4 month-old puppy

Question
Could you tell me the possible cause of a cough in my puppy? She's had it
for 5 days. Her vet is treating her for bronchitis, but she does not seem
to be improving.My husband says she has distemper.

Answer
Hi Karon,

Just so you don't worry about distemper, the early symptoms of distemper include fever, loss of appetite, and mild eye inflammation that may only last a day or two. Symptoms become more serious and noticeable as the disease progresses. Many dogs experience gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms, such as: diarrhea, fever, discharge from the eyes, cough, labored breathing, runny nose and vomiting.
Hopefully, at 4 months old, you've already had your puppy vaccinated for distemper.

After 5 days of treatment, your puppy should be showing some signs of improvement. It sounds as though another trip to the doctor is needed. Once a diagnosis of bronchitis has been made, treatment often consists of steroids, antihistamines, bronchodilators, perhaps antibiotics or a combination of these drugs. Your puppy may just need to have her medication adjusted.

It would help your puppy heal if you can reduce environmental contaminants as much as possible, especially cigarette smoke and low humidity environments. If you are running an air conditioner in your home you may consider using a humidifier in a small room for a few hours a day to help with breathing, if that is possible to arrange.

It might be more comfortable if you walked your puppy with a harness, rather than a collar around her neck.

Good Luck!

-Patti