My IG Caughs a lot lately

Question
Lili has always coughed and has trouble catching her breath. It's like she has something in her throat.
Last night however she coughed 3 times and each time she cried out. I asked the Vet about it when she was young but they couldn't find anything wrong. She's 5 now and it's still going on. She'll have to stop and seems to gag. I rub her throat and finally she'll be OK. I'm worried! We moved from Toronto to Windsor and my Vet of 35 years is 400 KM away. I think the local vet is useless and other people have told me the same thing. Can you help?

Answer
Almond,
There are several things that could be going on.
She could have a collapsed trachea that alternately closes up for some reason or another.
She could have a growth that is getting worse.
She could have a chronic bronchitis
She could have a chronic kennel cough
She could have a nasal drip from allergies
She could have a birth deformity
She could have a heart problem
She could have heart worm

The only way to find if any of these is what your dog has is to go to a specialist.
A regular vet should be able to test for heart worm and may be able to hear a heart murmur, but sometimes not....
Next time you are in an area where you can go to a vet that is connected with a school, that would be the best.
In the mean time you might try an infants dose of benadryl to help her out.
nancy