What this means
Sometimes a dog falls ill, recovers, and a few weeks or months later it all starts again. One or two bouts a year mean little, especially in puppies or dogs that live among many others. What deserves attention is infections that come back too often, last unusually long, return in the same part of the body, or leave the dog never quite well.
The most common repeats are coughs, nasal discharge and problems with the ears or skin. The reasons vary widely, from the environment and contact with other dogs to a breathing-tract or immune problem present from birth. Inherited or developmental problems of that kind usually show up at a young age, but a vet has to assess that.
Before the visit, write down when each illness began and ended, which signs it had, which part of the body it affected and whether your dog recovered completely. It helps to know whether littermates or parents were ill in the same way, and whether your dog lives with other animals. If you have earlier clinic records or test results, bring them.
Possible causes
These are things that can cause this sign. It is not a diagnosis, and they are not equally likely for your dog.
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A breathing-tract problem present from birth
When the airways cannot clear themselves properly, mucus and germs stay behind. Coughing and nasal discharge come back from a young age.
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A problem with white blood cell function
Some young dogs have an inherited problem that makes it hard for the body to fight infections. They fall ill often and grow poorly.
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Weak immune defence
Various illnesses or medicines can weaken the body's defences. The dog then picks up infections more easily and recovers more slowly.
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An underlying cause not yet found
A foreign object, a dental problem or an allergy can cause repeated infections in the same place. Until it is found, the problem keeps returning.
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Environment and contact with other animals
Puppies and dogs that mix with many others catch things more often. This may be the simple explanation, but a vet needs to judge it.
What else to watch for
These observations help your vet build the picture faster. Note down what you saw and when.
- How many times and when your dog has been ill over recent months or years
- Which part is affected each time: airways, ears, skin or something else
- Whether it recovers fully in between, or the cough or discharge never goes away
- Whether it has been like this since young or only recently
- Whether it is also growing poorly, losing weight or tiring quickly
- Whether littermates or parents were ill in the same way
When to book a routine visit
If infections keep coming back or your dog never fully recovers, book an examination and bring notes on when each illness happened and what it looked like.
Related conditions
Conditions whose entries mention this sign. The list is somewhere to read on, not a way to reach a diagnosis.
- Primary ciliary dyskinesia Breathing This is an inherited disease in which the microscopic hairs, called cilia, that line the airways move abnormally or not at all. Normally they keep sweeping mucus, dust and germs out of the airways; when they fail, mucus builds up and airway infections keep coming back. Cilia are found in other organs as well, so the disease can affect other parts of the body too, such as fertility.
- Trapped neutrophil syndrome Blood and immunity This is an inherited immune disorder in which the bone marrow produces neutrophils, the white blood cells that fight infection, but they cannot get out into the bloodstream. As a result the puppy is left nearly defenceless against bacteria, and infections keep coming one after another. A genetic test exists for the disease, so breeders can screen their breeding dogs.
Body systems: Breathing Blood and immunity