Hello,
I think we need to figure out what is causing the cough. Can you answer these first:
1. How old is she?
2. Has she ever had radiographs/ X-rays of her chest?
3. Any heart murmur?
Ok thanks,
If this is a dry cough, my first suspicion would be heart disease. As the heart increases in size it presses on the main stem bronchi coming off the trachea. This is one of the main causes of coughing in dogs. That and collapsing trachea, which is also possibly here but she's a little larger than the breeds I would expect that in.
I would get a lateral chest and see what the heart size is. There is a vertebral heart score that you can use to measure it- it should be 8-10. If over 10 then we're getting a little large and that may be the culprit. If that's the case, it may not hurt to start her on an ACE inhibitor like Enalapril. I wouldn't go with Lasix or Pimobendan unless there is evidence of pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure.
If the heart size is normal, then I would try something like Hycodan or Torb to help with the cough and start thinking about a bronchitis, collapsing trachea or other pulmonary cause.
Hope this helps, let me know what you find out on the chest film.
Dog Veterinarian
DVM, Emergency Veterinarian; BS (Physiology) Michigan State Univ