adopted 3 yr old shelter cocker - coughing & more

Question
I adopted a 3 yr old male parti cocker from a shelter almost 2 weeks ago.  He is very sweet and friendly.  The 2nd evening with me he began coughing a very body consuming barking (seal) cough.  He coughed up considerable amounts of clear mucous.  His white coat is badly stained on the inside of his legs and on his entire belly and chest ... the worst stainin my vet said she has seen. Because of the staining the vet ran blood tests to rule out some more serious conditions, administered fluids and started him on antibiotics for kennel cough.  I noticed the other dogs in the kennel where he came from were coughing on the day I picked him up.  His temp was above 103 at that time.  We went back for more fluids a couple of days later.  Two days after that (last Monday) Joey received more fluids, had a chest xray, and additional antibiotics were added to treatment for pneumonia in one lung... his temp was under 103 then.  Now that he has been treated for just over a week he coughs much less and is a bit more active.  He continues to sneeze though (which wasn't an immediate symptom) and the snot is a light green and he looks like a child with it hanging down from his nose.  He is very fussy about what he eats.  He refuses any dry food like IAMS or the special diet of venison and potato that my previous cocker ate.  He will take a few bites of canned food that the vet gave us but only boiled chicken really appeals to him.  I should probably take him back to the vet today for more fluid but am hoping that his gradual improvement means he is going to be okay without additional cost.  I really couldn't afford the previous cost but thought both the blood tests and then xray (which did show the pneumonia)would tell me that we were on the right track.  I am just so concerned and disappointed that my friendly new pup is this unhealthy.  Although his urine is pretty dark (which we reported to the vet)I noticed for the first time today that he may have passed a little urine when sneezing.  He was on a pillowcase and what appears to be a small cirle of urine has a brownish ring around the edge.  I wonder if this might be blood and what it could mean? Now I'm thinking that there is some connection to the staining and may or may not be related to the current kennel cough and pneumonia. The only information I have about him is that his previous owner died and the family couldn't keep him.  I think the owner was elderly.  Joey had only been in the shelter 5 days but I'm not sure what kind of care he had before that.  You can probably tell tht I am somewhat overwhelmed and so want him to be okay.  Thank you for any feedback you might give.  

Answer
Oh dear.  This poor boy has been both badly neglected and caught kennel cough at the Rescue.

Keep giving him his boiled chicken (no skin-no bones) and put it in with some good canned food or make up the recipe below.
(Iams is not good).  To keep him hydrated (very important right now) give him some chicken broth.

You can do this two ways.  Make it yourself (the best) or use 1 tbsp. of canned broth in 1/3 cup of very warm water. (Canned broth is loaded with sodium and not good for dogs).

To make it yourself, just boil his chicken - afterwards, strain the broth through a cloth into a container.  Pretty easy and no sodium.  Serve it warmed.

But keeping him drinking and hydrated is really important - so you can offer this every few hours.  Usually they so love the "warm smell" they'll drink as much as you want them to.

I wouldn't overly worry about him losing a bit of bladder control when he sneezed - that's fairly common.  If it continues when he's NOT sneezing, that's different.


Now to keep him eating and drinking - do the following recipe short term:

2 cups boiled & chopped chicken (no skin-no bones)
1/2 cup plain white rice (very digestible..use extra water & overcook)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen green beans run through your food processor raw.

Mix it all up and feed him 3x daily...never feed cold food.  And offer the warm broth every few hours.

Bless your heart for rescuing this boy.  Let's get him better with some meds - good food - keep him hydrated and then let's talk dog food that will keep him healthy.

The above diet is for short term use (long term we'd have to add supplements) but it's fine for a few weeks.

The good thing is he's young and I have no doubt he'll get better but I also know how worried you are and it can feel overwhelming.  I'm here - write anytime about anything.  Unfortunately rescue dogs always seem to come with baggage whether it's health issues or behavioral problems.
This sweet boy deserves a good home and it sounds like he's found it :)
Delores