. They said give him benadryl. And watch him, they said if he hadn't gone into shock from the sting by now, all should be good but monitor.

Around 2 am, his cough got even worse, so I took him to the vet, got x ray of him. No stinger or anything in his lungs or wind pipe. Vet said the cough sounds very similar to Kennel cough. He had his boredetella November 30th. And he spent last thursday at a local pet kennel.

So vet thinks he contracted this cough from there, and the bee seemed to not be a factor.

So he is on Orbax for a wide spread anti-biotic and Hycodan for cough, in case he is sick or something.

Besides his cough he is normal, eats, drinks, runs around. Has a good amount of mucus when he coughs, and his temperature last night was normal.

Does anyone else have any other suggestions on stuff that would help?

Also should I worry about my two golden's, they have been around him but don't seem to have any symptoms. They also had their boredetella shot within 2 weeks.


----------



## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

You might set-up a humidifier by his crate to help his coughing. I think the goldens would be coughing already if they were going to get sick too. I hope the meds work quickly. That is strange about the bee I wonder how that happened.


----------



## Sadie (Jun 18, 2008)

I second the humidifier ... Just make sure the dog continues on the antibiotics and continue to watch for any complications from the cough ... trouble breathing, continued fever after a few days of being on antibiotics or any new or worsening of symptoms . Make sure the dog is staying hydrated. I treated a dog for kennel cough that came from the pound it is highly contagious so keep the other dogs away from the other dogs if possible.

Kennel Cough


----------



## Padlock (Nov 19, 2010)

i am baffled by the coughing up the bee part....
how does this not have a roll in the treatment.
vets will put you on a costly regimen for their own monetary gain.
I'm not sure about this vets practices. are you 100% sure it was
a bee...could it have been a wasp/hornet?


----------



## MISSAPBT (May 10, 2009)

How bad is it, my boy had a cold/cough this winter, he got over it without any treatment, it was quite bad, but i would sugest cough syrup and keep giving him whatever else you are.


----------



## PerfectPit (Aug 2, 2010)

My old lab broke loose and was picked up by the HS. When I got him back;after they called me, he was horrible. Kennel cough to the max. I never seen so much coughing, phlegm, eye and nose boogies in a dog before. The vet gave him 3 regimes of antibiotics. It took about a month to clear up. I set a humidifier next to his crate to help break up the phlegm and make him feel more comfortable. It will take time for him to get over it. Keep him hydrated. Good Luck.


----------



## desertracer (May 26, 2009)

Thank you all for the advice. I have a humidifier going by him and a towel with Euclyptus oil in front of him.

Padlock, yes he coughed up a dead bee. He has been stung by bees before and no allergic reactions. I have fruit trees all through my yard, and so do my neighbors. I guess there is some kind of virus killing a lot of bees around my area lately. I have read online, and I go through my back yard there are multiple dead ones every day.

I try my best to pick them up, but both my pitty and my pups sometimes pick them up. They usually spit them out.


The vet looked down his throat and checked very well over him to make sure there is no stinger inside his mouth or throat. The x-ray was of his lungs and throat to make sure they couldn't see anything.

I gave him benadryl, around 75 mg in case there was any poison from the stinger.

I understand to keep them apart but they have all had a lot of contact in the past few days. Vet says keep an eye on my pit, he mentioned that his experience shows some pits don't have as strong of immune system as other breeds. But he said that could just be speculation and not "solid" proof.


----------



## desertracer (May 26, 2009)

MISSAPBT, it sounds like an 80 year old smoker coughing up a lung. He does not have shortness in breath though, just a really dry cough.


----------

