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Question:
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"My six-year-old Cocker Spaniel coughs every day, especially in the morning. My vet says she has chronic bronchitis. What can be done for her? I’m worried about this hacking cough."
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Chronic bronchitis is a frustrating disease. The first step in diagnosing it is to rule out other possible causes for a persistent cough. Kennel cough or another infection, collapsing trachea, laryngeal paralysis, heart disease, heartworms, lungworms, fungal diseases, and lung tumors may be on the list of possible causes, depending on your dog’s age, other symptoms, and environment. Those diseases are ruled out by measures such as blood tests, x-rays, and response to antibiotics.
Once the other cough-inducing diseases have been ruled out, chronic bronchitis can be confirmed by bronchoscopy and microscopic examination of tissue and secretions from the bronchi. Bronchoscopy involves passing a tiny video camera on a thin, flexible tube into the bronchi, so that the veterinarian can see the inside them and take tissue and fluid samples. In chronic bronchitis, the veterinarian will see inflamed tissue and an abundance of white blood cells in the bronchial secretions, with no obvious bacteria or tumor cells present. In allergic bronchitis—one type of chronic bronchitis—there is an abundance of eosinophils, one type of white blood cells.
Chronic bronchitis is not cancer, and it’s not pneumonia, but it can nevertheless be frustrating to treat. It can’t be cured, it can only be controlled. To that end, dogs with chronic bronchitis are advised to lose weight, if necessary; live in an environment free of cigarette smoke and other airborne toxins; and use steroids, antihistamines, and bronchodilators (medications that expand the airways) as needed. Deciding which steroid, antihistamine, or bronchodilator works best for a particular dog is where art and patience are required. Different medicines work better for different dogs. Ask your vet how long your dog needs to be on a particular drug before showing signs of improvement. If at the end of that time your dog is still not doing well, your vet will likely want to try a different drug.
The goal in treating chronic bronchitis is to give your dog a comfortable, normally active life. It is not to stop him from coughing, period. Coughing helps clear the bronchi and trachea of secretions, so it’s expected and acceptable for a dog who is taking medicine for chronic bronchitis to still cough sometimes.
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