Coughing and sneezing

What to do

1. Call your vet now if you see any of the warning signs on this page. Go straight in if your dog is struggling to breathe.
2. Film a coughing or sneezing fit on your phone to show your vet, and note how often it happens.
3. Keep a coughing dog away from other dogs and public places until your vet says it's safe, and tell the clinic it's coughing before you go in.
4. Let your dog rest, and walk it on a harness instead of a collar.
5. Keep smoke, dust, air fresheners and sprays away from your dog.
6. Reverse sneezing (loud snorting breaths in) is nearly always harmless. Stay calm and stroke your dog gently; it usually passes within a minute.

When to call your vet

• Struggling to breathe, or breathing very loudly or fast
• Pale gums
• A coughing fit that won't stop
• Something may be stuck in the throat
• Coughing up blood, or bleeding from the nose
• Collapsing or fainting with coughing or reverse sneezing
• A cough lasting more than a few days, or keeping your dog awake at night
• Lots of sneezing, a runny nose, or a swollen face

Why

Coughs can come from kennel cough, pulling on the collar, heart disease, a collapsing windpipe in toy breeds, smoke or sprays, or something stuck in the throat. Flat-faced breeds sneeze and reverse sneeze more.