Toy Poodle - dry cough

Question
Hello! I have a Toy Poodle who is 7 1/2 years old. He is healthy, ideal weight, goes on many long walks every day, with minor allergies (air borne) and I give him an allergy pill as needed when it's allergy season.
I am concerned - he has these short coughs - sounds like a cat that has a hair ball kind of cough. It doesn't last long, and he never spits/or coughs anything out. He gets these episodes if he runs around real fast for a while during play and then he stops to cough.
Should I be concerned?

Answer
Hello Rose,
Sounds like your dog may have a minor breathing problem.  What it sounds like to me is that the flap at the back of his throat may be a bit oversized and when he breathes heavy, it causes him to cough.  It is not a problem to be concerned with, if it isn't causing him any discomfort, but to put your mind at ease, you might want to contact your Vet and just let him know whats going on to see what he has to say.  

As long as your dog doesn't exert himself to much too often, he should be fine to run about and just be a dog.  

Thanks for your question, and I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions, please feel free to ask.

Kim