Many of us have heard our dogs cough and think nothing of it, but it may be a sign they need to see a vet. Lisa Chelenza has more about what a cough might mean for your dog in this edition of Pet Pointers.

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With cold and flu season right around the corner, many of us are cautious at the first sign of a sniffle, sneeze or cough…but what about our pets? While an occasional sneeze is normal, a persistent cough could be cause for concern.

“There are a lot of things that can cause a dog to cough, anything from an upper airway infection, a virus or bacteria to heart disease to heartworm to something as serious as canine influenza. So there are many reasons for a pet to have a cough,” said Dr. Maureen Luschini, DMV.

Recently, many vets have seen a rise in kennel cough, which your dog should be vaccinated against. To properly diagnose the symptom of coughing a vet will need to do a few tests.

“Most vets will run some blood work, that will rule out infectious causes, if the white blood count is high that is more supportive of a active infection. Other diseases such as kidney disease or disease in the abdomen they will run a biochemistry profile to look at the function of the organs in the abdomen. From there they will want to do x-rays of the chest and the heart, and if that doesn't tell an answer they may need to do something further like scoping of the airways and retrieve a small sample of fluid from the lungs to send out for testing,” said Dr. Luschini.

Dr. Luschini also says depending on the diagnosis, treatment options will vary.

If your dog has a persistent cough, take them to the vet for test because it could be something serious.