Pug coughing/gagging - can anyone help?

[PrinnyPug]

I have a 6year old female pug, for the last 6 days she has been coughing/gagging but not all the time - it seems to come on randomly throughout the day and night. The coughs/gags have been dry except for one which caused her to be sick. She has always gagged but its not been so bad as this.
I am reluctant to take her to the vets - as we seem to always be there!! And I have read a lot of people say on the internet that after taking their pug to the vet with similar symptoms that the vet was unable to find the problem.

Can anyone help? Is it something that will go on its own?

[tonyb286]

Good news. Yes, as I mentioned earlier, any (literally any) underlying problem that restricts breathing, swallowing, etc., can become a major issue for pugs, owing to the genetic issue soft palette - and obesity is certainly one of them, as it further restricts the throat, breathing and so on. It's good that you have identified this early enough to resolve it. Great news for both you and your dog. Tony

[PrinnyPug]

We took her to the vet Friday and ended up taking her to a night vet to be monitored over night, my vet had given her a steroid injection to calm down the swelling of her throat area. She was absolutely fine at the night vet and has been fine since - we have been told she must lose 2kg, we aim to do this within 1month as the vet feels this is the issue - her weight and the wether getting warmer. Once she has lost the weight it's likely she will need further investigation on her soft palette. But overall the advise was to lose weight (priority), keep her cool (use a fan/air con) and calm her down if she begins to get any sign of gagging or heavy panting. The vet also gave us a powder to reduce mucus. Hope this helps anyone else having similar issues and I know pug owners always hear this but don't let your pug over eat!!!!! Thanks for all advice

[tonyb286]

I wouldn't use any intervention meds if you are already taking her to the vet later, as this could interfere with other more appropriate meds the vet may wish to commence ... but if you think the coughing spasm is getting worse, try getting her there earlier as this could potentially deteriorate quickly into a more serious event. I would certainly restrict all excitement and exercise until after she has been to the vets and, hopefully, a diagnosis has been made by them. Let us know how you get on. Tony

[PrinnyPug]

I wasn't able to get an appt tonight so am taking her tomorrow evening. We thought she was getting better but had quite a bad gagging fit tonight. Now terribly worried about her! Is there anything I can do in the meantime to help her? Thanks

[tonyb286]

As previously mentioned, pugs have an elongated soft pallet to the rear of their mouths, which can cause bouts of coughing, particularly if an infection or virus causes a flare-up of inflamation or irritation. Surgery can help (if this becomes a frequent problem for the dog), as it is possible to remove part of the soft pallet. For periods of coughing or laboured breathing (when no other reason can be identified), it is recommended to give a short course of corticosteroid and antibiotic. As pugs get older, the coughing can increase without intervention. This of course is all down to genetics and (badly) breeding in the shorter snout over many decades.

[PrinnyPug]

Thanks all - I will take her to the vets later and fingers crossed its nothing serious! The cough/gagging has improved so whatever it is I hope it's on the way out.
She is already on steroid drops for her eyes (she had an operation on them 6 months ago) so I get worried about putting her on other medication also. I'll let you know how it goes!