I have a 5 year old Pomeranian, weight’s 4 pounds, and had Hypoglycemia when he was a puppy, almost dying several times. He recovered but has since had digestive problems, with loose or bloody stools. I changed his food to Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and that has helped greatly but he still has issues with this or some form of diarrhea at least monthly. Now he has a dry, hacking, cough.

Toy breed dogs sometimes do seem to get more than their share of health problems in such a tiny package, I sympathize with your struggles – luckily they do grow out of hypoglycemia but there are other conditions common in these little guys that can be an ongoing problem and may be contributing to his symptoms. In particular, the first thing I think of when I see a Pomeranian with a loud dry cough is their predisposition to having a smaller airway (trachea) and due to pressure changes with breathing can narrow even further (collapsing trachea). These dogs usually have a cough that is described as “honking” or sounding almost like a goose and it can be worse with excitement or exercise. However, there are many other causes of a cough including bronchitis/tracheitis, heart disease, and pneumonia and a full physical exam and often chest x-rays are needed for us to make a definitive diagnosis and decide on a good treatment plan. Secondarily, the diarrhea with blood & mucus is indicative of inflammation in the colon. If it responded partially to the sensitive diet it may be a food sensitivity or inflammatory bowel disease, however we would want to review your dog’s previous records to make sure things like intestinal parasites or other common causes of diarrhea have been tested for. Please schedule an appointment for your little guy with one of our veterinarians and if you are able bringing his past medical history with you (or faxing ahead of time) helps us to be be sure we are not repeating prior tests and what medications have already been tried in the past.

You can contact us at your location of choice, and we’ll be more than happy to help 🙂