my puppy seems to be gagging, but nothing comes out

[jasson513]

i have german shepard mix that i adopted from the shelter, she is between 1 to 1 1/2 months old,according to the shelter she is 2 months old, but she appears to be younger, so a month and a half was my guess. recently she has started to do a choking\gagging motion, but nothing comes out, she makes these choking sounds, while trying to gag. she appears to be fine, she eats and is active. she does not do this constantly, she does it around 4 times a day. i was wondering wat is happening and wat should i do?

[White Wolf]

Please take your dog to the vet.

[LavenderRott]

A puppy should be with it's mother until it is at least 8 weeks old. At 4 to 6 weeks, your pup is barely weaned (if it is) and needs to see a vet immediately!

You may want to talk to someone of authority at your shelter. I don't know a single state that allows the adoption of underage pups.

[jasson513]

the thing is she is not actualy gagging, i do not know if im confusing this with a cough, because she does not have any respiratory problems, and i have been reading on kennel cough so i do not know

[LavenderRott]

If she has a cough at such a young age, it could very well develop into something much more serious rather quickly.

It could well be nothing, but we certainly can't diagnose your puppy over the internet. It would be a real shame if something that could be cleared up with say, antibiotics, today turned into something fatal just because she didn't get to the vet soon enough.

[kaytris]

To the vet, to the vet! a baby that young, you don't mess around with ANY health issue.

[jasson513]

well that was yesterday night when this happened, she would wake up,do this coughing\gagging thing, and then would go back to sleep, today she has gotten way better, after being a couple of hours in the warmth of the sun, she has only done this once tonight. could it be cuz i bathed her that same day?

[LavenderRott]

Ok.

It could be because you gave it a bath.

It could be the start of kennel cough.

Kennel cough in a month old puppy - if not treated - can and often is FATAL. Fatal means dead.

I gather that you really don't want to take her to the vet. I am sure you can return her to the shelter will you will be relieved of the responsibility and she will recieve medical care.

[jasson513]

i never said that i wouldn't take her to the vet nor that i wouldn't want to, all i am looking for is an explanation and the source of why she is doing this. when it comes to my dog or my pets i would do anything for them.

[LavenderRott]

The sad truth is that we can't see your puppy to actually see what it is doing and we aren't vets - so even if we could see, we can't diagnose.

The only way to know for sure is to call the vet in the morning and make an appointment.

Sorry if we come off a little pushy about things like this but just last year a young guy argued with us as to why his sick puppy really didn't need to go to the vet and by the time the appointment was made, the dog was fatally ill.

[jasson513]

that seriously sucks. these people at the shelter are blind, when i recieved my dog and went home, i noticed that the pup was infested with ticks, mainly in the ears, i removed almost all of them that same day with some organic flea and tick shampoo and tweezers.

[LavenderRott]

I am sure that both you and your pup will feel much better after she has seen a vet. Ticks carry all kinds of nasties, so having her checked out will only be a win-win situation for you. And her. And then you can let us know if it is anything serious.

By the way - does this little pupper have a name?