I have an eight year old german wirehair pointer named Spaetzel.
For a couple of years now he has had a cough. I have had him into different vets trying to find out what's wrong with him. He's had many tests none of which seem to be conclusive. These are some of his symptoms:
His cough is sort of a hacking gacking "cough cough cough GACK"!
The cough is brought on by his getting emotionally excited, like when I return home after leaving him while I'm at work or when he sees me with his leash, or when we have company come in.
The cough is also brought on when he gets up after lying down for a long time and is especially bad early in the morning when he gets up.
He seems sensitive to cold.
The cough isn't brought on by any physical activity. He plays frizbee, runs alongside my bike for miles, swims strongly over long distances, and hunts all without coughing.
He is getting soft quarter-sized round lumps under his skin over much of his body, which don't seem to cause pain to him when I touch them but feel pretty large and seem to be deep.
Recently he's been coughing so hard he vomits.
We've tried antibiotics, antihistimines, changing his food, changing his environment, exercise, rest, and tests tests tests.
He's undergone having a scope put down his throat, which didn't show anything conclusive.
X rays haven't shown any abnormalities.
His blood tests have come back with no abnormalities.
When he was less than a year old he survived heartworm and parvo. I was wondering if the cough could be caused by scarring on his heart, but it seems like that would affect him more when he's active. He coughs when he gets excited emotionally but not at all when he's active.
He goes with me to work and everywhere and is my best friend. I hate to seem him getting worse. I am feeling awfully helpless.
John Hopson
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