coughing that leads to vomiting

[taos]

hi....we have a 2 year old male that weighs approx. 90lbs.He has had a history of sensitive digestive system. The most recent problem has been with his drinking water. We have been keeping his water dish elevated for the past couple months but it seems that when he drinks he drinks way too much water at one time for his stomach to handle. He cant stop himself from drinking until its too much. He will then walk around and begin coughing as if the water went down the wrong pipe. This will last anywhere from a couple minutes to half an hour. He will then either spill all the water out of his stomach or continue the coughing (almost a snorting) until it subsides. The other time this occurs is in the middle of the night. He will wake out of a dead sleep seemingly on the verge of spitting up and begin the coughing until he vomits. This has gotten my wife and myself to the breaking point! We can't continue like this anymore. Please help! Our Rottie is great but this is really taking a toll on our lives. Thanks

[CarolineS]

I would advise that you get your dog to a vet. Coughing could indicate anything from a virus to a heart condition. It's better to find out what's causing it and then ask us if we've encountered it and how we handled it, then ask us to guess what's going on. My dog has a particularily sensitive digestive system too and we've been through a lot (some of it makes us leave the room ), but I've never encountered coughing as being associated with it.

[Codys ma]

When I experienced that type of coughing in my first rottie, he had a heart problem. I was up with him all night because he was coughing/gagging/vomiting, and I always had a huge stock of paper towels because he would vomit after he drank water.

Is the vomit at night yellowish and foamy? Is the vomit after he drinks water slimy, almost like massive amounts of saliva?

I don't want to upset you, but I do want to scare you into taking your dog to the vet. Have them listen for heart murmurs and get a chest x-ray and an EKG. For me, the problem subsided when the put him on a diuretic to pull excess fluid out of his lungs because his heart couldn't do the job.

Please keep us posted! Good luck!

Kim

[taos]

Thanks Kim... The fluid at night is very slimy as if saliva. It seems he has a tendancy to do this at times after he has played with me by chasing the ball,ect.. as well. We have had a discouraging history with vets here in San Francisco. They all seem to run by the "lets see if this works..." attitude. I plan to take him to a vet this after noon, any advise on a good referral service? thanks!