Dog owner question - re: kennel cough, cold, etc.

highwood1968

Taking my dog into vet this afternoon, for the last day he has been lethargic, no eating, and seems kind of congested/runny nose/a little bit of cough yesterday but no coughing this morning. He is up to date on his vaccinations.

I hope it is nothing serious, he has had kennel cough before but I don't recall a runny noise prior. He had a coughing fit yesterday morning then we noticed he was tired and did not eat yesterday. So figured I might as well bring him in just in case.

laurenebargar

Yeah I would definitely bring him, sometimes dogs can just be under the weather but its better to be safe than sorry since animals cant tell you how they feel.

dbanks80

Could be the dog flu. Definitely take the baby to the vet.

highwood1968

laurenebargar wrote: »

Yeah I would definitely bring him, sometimes dogs can just be under the weather but its better to be safe than sorry since animals cant tell you how they feel.

I know that is what makes it so tough, is if at least they could tell you:) With tomorrow being a Saturday and our regular vet not in, if he was worse I would probably end up taking him to the emerg vet so better to be safe than sorry. I hate when he is like this plus it is like he does not want to be around us!

laurenebargar

highwood1968 wrote: »

laurenebargar wrote: »

Yeah I would definitely bring him, sometimes dogs can just be under the weather but its better to be safe than sorry since animals cant tell you how they feel.

I know that is what makes it so tough, is if at least they could tell you:) With tomorrow being a Saturday and our regular vet not in, if he was worse I would probably end up taking him to the emerg vet so better to be safe than sorry. I hate when he is like this plus it is like he does not want to be around us!

I know its tough, I probably take my dog to the vet too often but I always like to figure out if something is off lol

Momepro

Yes take him in. Even dogs get colds and flu bugs, lol and usually goes away on it's own, but if it's respertory nfection, it will often need antibiotics to clear it up.
General rule of thumb, whenever lethargy is present, bring them in. It generally takes alot of feeling lousy or being dehydrated before lethargy sets in, so it's usually a pretty good sign that they are having a tough time fighting off whatever ails them.

highwood1968

So went home at lunch and he had more energy than yesterday, he even ate something and drank some water. Yesterday he had zero interest in food. Should I still bring him in??

klkarlen

Call the vet, at least here the call is free. Our emergency vet will give advice over the phone and don't automatically say "bring them in" just because they want the money.

JeepHair77

My dog brought something other other home from the shelter when we first adopted him - he seemed to have kind of a minor cold, but it went downhill very quickly, and it was kind of scary. He made a very quick recovery with antibiotics and IV fluids, but our vet was very concerned about his prognosis, because he had a high fever and was so lethargic.

I wouldn't screw around with it - dogs aren't going to communicate with you very well, so a call to the vet is worth it, I think.