Snot in a dog: symptoms, features of treatment and recommendations of professionals

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

With the onset of autumn colds, not only a person begins to suffer from colds. Snot in a dog is far from a rare occurrence, even novice cynologists know about it. However, it can indicate many abnormalities in the animal's body. To understand why a dog has a runny nose and how to treat it, you need to know the causes and accompanying symptoms of this phenomenon.

Causes of a runny nose in a dog

You can confidently begin treatment for a runny nose in your pet if the dog has been touched by one of the following reasons:

• Allergic reactions. In this case, the discharge from the nose of the dog is not thick, without color.
• If a dog has narrow nostrils, then a runny nose is just a phenomenon inherent in this breed. So if you are the owner of a pug, bulldog, Pekingese or griffon, then you have nothing to worry about.
• If foreign bodies get into the nose, then the dog rubs it with its paws, then the discharge may be mixed with blood.
• If the animal inhales smoke or hot air, then the dog's snot will pass very quickly.
• Viral infections can also cause rhinitis in dogs.
• Like a human, a dog can get too cold and get a runny nose.

These reasons are quite common. Treatment of each of them must be carried out comprehensively. One and the same technique cannot be applied to all causes. If you are in doubt whether the animal has rhinitis or a problem in another factor, then study the symptoms of a runny nose in a dog.

Symptoms of rhinitis in dogs

If a dog has snot, then you need to pay attention to the accompanying symptoms of this phenomenon. It often happens that it is impossible to detect rhinitis, since there is no discharge from the nose of the animal as such. Then pay attention to the following signs:

• Dog panting or snoring.
• The pet breathes through the mouth, shortness of breath appears when running.
• Cracks are visible on the nasal mucosa.
• The dog is losing weight.

Usually identifying a runny nose in a dog is not difficult. Your task is to correctly determine the cause of rhinitis, because the treatment depends on it.

If you are not sure that you have correctly diagnosed the animal, it is best to seek the advice of a veterinarian. If you treat the animal in the wrong way, you risk not only not achieving the desired result, but also aggravating the situation by provoking a number of complications.

How to treat a runny nose caused by superficial factors

If you know for sure that dog snot is caused by an allergic reaction,foreign body or rhinitis, then getting rid of the pathology is not difficult. So, the methods of treatment include:

• When an allergic reaction occurs, the cause must be eliminated. An allergen can be dust, the presence of other animals, an insect bite, the material from which the food bowl is made, some types of food, plants.
• If a foreign object is stuck in a dog's nose, it is necessary to help the pet remove it. If you can't do it naturally, seek help from your veterinarian.
• If a dog has green snot that smells bad, then most likely the cause is a viral infection. In this case, you cannot prescribe treatment yourself, you must take the pet to the veterinarian.

If the cause of the discharge from the nose is anatomical defects, then the treatment takes on a different character.

How to treat anatomical disorders

Problems with the structure of the nasal region of the animal are rarely the cause of a runny nose. However, you should be aware of these facts:

• If the animal does not have an opening between the nasal cavity and the mouth, then you will see a transparent discharge. Without surgery, this problem cannot be solved.
• If an animal snores at night and breathes heavily through its nose, then it may have an elongated soft palate. Such a defect is also eliminated promptly.
• If a dog has constricted nostrils, then there is nothing surprising in the discharge from the nose. It is possible to solve this problem with surgery, but this is not at allmandatory procedure.

If a dog has serious illnesses, the discharge from the nose becomes purulent. They need to pay special attention.

A dog has snot: what to do with purulent discharge

If you see that a dog has purulent, mucous and thick formations of green or yellow color from the nose, the animal must be urgently taken to the veterinarian. The reasons for such phenomena can be:

• Plague. This name often inspires horror in people, and in this case it is justified. Between 30 and 100% of puppies die within the first 3 months of life if they are diagnosed with distemper. You should be worried if the dog begins to be afraid of the light, hide in the dark, and at the same time she starts to have diarrhea. A cough may also develop, the animal may wheeze. A particularly dangerous symptom is red pimples on the abdomen of an animal. To diagnose the disease, it is necessary to take a sample of discharge from the nose of the animal and take it to the laboratory. After confirming the presence of a pathology, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate treatment.
• Adenovirosis. This disease is accompanied by sneezing and coughing. If the dog has red eyes, then most likely you were not mistaken with the diagnosis. Remember that this pathology is very contagious, so do not immediately take your pet to the veterinarian. It is better to call a specialist at home. The veterinarian will quickly determine the presence of the disease and prescribe treatment.

Remember that with purulent discharge from the nose, you should immediately send your pet to a specialist, since one of the above pathologiesmay well show up in a dog.

Snot in a dog: how to treat it correctly. Expert advice

Experienced veterinarians say that a runny nose in an animal can be determined by the nature of the snot. It is worth raising a panic and going to a hospital only if there are accompanying symptoms and copious purulent discharge.

The best advice from experts is that you need to constantly monitor the behavior and he alth of your pet. No disease goes unnoticed. Observant owners rarely get sick, and any pathology is quickly eliminated.