# Bronchitis



## JosesMami (Apr 4, 2006)

Hi, my name is Melissa, and I am new! I posted in the Newbie Forum, if anyone is interested. :wink: My boyfriend and I have a three month old, black & tan, male Chi named Jose. Just went to the vet yesterday, and he weighs exactly 2 pounds!

While at the vet, he was diagnosed with severe bronchitis. He had started coughing when we got him Saturday afternoon, and had just been getting worse and worse, so we went ahead and took him in. The vet gave him a shot, then gave us some amoxicyllin (sp?) and a tablet cough suppressant to treat him with. He said that we shouldn't expect to see any improvement for at least 4-5 days, and that it may take several weeks for him to get over it.

Now, my question is this: Has anyone else had a Chi with bronchitis, and what did you do to help him/her be more comfortable? I just feel horrible for my little boy because he's coughing almost non-stop. It's this awful hacking cough, where he acts like he's choking the whole time. He'll gag like he needs to throw up, then start with the coughing again. He's still eating and drinking some, but he's seemed very tired since last night. He just wants to sleep all the time - he didn't even wake up and cry last night, like he's done all the other nights. He doesn't cough when he's sleeping though, so maybe that's a good thing.

What can we do to help him feel better, other than just keep up with his medicine? Thanks everyone!


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## natelam (Dec 20, 2004)

Hi Melissa, the coughing is due to irritation in the trachea and lower airways, so there is little externally you can do. Here are some things you can do to reduce irritation:

1. Remove collars, avoid leashes around the neck.
2. Avoid touching or holding your chi in the neck region
3. Cold, dry air will irritate your chi, so keep them indoors, and if you have a humidifier, it wouldn't hurt to have it on.
4. Coughing is usually worse at night, since the position when they're lying down puts more pressure on the trachea, try to keep your chi upright if you can. 
5. Avoid other dogs, since this disease is usually airborne. Clean, clean, clean the surfaces that you can to prevent reinfection. If you have other dogs in the house that are showing symptoms let your doc know. 
6. If coughing is worse when eating (due to irritation when swallowing) try crushing the dry food into smaller pieces, or adding water to make it go down easier. 
7. Limit exercise, since increased workload on the lungs will also make coughing worse. Too much exercise will prolong healing.

The medicine (antibiotic) and the cough suppressant (I'm guessing is Tussigon - hydrocodone) will hopefully help a lot. Most tracheobronchitis infections (kennel cough) are either caused by bacteria (Bordatella, etc...) or virus (Distemper) so the antibiotics will help take care of primary or secondary infections. If you think that the dog is getting WORSE, or that the coughing is uncontrollable with the medications, let you Dr. know ASAP. 

Hope that helps and your puppy will get better soon!


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## JosesMami (Apr 4, 2006)

Thanks for responding!

I think I'm already doing most of what you suggested! He doesn't have a collar - we use a harness for walks, but the doctor has said no exercise for right now, so he's not wearing even that. We don't have any other dogs, so I'm not worried about that. And he is paper-trained, so there's really no reason for him to go outside!

His seems to be the worst in the mornings, when he first wakes up. He'll cough for a good hour without stopping.  Poor little thing! It seems to get somewhat better as the day progresses, but I would say he never goes more than maybe 20 minutes without going into at least a 10 minute coughing fit. I just feel so sorry for him!

Here's hoping the medicine will get rid of this fast! I just know people can use like throat lozenges and stuff - I wish there was something else I could do to help him feel better! Actually, I wish I was at home with him now instead of at work! Oh well, only two more hours....

Thanks again!


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## natelam (Dec 20, 2004)

JosesMami said:


> Thanks for responding!
> 
> I think I'm already doing most of what you suggested! He doesn't have a collar - we use a harness for walks, but the doctor has said no exercise for right now, so he's not wearing even that. We don't have any other dogs, so I'm not worried about that. And he is paper-trained, so there's really no reason for him to go outside!
> 
> ...


The worse coughing in the morning is probably due to the position he is in while sleeping. When lying on their side, the downside lungs will usually inflate less, and when they get up, it takes some work to get the reinflated. Normally, this isn't a problem, but with your dog, the extra work causes "bronchospasms" and hence the cough. Keeping him upright (you can put him up against a pillow and put a toy on the other side) will improve that. Unfortunately, there aren't any lozenges or teas or sprays that are safe for vet use, mostly because if you put a lozenge in their mouth, they'll just swallow it, defeating the purpose, and if you try and spray something down there - there's a high risk of it going down their throat since they don't know what's coming. Hope for the best!


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## My2Dogs (Mar 28, 2006)

Spencer had bronchitis when we first got him and the vet did the same thing for him. Gave him a shot and put him on an antibiotic for 10 days. It took about 2 weeks for it to really clear up. I think it helped that we keep a humidifier in our room and moved it closer to his bed during the night. I'm sure people will yell at me for doing that, but I think it did help. We also only took him out to do his business and there was very limited playtime indoors. It also helps, when your dog starts coughing really bad to gently massage his throat to help whatever might be stuck move up or down. (same works for cts and hairballs) hope your pup is feeling better soon!


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## ChiMammaMia (Sep 27, 2005)

Awww. Having suffered with Chronic Bronchitis as a child...I feel for your little guy!
Natelam pretty much said it all (love your posts by the way...extremely informative!! :wink: ).
It just takes time for the irritation to subside enough that his body will be able to do it's thing and heal.

Just wanted to let ya know my thoughts are with you both!!


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## reedgrl1 (Oct 3, 2005)

Hello!
Max came to us as a rescue in early August last year, and had the same thing.
I really feel your pain because it was so hard to watch him go through! I had little experience with small dogs (Max is 5lbs) so I was especially horrified by the coughing fits. 
I discovered that by keeping him warm, and calm, his coughing fits were easier to deal with. I was lucky to be at home so I held him in my shirt for at least two weeks while he recovered. I also have a flax seed blanket that can be microwaved and warmed that I left him on while I was gone. It was far worse in the morning than at any other time of the day. 
Please know that 'this too shall pass'! I remember being so worried! Max is now healthy, happy, and the love of my life!! 
Someone else mentioned the cough suppressant .... that's important, because it really did make a difference in our case!
Good Luck!
Tamara & Max :wave:


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