older poodle makes dry hacking sound/cough

Question
Kim,

I have a fourteen year old male poodle who has been making a lot of dry hacking cough/sound.  He had done this mildly when he was younger but the problem has become worse. I believe when I brought him in when he was young, the vet had taken x-rays and stated he has an enlarged heart.

I'm not sure this is causing the problem but do you know what can be wrong. I want to give him Robitussin DM .5mg cough medicine hopefully to help relieve the hacking sound. I feel this constant problem is hurting his throat. Can this be a more serious problem that I should worry.  Please help.

Answer
Hello Jana,
This is not normal for a dog to do.  It sounds to me like your dog has Congestive Heart Failure, which means he has fluid around his heart, causing him to cough.  That would be because of the enlarged heart.  With a larger heart, the heart works harder and this causes the dog to cough. You should get your Vet to check the dog out to see if there is anything you can give him to help.  

Meanwhile, you might check out these Pet Tabs I am now working with.
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They can really help your dog and I think you should take a look at them for your dog.  

Thanks for using AllExperts.com and if you have other questions about your dog, please let me know.  
Kim