My boston pup

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a male boston terrier puppy. He will be 4 months old on Aug 20th. I am a little worried about him for a couple of reasons. 1.) For the past month or so he has been hacking/coughing it sounds like he has flem in his throat.... every now and then he will vomit foam with a little food in it, i don't know if this is just because he is hacking so much that it eventually makes him gag. Sometimes these hacking spells can last 10 or so minutes. 2.) The second reason I am worried is because he he has thin hair on his forehead, behind his ears and on his paws, he is CONSTANTLY licking his paws, his two front feet are really pink in colour (not sure if this is normal)
I am also wondering if an underlining cause for both issues could be the food he is on. The breeder had him on Pedigree Health Start, she said all her bostons are given this and seem to be doing really well on it. I am wondering if this is causing both problems. Have you heard bad stories about this Brand of food? If so what food do you recommend for Boston Terriers in particular?

Thanks for your help
Amanda

ANSWER: hello, Sounds like he has an enlongate soft palate or stenic nares or btoh go see a boston terrier exercised or flat faced dog experianced vet and they will explain what these things are and if he has them and if they need treatment. Sounds like hes got alelrgies also... I reccomend seeing my website for food reccomendations also see the breathing problems page on the left towards the bottom for info on palate and stenic nare issues.
http://www.freewebs.com/dustycovens/dietfeedingfoods.htm


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QUESTION: He breaths fine... he doesn't even snore, would this still be classifed as a breathing issue?

Answer
When you say hacking and coughing are you reffering to reverse sneezing or no? I assumed you were.... dogs hack all the time they get bits of food stuck in there throat/drink too fast or are chewing grass or sticks and these stick in there throat they hack to get they out much the way a eprson would if they had something stuck in there throat. His feet are not supposed to be Very red...thin hair on the head indicates over scratching due to allergies he needs to see his vet. You said he was eatting pedigree? My boston got allergies from eatting peddigree and pruina one...too cheap for an exotic breed such as boston terriers...there is much corn tin such kibble and other fillers that cause allergies in dogs....dogs can be allergic to anything...not just kibble but changing to a fish and potato diet when he is diginosed with allergies will help.